Here are research based benefits and disadvantages for both home and hospital birth, provided by Open Door Midwifery Service.
BENEFITS OF HOME BIRTH
The mother is not subjected to routine procedures such as IV’s and electronic fetal monitoring.
The mother has freedom to follow her desires to eat, drink and move about freely.
The mother is free to find her own best position to give birth in.
The midwife who provided prenatal care, whom the mother has gotten to know well, is the same person who attends the birth. This continuity of care is an important aspect of home birth that protects the mother from the stress of having new and strange people attending her birth.
The mother is in charge of who is present at her birth. She can insure that only people she is comfortable with are present. This control over the environment of birth is a very important aspect of care, which reduces the level of stress hormones that can cause complications.
There are more options for comfort measures at a home birth, such as massage, aromatherapy, herbal remedies, homeopathic remedies, water, music, vocalizing (as loud as you want!), changing the scene by getting outside for a walk, getting some private time in your own bedroom, and spiritual practices such as prayer, ritual, or whatever is specific to your religious beliefs.
Women are much less inhibited in their own homes, which allows the powerful hormones of birth to work optimally.
Because of the mother’s greater control over her environment at home, she is much less likely to deliver without drugs, vacuum extraction, or cesarean section. This makes birth safer for her and her baby.
There is less risk of infection for the mother and baby at a home birth.
Birth at home is a family event and becomes a continuum of the family life. Mom does not go away and come back with a baby, she is right there all the time. This can reduce sibling rivalry and increase sibling bonding.
There is no mother-baby separation, which reduces the chance of postpartum depression, increase the success of breastfeeding, enhances bonding, and is an essential part of attachment parenting.
The environment can also be made more comfortable for the baby with dim lights and natural warmth from mother’s body instead of an artificial warmer.
DISADVANTAGES OF HOME BIRTH
Home birth requires a high level of effort and responsibility by the parents. More time is needed for preparation and education.
Even though research has shown that home birth is safe for carefully screened women with a trained attendant, there is still a cultural bias against it. Only 1% of women in our country give birth at home at this time, although in many parts of the world the percentage is much higher. Home birth is going against the status quo, and people who are not aware of the research may not hesitate to inform you that in their opinion you are making an unwise choice.
Home birth is not appropriate for certain women. Careful screening and monitoring must be done before, during and after birth by the midwife to ensure that it is safe to be at home.
BENEFITS OF HOSPITAL BIRTH
If the midwife or physician is comfortable with and adheres to the non-interventive midwifery model of care, a hospital birth can proceed naturally and benefit the woman who is risked out of home birth for some reason, or who simply feels more
comfortable in a hospital.
The mother does not have the added stress of going against the status quo with her choice of birth place.
Some women prefer to be away from home to give birth so they don’t have to feel responsible for homemaking and child care for other children.
In most hospitals there is quicker access to anesthesia and surgery if a cesarean section is needed. However, if the home birth attendant has set up a good consulting agreement, surgery access may be just as quick.
DISADVANTAGES OF HOSPITAL BIRTH
The mother is more likely to have her labor induced and/or augmented with pitocin or prostaglandins, to have electronic fetal monitoring which inhibits movement and leads to a greater chance of having a cesarean section, to have an episiotomy, to
have a more severe laceration, to have drugs which interfere with the natural process of labor, to have an instrument delivery (forceps, vacuum extraction), and to have a cesarean.
She is much more likely to be subjected to at least some
interventions.
She may not have access to birth choices such as water birth or continuity of her caregiver.
She is not in control of who attends the birth, except for choosing her doctor or midwife. She will not be in control of which nurses, or other hospital personnel attend.
She is much more likely to be separated from her baby.
She and her baby are more likely to pick up an infection.
She is less likely to be able to follow her own rhythms for eating, drinking, and movement. This in itself can increase pain level.
Some of these disadvantages of hospital birth can be overcome by careful choice of birth attendant and hospital. This requires a high level of commitment of the part of the parents to find the right care provider and hospital that will be able to satisfy their requests for how they want the birth conducted, who will be there, and what the mother is allowed to do, or not do.
In summary, choosing where you are going to have your baby and who is going to be there is a very important decision, and not to be taken lightly. The environment of birth; the people present and the place of birth, has a dramatic impact on how the birth proceeds. I suggest you have consultations with several midwives and/or physicians before you make this decision, and choose who and where fits best for you.