Home, Hospital, or Birth Center: Does Choice of Birth Facility Affect Outcomes?

Out-of-hospital deliveries were more likely to be associated with protracted or precipitous labors and less likely to be associated with certain other morbidities.

Does maternal and newborn morbidity vary by delivery location among women at low obstetric risk? To find out, researchers reviewed CDC data from 19 states for nearly half of all U.S. births in 2006. Data were excluded for women who had multiple births, had previous cesarean or preterm delivery, were smokers, or had diabetes or hypertension. Of the remaining 745,690 births, 97% occurred in hospitals, 0.6% in birth centers, and 0.9% at home.

Women who delivered at home were more likely to be older, multiparous, and white and to have less formal education than women who delivered at hospitals. Compared with hospital deliveries, those at birth centers or at home were more likely to be associated with difficult labors and were less likely to be a…

Reviewing Author

Diane J. Angelini, EdD, CNM, FACNM, FAAN, NEA-BC

Disclosures

RoyaltiesOB Triage: Emergency Care Protocols (Springer Publications)

Editorial boardsJournal of Perinatal and Neonatal Nursing

Diane J. Angelini, EdD, CNM, FACNM, FAAN, NEA-BC

Disclosures

RoyaltiesOB Triage: Emergency Care Protocols (Springer Publications)

Editorial boardsJournal of Perinatal and Neonatal Nursing

Home, Hospital, or Birth Center: Does Choice of Birth Facility Affect Outcomes?

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Reviewing Author