Study about birth setting gives important signs for risks in planned home birth

Researchers at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center have found that babies born at home are roughly 10 times as likely to be stillborn and almost four times as likely to have neonatal seizures or serious neurologic dysfunction when compared to babies born in hospitals. "The magnitude of risk associated with home delivery is alarming," says the study's lead author, Dr. Amos Grunebaum, chief of labor and delivery at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and associate professor of clinical obstetrics at Weill Cornell Medical College. "The majority of pregnancies go smoothly," says Dr. Frank Chervenak, a study co-author and obstetrician and gynecologist-in-chief and director of maternal-fetal medicine at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and the Given Foundation Professor and chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Weill Cornell Medical College. "But in some instances," he says, "there can be unpredictable complications requiring immediate surgical intervention." Dr. Chervenak stressed that the study's findings are based on the birth setting, not whether the provider is a physician or midwife. "It's all about location," he adds. "When a complication does arise, what's needed is access to a team of skilled specialists with the training and technology in place to handle emergency procedures. In a home, none of these options are available." "Childbirth is one of the most wonderful moments in humanity, and we recognize that parents may expect that giving birth at home will enhance the experience. In the end, we need to be frank with parents about the risks. At the same time, physicians, midwives and other practitioners need to do everything we can to contribute to the compassionate care of mothers-to-be and their infants," Dr. Chervenak says.