Does anyone have the online study that they can copy and send? The article
doesnt make sense - 4.54% transfer rate sounds very low to me!
regards
Maggie Banks

15 Te Awa Road, RD 3, Hamilton, New Zealand
Ph: 64 7 856 4612
Fax: 64 7 856 3070
Website at www.birthspirit.co.nz
Email: [log in to unmask]

----- Original Message -----
From: Sarah Stewart <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, September 19, 2002 1:19 PM
Subject: Re: NYTimes.com Article: At Risk: Weighing Odds and Babies


Hello everyone

this article is doing the rounds at the moment.

Regards
Sarah Stewart


At Risk: Weighing Odds and Babies

August 6, 2002
By JOHN O'NEIL






Giving birth at home is riskier both for the child and the
mother, even in uncomplicated pregnancies, according to a
new study.

The results, which were published in the August issue of
the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, found that the risk of
neonatal death was almost twice as high when the delivery
was planned and begun in the home.

In addition, low Apgar scores evaluating the newborn's
health were more common in children born at home.

The risk of death was higher still for children born at
home to first-time mothers; those mothers were more likely
to have prolonged labor or postpartum bleeding.

The study, led by Dr. Jenny W. Y. Pang of the University of
Washington School of Public Health, looked at records of
the 6,133 births that were completed or begun in a home in
the state from 1989 to 1996. These were compared with
10,593 hospital deliveries.

The home birth group included 279 cases in which mothers
were transferred to hospitals after delivery was attempted
at home. None of the pregnancies involved known
complications.

Women who planned to give birth at home tended to be older
and were more likely to be married, white, nonsmokers, to
have insurance and to be better educated - factors usually
associated with lower risks in delivery.

The study said deaths from congenital heart disease and
respiratory distress occurred more frequently in home
births, "two causes that might be expected to be amenable
to prevention in the hospital setting."

Dr. Pang noted that the number of deaths was low in both
groups. "But women should be aware that this is a possible
consequence of giving birth at home," she said. "We're not
saying you can't do this, but that a woman has to make a
decision about the risks."

Patricia Murphy, a nurse-midwife who is a researcher at
Columbia University, noted that other studies have found
smaller dangers, particularly if women with risk factors
are steered to hospitals and a backup plan is made.

"A certain number of women are going to choose this no
matter what," she said. "We have to make sure they are
served as appropriately as possible."

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/06/health/womenshealth/06RISK.html?ex=1033395
987&ei=1&en=8299d08f94840116



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