Article
Being Safe: Making the Decision to Have a Planned Home Birth in the United States
Journal of Clinical Ethics
(2013)
Abstract
Although there is evidence that supports the safety of planned home birth for healthy women, less than 1 percent of women in the United States choose to have their baby at home. An ethnographic study of the experience of planned home birth provided rich descriptions of women's experiences planning, preparing for, and having a home birth. This article describes findings related to how women make the decision to have a planned home birth. For these women, being safe emerged as central in making the decision. For them, being safe included four factors: avoiding technological birth interventions, knowing the midwife and the midwife knowing them, feeling comfortable and protected at home, and knowing that backup hospital medical care was accessible if needed.
Disciplines
Publication Date
January 1, 2013
Citation Information
Judith A Lothian. "Being Safe: Making the Decision to Have a Planned Home Birth in the United States" Journal of Clinical Ethics Vol. 24 Iss. 3 (2013) p. 266 - 275 ISSN: 1046-7890 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/judith-lothian/17/