03/19/2026
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Is Hospital Birth Safer Than Out-of-Hospital Birth?
Out-of-Hospital Birth Shown to Be Safe & Effective . . . Again. (Henci Goer – 2017)
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Science & Sensibility; SOGC and Canada Embrace Homebirth – Why is the USA So far Behind? January 17th, 2019; https://www.scienceandsensibility.org/…/sogc-and-canada…
Eileen K. Hutton, Angela Reitsma, Julia Simioni, Ginny Brunton, Karyn Kaufman. Perinatal or neonatal mortality among women who intend at the onset of labour to give birth at home compared to women of low obstetrical risk who intend to give birth in hospital: A systematic review and meta-analyses. EClinicalMedicine, 2019; DOI: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2019.07.005 https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(19)30119-1/fulltext
Nethery, Elizabeth MSC, MSM; Schummers, Laura ScD; Levine, Audrey BA; Caughey, Aaron B. MD, PhD; Souter, Vivienne MBChB, MD; Gordon, Wendy DM, MPH Birth Outcomes for Planned Home and Licensed Freestanding Birth Center Births in Washington State, Obstetrics & Gynecology: November 2021 – Volume 138 – Issue 5 – p 693-702 doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000004578; https://journals.lww.com/greenjournal/Fulltext/2021/11000 /Birth_Outcomes_for_Planned_Home_and_Licensed.2.aspx
Analysis by Henci Goer 2021 : https://childbirth-u.com/safe-at-home-or-birth-center/
Dr. Sara Wickham’s page on Homebirth; updated 2025: https://www.sarawickham.com/research-updates/is_home_birth_safe/https://www.sarawickham.com/research-updates/is_home_birth_safe/
The recent article comparing maternal and newborn morbidity among births at home, hospital, or birth centers by Wax et al, reported that infantss born at home more frequently experienced 5-minute Apgar scores below 7.1 The methodology used brings into question the validity of this conclusion.
