Home is Where the Heart is: A Comparative Analysis of Home Birth Outcomes and Perceptions in the Developed World Public Deposited

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  • February 26, 2019
Creator
  • McFarlane, Emma E.
    • Affiliation: School of Nursing
Abstract
  • Home birth rates are increasing throughout the developed world, which necessitates a discussion regarding the outcomes and perceptions of home birth in developed countries. Home birth outcomes and perceptions are widely varied, and many have noted that there exists a relationship between a nation’s acceptance and integration of home birth into the standard model of maternity care and the nation’s home birth outcomes. This paper discusses a sample of developed countries, namely the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands, and seeks to identify the relationship between a nation’s home birth outcomes and its home birth perceptions. It was found that some countries, such as the United States, are reluctant to integrate home birth into the standard model of maternity care, and also have poor home birth outcomes. Countries like the Netherlands, by contrast, have created a standard maternity system that embraces and supports home birth. Home birth outcomes in these countries are exceptional. However, it was also found that no matter where a woman lives, the home birth is associated with fewer medical interventions, high rates of physiologic birth, and a strong sense of empowerment and autonomy. By comparing and contrasting home birth outcomes and perceptions in nations around the globe, our understanding of this growing phenomenon improves drastically and it becomes possible to create safer, better-integrated home birth systems.
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  • In Copyright
Note
  • Funding: None
Advisor
  • Gingrich, Pat
Degree
  • Bachelor of Science
Academic concentration
  • Nursing
Honors level
  • Honors
Degree granting institution
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Graduation year
  • 2017
Language
  • English
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