Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 7, 2026
The 4-vessel Sampling Approach to Integrative Studies of Human Placental Physiology In Vivo
Published on: August 2, 2017
Utah obstetricians' opinions of planned home birth and conflicting NICE/ACOG guidelines: A qualitative study
Emily Rainey1, Sara Simonsen2, Joseph Stanford1,3
1Department of Family and Preventative Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
Background:
The United Kingdom's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recently published recommendations that support planned home birth for low-risk women. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) remains wary of planned home birth, asserting that hospitals and birthing centers are the safest birth settings. Our objective was to examine opinions of obstetricians in Salt Lake City, Utah about home birth in the context of rising home birth rates and conflicting guidelines.
Methods:
Participants were recruited through online searches of Salt Lake City obstetricians and through snowball sampling. We conducted individual interviews exploring experiences with and attitudes toward planned home birth and the ACOG/NICE guidelines.
Results:
Fifteen obstetricians who varied according to years of experience, location of medical training, sex, and subspecialty (resident, OB/GYN, maternal-fetal medicine specialist) were interviewed. Participants did not recommend home birth but supported a woman's right to choose her birth setting. Obstetrician opinions about planned home birth were shaped by misconceptions of home birth benefits, confusion surrounding the scope of care at home and among home birth providers, and negative transfer experiences. Participants were unfamiliar with the literature on planned home birth and/or viewed the evidence as unreliable. Support for ACOG guidelines was high, particularly in the context of the United States health care setting.
Conclusion:
Physician objectivity may be limited by biases against home birth, which stem from limited familiarity with published evidence, negative experiences with home-to-hospital transfers, and distrust of home birth providers in a health care system not designed to support home birth.
More Related Videos
14:43A Novel Method for Involving Women of Color at High Risk for Preterm Birth in Research Priority Setting
Published on: January 12, 2018
05:46Introduction of Intracapsular Rotary-cut Procedures IRCP: A Modified Hysteromyomectomy Procedures Facilitating Fertility Preservation
Published on: January 17, 2019
Related Concept Videos
01:29Documentation in Long-Term and Home Healthcare Setting
Long-Term Care Facilities
01:29Local Anesthetics: Clinical Application as Epidural Anesthesia
Since epidural anesthetics can be infused through an epidural catheter, all types of drugs, including short-acting ones, can be administered. Chloroprocaine and lidocaine are examples of short and long-duration anesthetics, respectively. Bupivacaine...
01:26Methods Of Healthcare Delivery System
Managed Care System:
The managed care system is designed to control the cost while maintaining the quality of care. The patient's care from admission to discharge is planned by the primary care provider or the case manager, also known as the gatekeeper. In a managed care system, the number of care providers is...
02:20Milgram's Obedience to Authority
01:21Planning Nursing Care I
01:24Gonadal and Placental Hormones
In males, testosterone is the primary gonadal androgen. It plays a central role in the maturation of male reproductive organs — the penis and testes. Additionally, testosterone is instrumental in the development of secondary sexual characteristics — a deep voice as well as facial and pubic hair...