Home birth in Salt Lake County, Utah

Area of Science:

• Maternal Health
• Public Health
• Sociology of Health

Background:

• Planned home births represent a specific choice in childbirth.
• Understanding the experiences of women choosing home births is crucial for healthcare policy.
• Socio-demographic factors of women opting for home delivery require examination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare socio-demographic characteristics of women with planned home deliveries to the general population.
• To investigate the experiences and reported interactions of women with healthcare professionals during planned home births.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of birth certificate data for socio-demographic comparison.
• Interviews with a subset of women who had planned home deliveries.

Main Results:

• Women with planned home deliveries in Salt Lake County (1972, 1975) did not differ socio-demographically from the general population.
• Eighty-four interviewed women reported experiencing hostility from health professionals.

Conclusions:

• Planned home birth attendants in this cohort were demographically similar to the general population.
• Hostility from healthcare professionals poses a potential risk to women undergoing planned home births.