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Comment by danesparza | Hacker News Reader

Be safe. The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed countries. In 2020, there were 23.8 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in the US.

That number includes both hospital and home births.

However studies have found home births with certified professional midwives in the US to have very low rates of maternal and infant mortality, comparable to hospital births for low-risk women.

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I don't disagree that there are real problems, but these statistics don't really help much. The home birth group is less likely to include high risk births. Many issues are detected during prenatal care and most of those parents will choose a birthing environment better equipped to deal with crises.

As far as high US mortality rate, I wonder if this is more of a reflection of general poor health issues from terrible dietary choices rather than the birth process itself.

Demographics plays a significant role here. In the U.S. women in the middle 3 quintiles of income have fewer children than the top, and far fewer than the bottom. In countries with more generous maternity policies I believe the trend is not as strong.

> studies have found home births with certified professional midwives in the US to have very low rates of maternal and infant mortality

Does this factor in that high-risk births might be more likely had in the hospital?

> In 2020, there were 23.8 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in the US.

How does that compare to 1920, or even 1820 when home births were the norm?

A little over 800 per 100,000 in 1900 per CDC data. Infant mortality was 10% in 1915.

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4838a2.htm

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