Coordinator of Public Information: Patsi Barnes Trollinger
Telephone 606-238-5719
[email protected]
Dec. 2, 1998
Home Births Cheaper than Hospital Deliveries, Equally Safe, According to New Research
DANVILLE, KY-- Centre College professor David Anderson and certified nurse-midwife Rondi Anderson are co-authors of an article which reports that home births may be both cheaper and safer than low-risk hospital deliveries. The article will appear in the Jan.-Feb. issue of the Journal of Nurse-Midwifery.
Based on a large national study, the article concludes that home births may reduce delivery costs by more than two-thirds with no increase in the risk of infant mortality.
Professor Anderson says: "While home births are widely recognized as a low-cost alternative to increasingly expensive hospital deliveries, the extent of the savings and the degree of safety have not been well understood." The authors believe this study offers convincing data on the quality and value of home birthing options for uncomplicated pregnancies.
Conclusions in the article are based on Anderson and Anderson's review of data from more than 33,000 deliveries, divided almost evenly between home, birthing center and hospital deliveries. The data include figures on average cost for deliveries, mortality rates and frequency of cesarean sections.
In fairness to hospitals, which handle most high-risk deliveries, the study considered only normal pregnancies and births to low-risk mothers. Excluded were births involving twins, low birth-weight infants and repeat cesarean sections, among others.
Anderson and Anderson say the cost of deliveries is a growing issue in the United States, where childbirth makes up one-fifth of all health care expenditures. As the burden of health care costs have grown, so has the number of women without insurance, and states have begun grappling with legal issues of birthing alternatives.
Rondi Anderson notes: "Even for the 40 percent of births covered by Medicaid, safe birthing alternatives that permit a reduction in the $150 billion Medicaid burden would allow the nation to devote more resources to other urgent priorities."
David Anderson is assistant professor of economics at Centre. He holds a Ph.D. from Duke University. Rondi Anderson's practice is based in Pennsylvania, and she has assisted home and hospital births for 20 years. She holds a master's degree from the University of Utah. - end -
Contact:
David Anderson, 606-238-5282 [Email: [email protected]]
Rondi Anderson, 717-354-8297 [Email: [email protected]]
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