History of Childbirth

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Childbirth Since the 1950s, most births in developed countries have occurred in hospitals(de Jonge, van der Goes, Ravelli, Amelink-Verburg, Mol, Nijhuis, Bennebroek, & Buitendijk, 2009). In 1900, most births occurred at home in the United States. By 1940, 44 per cent were home births and by 1969, only one per cent occurred outside of the hospital. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, home births continue at about that same per centage(MacDorman, Declercq, & Menacker, 2010). Today, most home births are planned by White women with low-risk pregnancies who are over 35 years. Two-thirds of these births used midwives and the babies were delivered at term. In comparison, most Black women opt for in-hospital childbirth, and of those who have their babies at home, most are unplanned emergency deliveries attended by physicians or other than midwives. There was a higher per centage of infants born preterm and at risk, suggesting there was less intrapartum care used before those emergency home deliveries(MacDorman, Declercq, & Menacker, 2010). Women in other countries, including Great Britain(Drake, 2003) and the Netherlands(Wiegers, van der Zee, and Keirse, 1998) who have low-risk pregnancies may choose between home and hospital delivery. The move of childbirth from home to hospital has had a positive effect on lowering the deaths of the mother and infant because better trained assistance became available and, were emergencies to arise, they were better able to be handled. However, as these improvements developed, women found themselves losing control of their pregnancies with professionals, procedures, and equipment coming between them and the process of birthing. Because of this, we have seen a slow but consistent return to home births by women who wish to be removed from the bureaucracy of the hospital and have their children in the

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