Position Statements on Birth Setting and Normal Birth

A number of prominent professional organizations around the world support home births and births in freestanding birth centers for those with uncomplicated pregnancies. For example, they conclude that “there is no reason why home birth should not be offered to birthing people at low risk of complications and it may confer considerable benefits for them and their families. There is ample evidence showing that laboring at home increases a person’s likelihood of a birth that is both satisfying and safe, with implications for their health and that of their baby.” – The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) 2007

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Publications on Birth Setting by US-based institutions:

• Planned Births at Home and in Freestanding Birth Centers by Women Under the Primary Maternity Care of Midwives in Washington.

• Planned Home Birth in New York Position Statement by NYSALM

• Position Statement on Midwifery by the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) 2009

• Home Birth Position Statement by the Midwives Alliance of North America, MANA

• ACNM (American College of Nurse Midwives) Position Statement on Home Birth, 2011

• Home Birth Summit Consensus Statements

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Additional Position Statements on Birth Setting:

• Birth at Home: New Zealand’s Position

• Canadian Association of Midwives Position Statement on Home Birth, 2001

• International Confederation of Midwives’ Position Statement on Home Birth

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Position Statements on Normal Physiologic Birth:

• Supporting Healthy and Normal Physiologic Childbirth Joint Position Statement by ACNM, MANA & NACPM (the National Association of Certified Professional Midwives)

• Normal Birth Consensus Statement by the New Zealand College of Midwives (NZCOM)

• Midwifery Care and Normal Birth: Position Statement by the Canadian Association of Midwives (CAM) 2010

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Research:

Cochrane Reviews are systematic reviews of primary research in human health care and health policy, and are internationally recognized as the highest standard in evidence-based health care.

• Cochrane Database Review: Planned hospital birth versus planned home birth Sep 2012

• Cochrane Database Review: Midwife-led versus other models of care for childbearing women, 2009