ENG 123 Project Two
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Vazquez 1
Kimberlyann Vazquez
Professor Yordanka Penton
English 123
15 October, 2023
Project Two: Persuasive Essay
When
it comes to giving birth there can be many different factors which can come out to play and the main factor which becomes relevant is whether to have a home or hospital birth and while this can change based on the person, there is set data overall which will be shared throughout this essay. A home birth is where the birthing person will give birth either at home or somewhere that is not the hospital which can include: car, bus, work, train, market, etc. Hospital birth is different and safer in most cases because of the setting but also due to the differences in cost, safety, and comfort. Hospital birth is better than home birth for the mother and baby because it is safer, more comfortable and clean, and is also more cost friendly for the most part.
Home birth is not as safe as hospital birth, and this is backed by numerous medical professionals who agree that there is more risk when attempting a home birth. For example, the medical article by Mayoclinic states, “Most pregnant people who choose to have planned home births deliver without problems. But research suggests that planned home births are associated with a higher risk of infant death, seizures and nervous system disorders than planned hospital births.” (Mayoclinic, 2022). Also, it is important to note that in hospitals, situations such as hemorrhage can be easily controlled as they have all equipment and medications needed to quickly and safely fix any medical emergency. There is also an article by UW Medicine which
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almost mirrors what was found in the Mayoclinic article and is as follows, “Home births let you have more control over your birth experience and often result in fewer interventions. That said, home births require extensive preparation and are associated with a higher risk of newborn death.
Hospital births are the safest option for having a baby and offer other health resources.” (Cabotaje, 2020). Secondly, home birth can be less comfortable depending on your situation as well as your
preferences. For example, if someone were to give birth in the hospital, there would be a person keeping up with the hygiene of their downstairs porthole as well as monitoring them for any changes or progression. If they were at home however, the cleaning would be left to the individual and/ or whoever is there assisting with the process, but that can be just as uncomfortable depending on who it is and what they clean. Another reason why the hospital would be more comfortable, is that at a home birth you can’t have many of the medications you would normally receive for giving birth in the hospital.
Thirdly, home birth can be more affordable for those who have little to no interventions during the birthing process and there is data collected which states, “Insurance currently does not
cover home births in many cases, which helps to explain why only 20.9 percent of practices reported a different fee for insured clients. Of the practices that did report a different fee, the average charge for insured clients was USD 5050, 8.6 percent higher than for uninsured clients. The fee for insured clients ranged from USD 2000 to USD 16,500 with a median of USD 4500, a
mode of USD 4000, and a standard deviation of USD 2043. The somewhat higher fee for insured
clients reflects those clients’ greater ability to pay and the insurance companies’ caps on reimbursement.” Another reason why home birth is not as affordable, is that although not everyone can afford to pay hospital fees, home birth can be just as expensive although is not
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always covered by insurance. In the hospital you can almost always use insurance whether it is private or funded by state and county programs such as Med-i-cal or IEHP insurance but for home births insurance is not always willing to cover the costs of materials you may have used during the birth. While I am against home birth for the aforementioned reasons, I also am aware of just how important it is to acknowledge those who believe that home birth is the superior method of the two. For the most part, many prefer to plan and attempt a home birth for many reasons including but not limited to: fear of hospitals, more comfortable at home, lack of babysitter for their older children, and more. Other reasons as outlined in the article on WebMD are as follows,
“There are many reasons you might consider a home birth, including: giving birth in a familiar and comfortable environment, a desire to avoid medical interventions, staying faithful to your religious and cultural practices, having your family and friends present at the birth, having more control over the birth, wanting to save money, and lacking transportation“. (Ratini, 2022). As long as there are no serious complications with the pregnancy either for the mother or the baby, a
home birth is perfectly fine and achievable. The only catch with this though, is that for women who have complications or who’ve had complications with previous pregnancies, they are warned against a home birth usually as there is too much risk involved and they would not be somewhere suitable for quickly resolving the issue. Coincidentally, the study conducted by BMC
pregnancy and childbirth presented their results which state that, “Among the 273,872 pregnancies which were used for the analysis described in this paper, there were 2,808 cases of PPH (1.02% of the eligible records). In the unadjusted data, the incidence of PPH was significantly higher in the ‘intended a hospital birth’ group than in the ‘intended a home birth’ group (1.04% and 0.38% respectively – see Table 2
). A chi-squared test showed that this
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difference was highly statistically significant (p = 0.000)... In other words, among those with low- and medium-risk pregnancies, the odds of a woman who had a planned hospital birth experiencing a PPH were 2.5 times the odds of a comparable woman who intended a home birth experiencing a PPH (whether or not she went on to experience a home birth).” (Nove et al., 2012) All expecting parents should plan on having a hospital birth in order to prevent any possible dangers to mother or the baby, as well as for their comfort and affordability. As stated in
the article by UW Medicine, ‘“While a well-planned home birth works well for some, it’s not for
everyone. In general, home births are best for those who experience low-risk pregnancies, when you’re expecting only one child and have no additional health concerns. That’s because if complications arise, like if your baby’s heart rate drops or your labor isn’t progressing as it should, you’ll want to receive emergency care as soon as possible. “If complications arise, then transport to a hospital will be required,” Ranney says. “It can be by personal vehicle or by ambulance, and this can be very traumatic.” While many home birth midwives will have emergency medical equipment on hand just in case, they won’t be able to perform certain procedures that can only be done at a hospital. For that reason, it’s important to have a back-up hospital in mind that’s within reasonable driving distance. ACOG estimates up to 37% of first-
time mothers
who opt for a home birth are eventually transferred to a hospital. Another potential drawback is the time, energy and cost involved in preparing for a home birth.”’(Cabotaje, 2020). The author Cabotaje effectively sums up the medical reasons why it is important for parents to plan on a hospital birth as well as the reasons I have mentioned throughout the essay. One of the main reasons why I am against home births is that although some people are more comfortable at
home, it is overall more comfortable to give birth in the hospital as it is much more sterile. The
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second reason is that in a hospital setting doctors and nurses are able to move quickly if any emergency occurs during the birth of your child which includes any procedures that aren’t able to be done at home or in a birthing center. The third and definitely not the least important reason is regarding the affordability of care as home birth can become costly due to the fact that most insurance carriers decline claims regarding materials and procedures involved with a home birth. While these factors are all valuable in their own ways, it is also important for us to consider the fact that not every person will be eligible for a home birth if that is what they would like due to the cost as well as the risk factors but this can vary case to case. Overall, it is up to each expecting mother and/or their partner to make the decision unless they are too risky of a pregnancy at which point their provider will let them know of their options for birth.
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Works Cited Anderson, David A, and Gabrielle M Gilkison. “The Cost of Home Birth in the United States.” International journal of environmental research and public health
vol. 18,19 10361. 1 Oct. 2021, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph181910361
Cabotaje, Angela. “Home Birth or Hospital Birth? What You Need to Know.” Right as Rain by UW Medicine
, 21 Oct. 2020, https://rightasrain.uwmedicine.org/life/parenthood/home-birth-vs-hospital-
birth#:~:text=That%20said%2C%20home%20births%20require,and%20 offer
%20other%20 health%20 resources
. Mayo Clinic. “Home Birth: Know the Pros and Cons.” Mayo Clinic
, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 22 July 2022, www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/labor-and-delivery/in-depth/home-birth/art-
20046878#:~:text=Most%20pregnant%20people%20who%20choose,disorders
%20than%20planned%20hospital%20births
. Nove, Andrea, et al. “Comparing the Odds of Postpartum Haemorrhage in Planned Home Birth against Planned Hospital Birth: Results of an Observational Study of over 500,000 Maternities in the UK.” BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth
, vol. 12, no. 1,
Mar. 2012, pp. 1–11. EBSCOhost
, https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1186/1471-
2393-12-130
. Ratini, M. (Ed.). (2022, November 22). Home birth: Pros, cons, risks, and more
. WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/baby/what-to-know-about-home-birth
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