I'm personally against it, but I don't begrudge anyone who wants to make that choice for themselves.

I've heard the arguments against hospitals: How sterile and cold they are, unwelcoming. And although the hospital was not my favorite place to be, I think there are better alternatives than home births. Personally, I'd be much more in favor of birthing centers.

But at home?

Nope. It's not the ick factor. It's not the "drug" factor (though I tend to like drugs).

It's the emergency factor. When things go wrong, and sadly sometimes they do, I want a full team of medical professionals, and their equipment on hand to do everything in the world to save me and my baby. The "natural experience" that some treasure is not worth the risk to me.

To quote a spokesperson and nurse with the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (which campaigns against home births):

~~"The majority of patients ... might get away with it," she says, but low-risk pregnancies can become high-risk in minutes: A baby's shoulder might get stuck in the birth canal, or heavy bleeding could necessitate a blood transfusion for the mother."~~

When considering that along with my personal doubts about whether or not it makes any difference at all to the baby where they're born, I just don't see the value in home births. For my own comfort, I'll just go ahead and be in a sterile colder place if it means I eliminate every risk I can.

But that's me. And I support anyone who makes the choice to home birth. Every woman has to do what's right for her and her baby.
Source(s):
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-09-13-home-births_N.htm

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If our daughter would have been born at home, she would be dead or severely handicaped. Now she's a healthy girl.
I rest my case.
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Personally I wish I would have had the guts to have an at home birth. It's natural. Don't get me wrong, if something happened to my son, they may as well go ahead and dig a second grave for me. But, I think we try to play God too much.

If a woman wants to give birth at home then I give her kudos because she is following what she believes and putting her faith in God. She's braver than I am for sure. Life and death are both parts of nature and sometimes I wonder why we feel like we have to control either of them. Sure it's painful to let nature take its course, but it is nature after all.

And before anyone goes on a rant about how I must not have lost anyone clsoe to me, let me reassure you that I am had a closer relationship with far more dead people than I probably ever will live and in fact I don't even know anyone who has buried as many loved ones as I have. Maybe I'm just jaded because of it. Death is almost like an old friend to me and birth is only the beginning of death.
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I personally wouldn't want to give birth anywhere that I don't have easy access to drugs. But that's just me. ;)
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