The number of homebirths reached its highest level since researchers began collecting data 20 years ago. After declining from 1990 to 2004, the percentage of US births that occurred at home rose 29% from 2004 to 2009.
The research was released by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. The numbers are still small--in 2009, 29,650 births, or .72 percent of all births, occurred at home. However, the increase is a rapid change in direction, after declining for 15 years. Home births tend to be more common among non-Hispanic white women who are 35 and older and among women with several previous children.
I would imagine one contributing factor was the debut of the film "The Business of Being Born" in 2008 (by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein). This film by a noted television celebrity addressed today's young professionals who are having babies and presented options in a contemporary way. It engendered enough interest at the time to get the attention of the AMA and motivate them to launch another attack on homebirth. in the meantime, women love it, and Lake and Epsteiner have produced another film "More Business of Being Born" about birth options (released November, 2011). The films can be purchased for download or you can learn more on their website, www.businessofbeingborn.com.
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