Pros and cons of homebirth

Obstetrician Gynecologist Lauren Hyman, MD, explains the pros and cons associated with having a home birth, and for whom she would recommend having a home birth
Pros and Cons of Home Births
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Pros and cons of homebirth

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A lot of my patients ask me about homebirth. And, the bottomline is that my aunt had all 3 of her sons at home and they were all beautiful deliveries. What I tell my patients is that you can guarantee me absolutely a 100% that your delivery will go completely without complication, then you should have your birth at home. Unfortunately, having been an obstetrician for quite a few years, I have seen disasters take place when no one would have expected any complications. I know that if something happens, I can get a baby out in 4 minutes. If the woman is at home, there's gonna be tragic consequences for both the baby and possibly the mother. If something happens in a hospital, there can be back up help there within moments that can't occur in a home delivery. So, again, I think a homebirth is absolutely wonderful when it's successful, and majority of the time it will be and will be a beautiful experience for the family. But, what you have to consider is is it worth it. If there is a problem, if something does go wrong, are you willing to accept the consequences? And, if the answer is yes, then please consider having a homebirth. But, if the answer is that you wouldn't be willing to accept those consequences, you might consider delivering your baby in a place where if there's something tragic does occur, it can be dealt with appropriately.

Obstetrician Gynecologist Lauren Hyman, MD, explains the pros and cons associated with having a home birth, and for whom she would recommend having a home birth

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Lauren D. Hyman, MD

Obstetrician Gynecologist

Dr. Lauren Hyman is a board-certified obstetrician gynecologist. After receiving her ScB from Brown University and her medical degree from Yale University, Dr. Hyman returned to Southern California where she has been in private practice in the West Hills area for fifteen years. She can be seen weekly on Hallmark Channelʼs Home and Family Pregnancy Series and is a contributing writer on mom.me. She lives with her husband and two children in Los Angeles.

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