Homebirth is on the rise! Between 2004 and 2008 homebirths in the U.S. rose 20%. This still represents a pretty small number of the total U.S. births – only about 1%. Still, the increase is significant.
The rise in homebirths has been driven mostly by non-Hispanic white women who represent more than 90% of the increase.
This Public Health Doula post raises questions about how to bring awareness of homebirth to more diverse and disadvantaged populations:
I see basically zero outreach to low-income/minority communities from the birth community, and walking my delicate line between working in the system right now, I am guilty of that too. How do we fix this??
Requiring insurance to cover homebirth is a beginning, but outreach and education are also a part of access. What else can we do to support all families in their full ability to choose their best births?
