In a month filled with news relating to home births, several thoughtful writers have been trying to bring some light to the often heated discussion about the topic.

Between 2004 and 2009, the number of home births grew 29 percent, to 29,650, according to figures released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month.

In the wake of the tragic death of a Melbourne mother and her own unsuccessful home birth attempt, Minogue remains a staunch defender of the practice that continues to be a hot topic of debate among many mothers.

Advocates, however, said the regulations are so strict they make legal home births nearly impossible.

Researchers noted that only about 26 percent of home births were attended by a certified nurse midwife.

However, if the home birth was attended by a certified nurse midwife, some of the added risk disappeared.

They found that the risk of cesarean delivery was significantly lower for women who had or intended to give birth outside of hospitals; however, the risk of neonatal seizure and a 5 minute Apgar score (which assesses the health of newborns) of less than seven was much higher for intended home births.

As Ceridwen Morris, a childbirth educator and noted crunchy but generally reasonable voice on birthing topics, responded for Babble:Yes.

Home birth is one of the most empowering things we’ve done as a woman, we wish more women were educated about, and able to choose this option.

Medical intervention rates included epidural (4.7%), episiotomy (2.1%), forceps (1.0%), vacuum extraction (0.6%), and Cesarean section (3.7%); these rates were substantially lower than for low risk US women having hospital births.

Midwives attend about two thirds of home births; the others are split between physicians (5 percent) and other attendants such as emergency medical personnel.

Willinghams work is a rare thing: a thoughtful, tempered consideration of home and hospital birth from someone whos done both.

Women who gave birth at home were also more likely to be older than 35 and to have already had children than those who gave birth in the hospital, according to the CDC.

While acknowledging that there are dangers inherent in home births, Minogue said tragedy can strike mothers and babies in hospital as well.

The intrapartum and neonatal mortality among women considered at low risk at start of labour, excluding deaths concerning life threatening congenital anomalies, was 1.7 deaths per 1000 planned home births, similar to risks in other studies of low risk home and hospital births in North America.

And the trouble with that is that people who share a strong belief system tend to reinforce each other and shun anything that is contrary to their belief, no matter how grounded in reality the new information is.

Gerson avoid, and thats what makes their work such a valuable addition to the multitude of voices online on both sides of whats long since become a strident home birth debate.

Midwife is the term for a health care provider that provides at home health care for expecting mothers, delivers baby during birth, and provides postpartum care.

The making of an informed choice, based on your circumstances and the care available — which, depending on where you live and your health insurance, can vary dramatically — might be easier when the debate is framed more by information than by passion.

Krysta King is a fashion journalist based in Hobart, Australia. Krysta has a passion for fashion stories and loves writing about fashion news and fashion opinions that matters most to its audience. Krysta spends a lot of time discovering and researching latest fashion industry news stories in order to make sure the latest and greatest stories are brought to you first on Stylerchic.com.