We have found the most important aspect of this question is where does the birthing mother feel safe? There is much evidence to show the safety of home birth.

Research shows that for well-screened, low risk women, planned homebirth with a skilled attendant is as safe or safer than hospital birth. Homebirths achieve similar or better outcomes than hospitals with fewer interventions.

Hospital births have a safety advantage in cases in which life- saving technology is immediately required. There is some evidence, however, that elective interventions, which are used more frequently in- hospital, may increase the risk of various adverse outcomes in low- risk women.

Much research has been done to study the safety of homebirth (see links below). Every single country with a lower infant mortality rate than the U.S.(there are 27 of them!) has midwives, rather than OB surgeons, as the principle birth attendants.

Please follow some of these links for more studies and information on the safety of home birth:

• www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/330/7505/1416?ehom
• www.cfmidwifery.org/pdf/safety.pdf
• www.gentlebirth.org/ronnie/homesafe.html
• www.mana.org/hbref.html
• http://www.changesurfer.com/Hlth/homebirth.html