In the United States, there tends to be an assumption that you’re going to receive world-class healthcare – especially when it comes to giving birth. With as much hospital infrastructure as we have in this country, you’d think we’d have one of the lowest infant and maternal mortality rates in the world. Unfortunately, that’s not true. The U.S. currently ranks 28th in maternal mortality and with an infant mortality rate of 6%, we’re well behind dozens of other countries. On top of that, the U.S. spends more on giving birth than any other country. Hospital births are not meeting the needs of American parents.
American mothers are conditioned to believe that the best place to give birth is in a hospital. How often do you see someone give birth with a midwife on TV or in a movie? The assumption is that the hospital is the place to have a baby. This idea is so ingrained that only 8% of U.S. births are delivered by midwives.
Modern research is showing us that the current system is flawed. In the United Kingdom, midwives attend 68% of births and the impact on patient outcomes is clear. The maternal mortality rate in the United Kingdom is ⅓ what it is in the United States, and births are considerably less expensive. Midwife delivery is so effective in the U.K. that the National Health Service recommended midwife delivery over hospital delivery for low-risk pregnancies.
Far from being antiquated, midwives provide a level of care to mothers that you won’t find in hospitals. Midwives understand the birth experience and the value of a natural birth. At Austin Area Birthing Center, we take pride in our low rates of medical intervention. We have a lower rate of preterm birth, caesarean section, episiotomy, and IUFD than the hospital average.
In addition to better safety outcomes, we provide complete care to mothers, babies and their families. AABC moms give birth their way, whether it’s at home, in one of our birthing beds, or in a birthing tub. Our master midwives are with them every step of the way, providing emotional support along with birth expertise. Having a baby should be a beautiful, natural event, not an expensive, harrowing experience.
