ArticleInternational journal of environmental research and public health2021
The Cost of Home Birth in the United States.
Article in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The Cost and Cost-Effectiveness of Childbirth Settings: A Systematic Review.Applied health economics and health policy · 2025Pooled it
- Deep care: a qualitative analysis of black community midwifery.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2026Article
- The Benefits of Licensed Midwifery and Community Birth Among BIPOC Birthing People in New Mexico.Birth (Berkeley, Calif.) · 2025Article
- Social support network of Brazilian Amazonian women to subsidise the decision-making power of planned home birth: a qualitative study.BMJ open · 2024Article
- Health professionals' perceptions of planned home birth care within the Brazilian health system.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2023Article
- Potential Implications of Emerging Nontraditional Childbirth Practices On Neonatal Health.The Journal of pediatrics · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Policy decisions about the accessibility of home birth hinge on questions of safety and affordability. Families consider safety and cost along with the comfort and familiarity of birthing venues. A substantial literature addresses safety concerns, generally reporting that for low-risk mothers in the care of credentialed midwives, the safety of planned home births is comparable to that in birth centers and hospitals. The lack of notable safety tradeoffs for low-risk mothers elevates the relevance of the economic efficiency of home births. The available cost figures for home births are largely out of date or anecdotal. The purpose of this research is to offer scholars, policymakers, and families improved estimates of both the cost of home births and the potential savings from greater access to home births. On the basis of a nationwide study, we estimate that the average cost of a home birth in the United States is USD 4650, which is significantly below existing cost estimates for an uncomplicated birth center or hospital birth. Further, we find that each shift of one percent of births from hospitals to homes would represent an annual cost savings to society of at least USD 321 million.
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Registered trials
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