NOTE: This show originally aired May 6, 2014
While the vast majority of women in the United States give birth to their babies in a hospital, home births are becoming more popular. In 2012 an estimated 35,000 births occurred in the home, accounting for 0.7% of total U. S. births. We discuss different birthing options, and the role of midwives during pregnancy and childbirth, with Certified Nurse Midwife Jackie Gruer, Dr. Kellie Flood-Shaffer, associate professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Director, OB/GYN Generalist Division, at University of Cincinnati Health, and Dr. Marjorie Greenfield, division chief of General Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University Hospitals Medical Center in Cleveland and author of The Working Woman’s Pregnancy Book.
To learn more about birthing options and to hear stories of pregnancy and childbirth across cultures and continents, check out Public Radio International’s in-depth series, The Ninth Month.
