Home Birth Option Endangered in NYC

It’s not uncommon to meet someone in my crunchy Brooklyn neighborhood who delivered her baby at home. Now that option is becoming endangered in New York City, thanks to the recent closing of St. Vincent’s Hospital. Seven of the 13 midwives who do home births in NYC had an agreement with St. Vincent’s for medical back-up in an emergency, but now that that hospital has closed, the midwives are finding it tough to find other willing partners. Since these agreements are legally required, these midwives would be breaking the law by attending to a home delivery.

Many doctors don’t support home births, as evidenced by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ strongly worded opposition statement, since things can head south quickly even in a low-risk birth.

What do you think: should the home birth option be protected, or is the medical community right to take a stand against them?