Childbirth is Safe for Today's American Women, but Why?

Those who are against homebirth and freebirth often have the same arguments. They say that parents who chose these births are thrill-seekers who don't care about the well-being of their babies. A favorite statistic to quote is the fact that some 500,000 women die yearly around the world from childbirth complications. These arguments are severely lacking in foundation and evidence. There is much that the naysayers purposely leave out and exaggerate. To really understand the dangers of childbirth and the safety of birthing location, we need to examine the most common causes of maternal death across the world and why they are not so rare here in America today.

We need to know more for the number 500,000 to tell us anything about the safety of birth. How many women each year give birth? Where do most of those maternal deaths occur, and what is different about that country from America? What are the most common causes of death? How many of those deaths were truly preventable? The presence of this data would enable us to calculate percentages. Those percentages can give us a far better idea how safe or dangerous childbirth is than a lone number. The truth is, the numbers aren't quite so dismal for Americans.

Less than one percent of maternal deaths occur in developed countries. Most take place in developing nations. Some believe that's only due to their lack of technology. However, there are many differences between the United States and these other places. In developing nations, poverty is very common. There is not always clean drinking water or enough food to eat. Women may spend all day working in fields under the hot sun. Women in these countries are often malnourished and overworked, increasing their risk of complications and death. Poor sanitation is another large factor contributing to how dangerous birth in these places can be. It's not all about technology and prenatal care.