Women are increasingly choosing to give birth outside hospitals

The vast majority of U.S. women give birth in hospitals, but a new report finds that a small — but growing — number are opting for non-hospital settings. Here’s more: 

• Overall trends: Around 0.8% of women gave birth outside hospitals in 2004, but that grew to about 1.3% in 2017. 
• Demographic trends: The biggest increase of non-hospital births since 2004 has been among white women — 1 out of every 41 births among white women in 2017 occurred outside hospitals. Almost 25% of planned home births were among those aged 35 and older. 
• Recommendations: Among other suggestions, the authors recommend that health systems more seamlessly allow women to switch from out-of-hospital birth settings to the hospital if they choose to, as this may make it easier to treat complications that may arise.