Kate Middleton’s ‘luxury’ birth cost less than the average U.S. birth

Re:Kate Middleton’s ‘luxury’ birth cost less than the averag... by mcv on Wednesday April 25, 2018 @04:32AM (#16919575)

Home birth doesn't have to be unsafe as long as you have well-trained mid-people and easy access to a hospital in case of complications. An uncomplicated birth doesn't need a hospital, and most births in Netherland still happen at home. It works fine if your system is designed to allow it.

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Re:Kate Middleton’s ‘luxury’ birth cost less than the averag... by eurleif on Wednesday April 25, 2018 @05:04AM (#16919729)

Home birth is not safe. In the Netherlands, as elsewhere, it causes deaths: http://www.skepticalob.com/2010/07/netherlands-homebirth-and...

And the majority of Dutch births are not home births. Due to the safety issues, the rate has fallen to only 13%: http://www.skepticalob.com/2017/02/dutch-homebirth-rate-cont...

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Re:Kate Middleton’s ‘luxury’ birth cost less than the averag... by mcv on Thursday April 26, 2018 @05:44AM (#16930387)

I stand corrected.

Although if birth-related mortality is rising while home births are dropping, doesn't that suggest there's something else going on? The relatively high age of Dutch mothers may also be a factor (I believe the average age at which women have their first child is around 30).

Having read a bit more about the issue, it appears the jury is still out.

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Re:Kate Middleton’s ‘luxury’ birth cost less than the averag... by eurleif on Friday April 27, 2018 @07:27PM (#16945223)

>Although if birth-related mortality is rising while home births are dropping, doesn't that suggest there's something else going on?

Huh, where do you see mortality rising? The link refers to a decrease: "Historical data show that 7-day (28-day) mortality declined from 4.25 (5.35) deaths per 1,000 births in 1980–1985 to 2.42 (3.18) deaths in 2005-2009"

>Having read a bit more about the issue, it appears the jury is still out.

I don't know how you can think that. Every statistical comparison shows home births kill babies. Unfortunately, there are still people who claim otherwise, but none of them have data to support their claims.

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Re:Kate Middleton’s ‘luxury’ birth cost less than the averag... by jeroen on Wednesday April 25, 2018 @05:13AM (#16919782)

> most births in Netherland still happen at home

The number of home births is at 13% according to https://www.volkskrant.nl/wetenschap/typisch-hollands-fenome...

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