I never intended to talk much about home birth—mainly because I’ve never attended one myself. But here we are. Why? Because if we’re serious about making hospital birth safer, more respectful, and more empowering, we have to take a close look at what home birth gets right.

This episode is not about debating home versus hospital birth. It’s about asking a better question: what actually works? I walk you through the reasons some women choose home birth, what the research says about its safety, and—most importantly—what lessons the hospital system needs to learn from the home birth model.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn About:

• Why some people choose home birth
• Who attends a safe birth at home and why training matters
• How many U.S. births actually happen at home
• What the data says about safety
• Why fewer medical interventions happen at home
• How often planned home births transfer to hospitals
• Who out-of-hospital birth is for—and who it’s not for
• How the U.S. falls short on midwife-hospital teamwork
• Why emotional safety is just as important as clinical safety

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Full website notes: drnicolerankins.com/episode296

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