Table 1.
Characteristics of 5418 women planning home births with certified professional midwives in the United States, 2000, compared with all singleton, vertex births at ≥37 weeks' gestation in the United States, 2000. Values are percentages unless stated otherwise
| Characteristics | No (%) of women planning home birth*(n=5418) | All singleton, vertex births at ≥37 weeks gestation in USA, 2000†(n=3 360 86) |
|---|---|---|
| Mother's age: | ||
| ≤19 | 130 (2.4) | 11.6 |
| 20-24 | 930 (17.2) | 25.3 |
| 2-29 | 1554 (28.7) | 27.1 |
| 3-34 | 1423 (26.3) | 22.9 |
| 3-39 | 969 (17.9) | 10.9 |
| ≥40 | 327 (6.0) | 2.1 |
| Parity: | ||
| 0 | 1690 (31.2) | 40.2 |
| 1 | 1295 (23.9) | 32.8 |
| ≥2 | 2415 (44.6) | 27 |
| Mother's formal education: | ||
| High school or less | 2152 (39.2) | 52.4 |
| Any college | 1272 (23.2) | 21.6 |
| College graduate | 1169 (21.3) | 22.7 |
| Postgraduate | 692 (12.7) | 6.0 |
| Partner status at time of birth: | ||
| Has partner | 5169 (95.4) | NA |
| No partner | 164 (3.1) | NA |
| Ethnicity: | ||
| White | 4846 (89.4) | 58.2 |
| Hispanic | 216 (4.0) | 20.2 |
| African-American | 70 (1.3) | 14.1 |
| Other | 140 (2.6) | 5.8 |
| Other special groups: | ||
| Amish | 467 (8.7) | NA |
| Mennonite | 194 (3.6) | NA |
| Socioeconomic status‡: | ||
| Low | 1256 (23.2) | 19 |
| Middle | 3244 (59.9) | 44 |
| Upper | 664 (12.3) | 21 |
| Location: | ||
| City | 1891 (34.9) | NA |
| Small town | 1506 (27.9) | NA |
| Rural | 1734 (32.0) | NA |
| Time (trimester) prenatal care began: | ||
| 1st | 2483 (45.8) | 81.8 |
| 2nd | 2075 (38.2) | 12.6 |
| 3rd | 803 (14.8) | 2.7 |
| Smoked during pregnancy: | ||
| No | 5099 (94.1) | 76.2 |
| Yes: | 164 (3.0) | 8.9 |
| 1-9 cigarettes/day | 86 (1.6) | 6.4 |
| ≥10 cigarettes/day | 78 (1.4) | 2.5 |
| Unknown or not stated | 155 (2.9) | 14.9 |
| Alcohol intake (drinks/week) during pregnancy: | ||
| None | 5162 (95.3) | 85.7 |
| Yes: | 136 (2.5) | 0.8 |
| <2 | 113 (2.1) | NA |
| ≥2 | 23 (0.4) | NA |
| Unknown or not stated | 120 (2.2) | 13.6 |
| Gestational age of infants (weeks): | ||
| <37 | 77 (1.4) | — |
| 37-41 | 4834 (89.2) | 91.7 |
| ≥42 | 361 (6.7) | 8.3 |
| Birthweight (g): | ||
| <2501 | 60 (1.1) | 2.4 |
| 2501-3999 | 3787 (69.8) | 86.5 |
| ≥4000 | 1319 (24.3) | 11.1 |
NA=Not available.
*
Percentages do not always add up to 100 owing to missing values.
†
Based on data from birth certificates for all 3 360 868 such births. Data reported by National Center for Health Statistics.10
‡
Based on midwife's evaluation.