Ep 296: What Hospital Birth Can Learn from Home Birth

Birth With Power

Dr. Nicole C. Rankins

Parenting, Kids & Family

4.9 • 637 Ratings

🗓️ 13 May 2025

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

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

Full website notes: drnicolerankins.com/episode296

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Today I'm talking about a topic. I never really plan to cover much on this podcast, and that is home birth.
0:08.5	But this isn't about debating home versus hospital. It's about asking a better question. What actually works?
0:18.3	Most women in this country, yourself included, will give birth in a hospital. And that's
0:23.7	where I do my work. And if we want hospital birth to be safer, more respectful, and more
0:29.2	empowering, we have got to be willing to look at what home birth gets right and bring that
0:36.1	into the hospital.
0:49.7	Welcome to the Birth with Power podcast where knowledge is power and power transforms birth.
0:55.8	I'm Dr. Nicole Calloway Rankin's mom of two and practicing board certified OBGYN with over 20 years of experience and nearly 2,000 births attended. I've seen firsthand how the hospital system
1:02.0	can leave women feeling unheard and uncertain, but that doesn't have to be your story. Here,
1:08.0	you'll get the knowledge, support, and strategies to take charge of your
1:11.8	birth experience so you can walk into the hospital feeling calm, confident, and empowered.
1:18.2	Note, this podcast is for educational purposes only and it's not a substitute for medical advice.
1:23.7	See the full disclaimer at Dr. Nicole Briggins.com forward slash disclaimer.
1:27.8	Now let's get to it.
1:31.4	Want to feel more calm and confident about giving birth?
1:36.1	The birth with power brief is my free weekly email that gives you a fun pregnancy fact,
1:43.8	one mind set shift, and one small step to prepare
1:48.5	without the overwhelm. It's like having me in your corner cheering you on every Thursday. Don't miss it.
1:58.1	Head to Dr. Nicole Rankins.com forward slash email to sign up today.
2:03.6	Hello there. Welcome to another episode of the podcast. This is episode number 296, whether it is
2:11.2	your first time being here or you've been here before. I'm so glad you're spending some time
2:15.9	with me today. In this episode, we're talking about
	...

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