Narrative

Dissertation Research
Achieving Home Birth in the United States and the Netherlands
In the United States, home birth is rare (>1% of all births) and in some states the practice of home birth midwifery is illegal. In the Netherlands, birth at home is part of the mainstream health care system (30% of births take place at home) and home birth midwifery is fully institutionalized. Using interviews with midwives and home birthing women along with fieldnotes from prenatal appointments, births, and postpartum visits, I explore what home birth means to its participants in the U.S. and the Netherlands. I ask how birthing women, midwives, and societies "achieve" home birth. I pay special attention to the practices surrounding home birth, the social institutions (e.g., insurance, professional organizations, and government health agencies) that shape it and are shaped by it, and the cultural/ideological assumptions that support it.