Care for Planned Home Birth Assisted by a Midwife in Chile

Abstract

With the reintegration of the leading role of women in physiological processes resurfaced the idea of home birth. Objective. To describe the obstetric and perinatal outcomes of planned home birth assisted by midwives of the Asociación Maternas Chile A.G., between 2015-2021 in Chile. Material and Method. Quantitative, observational and cross-sectional study. Results. The population studied was 847 women; 742 had a home birth attended by a professional midwife. 49.12% of the women ended up with an unscathed perineum and 8.54% had postpartum complications, of which 2.13% had to be transferred to a health care center. The most frequent reasons for transfer had no statistically significant relationship with maternal age or parity. 6.2% of newborns had an additional diagnosis. Conclusions. The results of this study are consistent with international studies that indicate low incidence of morbidity and mortality of home births. However, it is essential to establish public policies and protocols that establish guidelines for this care and the need for direct coordination with the care network, in order to favor maternal-fetal outcomes.