220.000 OBSTETRICS

220.999         Deliveries Out of Hospital:

Labor and delivery while a physiologic process, clearly presents potential hazards to both mother and fetus before and after birth.  These hazards require standards of safety which are provided in the hospital setting and cannot be matched in the home situation.  We recognize, however, the legitimacy of the concern of many that the events surrounding birth be an emotionally satisfying experience for the family. We support those actions that improve the experience of the family while continuing to provide the mother and her infant with accepted standards of safety available only in hospitals which conform to standards as outlined by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Pediatrics.  (Council 10/25/79; Reaffirmed HOD 2013; reaffirmed HOD 2023)