A 2012study from the US CDC National Center for Health Statistics  found that home birth is on the rise in the US.

Home Births in the United States, 1990-2009 by Marian F. MacDorman, Ph.D.; T.J. Mathews, M.S.; and Eugene Declercq, Ph.D.

Article available at: <http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db84.pdf> http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db84.pdf

Key findings:

  • After a decline from 1990 to 2004, the percentage of U.S. births that occurred at home increased by 29%, from 0.56% of births in 2004 to 0.72% in 2009.
  • For non-Hispanic white women, home births increased by 36%, from 0.80% in 2004 to 1.09% in 2009. About 1 in every 90 births for non-Hispanic white women is now a home birth. Home births are less common among women of other racial or ethnic groups.
  • Home births are more common among women aged 35 and over, and among women with several previous children.
  • Home births have a lower risk profile than hospital births, with fewer births to teenagers or unmarried women, and with fewer preterm, low birthweight, and multiple births.
  • The percentage of home births in 2009 varied from a low of 0.2% of births in Louisiana and the District of Columbia, to a high of 2.0% in Oregon and 2.6% in Montana.