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Healthy Women: Birth rates decline while home births rise

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The pandemic prompted many women to hold off on having children. Research from Cornell University found that the U.S. birth rate declined by 7.1% during COVID. While that number might be going down, home birth rates are going up.

"COVID definitely helped our business quite a bit," says Emily Thompson, a registered certified midwife.

Emily Thompson and her business partner, Jennifer Green own and operate Organic Homebirth in Colorado Springs. Thomas says they've been busy during the pandemic, helping deliver an average of 50 babies a year.

"We are well trained in how to handle complications and stabilize mom and baby and transport when necessary," says Jennifer Green, a registered certified midwife. "So it is just something that some people don't always know, some people might think we just show up and hope for the best. And they think this is going to be a great kumbaya, that's really not where we are at. We never want to endanger anybody."

Research shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a sharp increase in women choosing to give birth at home instead of a hospital due to safety fears and restrictions. According to the CDC, the number of home births rose by nearly 20% from more than 38,000 in 2019 to 45,000 in 2020. A trend Thompson and Green are currently seeing here in Colorado Springs.

"Homebirth is for low-risk women and we emphasis that to everybody we talk to," says Thomspon. "But most people are low risk and having a low-risk pregnancy."

Organic Homebirth expects to see the boom in business continue as more families choose a natural option.

There are some long-term impacts to consider when we see fertility rates fall like they have the last few years. The population grows older and shrinks, which can then slow economic growth and strain government budgets. Studies with millennials show more people are choosing to have just one child or no kids at all.

Article Topic Follows: Healthy Women

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Brynn Carman

Brynn is an anchor on Good Morning Colorado. Learn more about Brynn here.

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