Homebirth is as safe or safer than hospital birth in most cases. In the early 1900's, obstetricians made a business decision to force women in the U.S. to give birth in hospitals, even though they knew that homebirth was safer. Outcomes of intended home births in nurse-midwifery practice: a prospective descriptive study. Murphy PA, Fullerton J Obstet Gynecol 1998 Sep;92(3):461-470
CONCLUSION: Home birth can be accomplished with good outcomes under the care of qualified practitioners and within a system that facilitates transfer to hospital care when necessary. Intrapartal mortality during intended home birth is concentrated in postdates pregnancies with evidence of meconium passage. Meta-analysis of the safety of home birth Birth 1997 Mar;24(1):4-13; discussion 14-6 Olsen O What is the relative safety of homebirth compared with hospital birth? Ole Olsen, a researcher from the University of Copenhagen, recently examined several studies of planned homebirth backed up by a modern hospital system compared with planned hospital birth. A total of nearly 25,000 births from five different countries were studied.
The results: There was no difference in survival rates between the babies born at home and those born in the hospital. However, there were several significant differences between the two groups. Fewer medical interventions occurred in the homebirth group. Fewer home-born babies were born in poor condition. The homebirth mothers were less likely to have suffered lacerations during birth. They were less likely to have had their labors induced or augmented by medications or to have had cesarean sections, forceps or vacuum extractor deliveries. As for maternal deaths, there were none in either group.
The Safety of Home Birth attended by a Direct-Entry Midwife - What Science has to Say Compiled by Michael J. Stark, Ph.D. for the Maryland Friends of Midwives
Summary of Midwifery articles in The Lancet on-line This is a very nice abstraction of some of the most recent studies on midwifery.
Citizens for Midwifery - FACT SHEET - The Safety of Homebirth
From a World Health Organization (WHO) report - subsection on Place of Birth:
It has never been scientifically proven that the hospital is a safer place than home for a woman who has had an uncomplicated pregnancy to have her baby. Studies of planned home births in developed countries with women who have had uncomplicated pregnancies have shown sickness and death rates for mother and baby equal to or better than hospital birth statistics for women with uncomplicated pregnancies.
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