Report: Home births up during COVID

Home births increased significantly in the United States during the pandemic.

According to a report from the CDC, among almost four million births in 2021, nearly 52,000 happened at home. That is up 12% from 2020, following a 22% increase from 2019 to 2020.

Experts say they are uncertain why the increases occurred, but they happened when COVID-19 rates were high and vaccinations were either unavailable or not widely used.