In terms of giving birth, Hmong folks have been doing this for centuries

[theking]

Some pregnant women are trying 'free births.' Doctors are worried.
There are many risks related to doctor-free pregnancies and free births, said Dr. Terri Traub Mann, a board-certified neonatologist and pediatrician, and the founder of Prenatal Consulting of Georgia. Mann added that the American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend home births.

During pregnancy, providers can diagnose some congenital syndromes that might need immediate attention after birth. During delivery, it's important to have a provider available who can notice signs of distress in a newborn that people without a medical background might not see right away, Mann said.

"Without having that guidance, you just don't know what's going to happen when the baby's born," Mann said. She added that health care professionals typically screen newborns for all kinds of diseases and disorders in the first few days of life. For some of those conditions, like congenital heart diseases, "it is very important that the baby is diagnosed early and taken care of."

And pregnant patients with less than the recommended four prenatal visits have been found to have a higher risk of pre-term birth and fetal complications, according to Dr. Melissa Walsh, a board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist and Chief Medical Director at SimpliFed, a pregnancy and postpartum care program. Without a birth attendant, she said, there's an increased risk of hemorrhage, uterine rupture, infection and other conditions.