*original article by Jacque Wilson of CNN/Photo by Kate Towers -Stockvault,net

Between 1990 and 2004, the number of women who were choosing to give birth at home steadily declined. But in 2005 the trend turned, according to a new reportreleased by the National Center for Health Statistics on Thursday.

The number of home births in the U.S. jumped by 29% from 2004 to 2009. Althoughhome births are still rare – they account for less than 1% of all births – this is a pretty rapid increase, said Marian MacDorman, statistician at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Forty, 50 years ago, there was this idea that hospital birth was more modern. Now it’s the opposite.”

The biggest increase was in non-Hispanic white women. About 1 in 90 births in that segment of the population is now a home birth, according to the report. Home births are most common among women over the age of 35 who have already had at least one child.

The data doesn’t tell us why home births have increased, MacDorman said, but she can take a few educated guesses. Cost may be an issue; on average, home births cost about one third less than hospital births. Another reason may be dissatisfaction with the care women in labor receive at a hospital…

Read the rest here.