Everything We Do, We Now Do At Home—Including Giving Birth
Giving birth can be a scary thing. Add a pandemic to the mix and the number of challenges you have to navigate skyrocket. One solution that many people have sought out is to give birth at home.
While the vast majority (98%) of births in the U.S. still happen in hospitals, between 2019 and 2020 the number of at-home births increased by 22%, according to data released at the end of 2021 by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And this increase has been particularly steep for women of color—up 36% from March 2020 to December 2020. This could be in part explained by rising awareness that pregnancy poses a disproportionate risk to women of color who give birth in a hospital.
But as my colleague Tara Law reports, despite more people turning to home-births during the pandemic, major insurers frequently deny claims to fully cover the cost, not just of home births, but also of the associated prenatal and postnatal care. “The fact that insurance companies like UnitedHealthcare and Aetna have policies in place to keep women from obtaining coverage for home birth has become a major women’s health issue, especially during this pandemic,” Katherine Baker, who handles billing for midwives based mainly in New York, told Tara.
Aetna, for one, says most of their plans don’t cover home births because certain scientific and professional organizations hold that hospitals are safer—including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which sets guidelines for health care professionals in the field. But some experts are questioning this assumption. Research from 2018, for instance, suggests that planned home births can be done safely.
And a big reason why people choose home births is because they feel safer—perhaps because of a previous bad experience at a hospital or feeling like their concerns will be listened to. There are many stories of Black mothers—including tennis player Serena Williams—reporting that their concerns were ignored by doctors. One-on-one attention from a midwife can go a long way at putting someone at ease during childbirth. Navigating insurance redtape: not so much.
For the mothers who gave birth at home and who spoke to Tara, the financial frustrations were worth it. “It’s intense to give birth,” says Tia DeShazor. “But I feel like it would have been more intense if I were not feeling safe or heard.”
More than 411.6 million people around the world had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of 12 a.m. E.T. today, and over 5.8 million people have died. On Feb. 13, there were 1.39 million new cases and 4,484 new deaths confirmed globally.
Here's how the world as a whole is currently trending, in terms of cases:
And in terms of deaths:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
And here's every country that has reported over 5.5 million cases:
The U.S. had recorded more than 77.7 million coronavirus cases as of 12 a.m. E.T. today. More than 919,000 people have died. On Feb. 13, there were 32,531 new cases and 441 new deaths confirmed in the U.S.
Here's how the country as a whole is currently trending in terms of cases:
And in terms of deaths:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
All numbers unless otherwise specified are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of Feb. 14, 12 a.m. E.T. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
Earlier today, China announced a conditional approval of Pfizer’s COVID-19 pill, potentially signaling Beijing’s shift beyond its COVID Zero strategy and towards a more flexible approach. It’ll be the first foreign coronavirus pharmaceutical product endorsed by China.
Former President Donald Trump has been publicly backing COVID-19 vaccines as he angles for a potential White House bid in 2024—to mixed reactions from his supporters. While anti-vax Republicans may not appreciate it, as my colleague Brian Bennett writes, others in the GOP see it as a smart move for Trump to claim victory for helping jumpstart vaccine development in order to capture votes beyond his more ardent supporters, given Biden’s low approval rates . Some countries are starting to issue their fourth round of vaccine shots. Earlier today, South Korea announced that it will roll out boosters for high-risk individuals—including “those who live in nursing homes and care facilities and others with declined immunization,” according to Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol—and Sweden recommended a fourth dose for people over 80 years old as well as those in nursing homes or with at-home care.
Thanks for reading. We hope you find the Coronavirus Brief newsletter to be a helpful tool to navigate this very complex situation, and welcome feedback at coronavirus.brief@time.com. If you have specific questions you'd like us to answer, please send them to covidquestions@time.com.
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Today's newsletter was written by Kyla Mandel and edited by Elijah Wolfson.
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