Most hospitals encourage rooming in - where the baby stays with mom the entire time. The availability of constant fetal monitoring. This sometimes helps to ease the mind of a laboring mom. A set amount of time is given to the laboring mom to produce results - otherwise medical action is taken. Forbiddence of food and drink during labor.
Cost is considerably more than a home birth.
Obviously the choice between home and hospital birth is as much a matter of personal preference as well as of the health and risk factor of the pregnancy. Some women may prefer the freedom to birth at home without all the medical interventions while others may not mind the fetal monitoring and the availability of anesthesia the hospital offers. There is another alternative that goes in between the two choices - a birthing center. These offer the benefits of both home and the close availability of a hospital. Birthing centers are not found everywhere - mostly in larger cities.