this is "nightline." >> tonight, when perfectly good homes go very bad. with tenants long gone they're foreclosed and left to rot, dragging your property value down with them. it can be gross, even dangerous. so how do you cope with zombie houses invading neighbors near you? >> it's really pretty with the birds. >> would you let your baby be born in the wild? hospitals offering new options as some mops forgo the docs and drugs in favor of a more natural birding experience from the tubs into the woods. is it safe? "the sound of music" basks in the spotlight at the oscars. ♪ the hills are alive ♪ >> tonight on the 50th anniversary of the beloved classic the real-life von

revealing their new tradition. first the "nightline 5." >> if your dog can dream it the purina pro plan can help him achieve it. >> purina pro plan formulas deliver optimal nutrient absorption. purina pro plan nutrition that performs. >> number one in 60 seconds.

good evening. thanks for joining us. we all love hollywood's version of the zombie apocalypse. what happens if a real-life

zokby house, abandoned and detrying, is dragging down property values in your neighborhood? gloria riviera reveals how everybody pays the price when home sweet home turns sour. >> you see one, two, three bedroom home -- >> reporter: imagine if you lived next door to this. >> this is probably one of the worst cases of mold i've seen. >> it's nauseating. >> reporter: for this. >> my god. livestock. two chickens. where are you guys from? ladies. >> everything here has a code vital. from the air conditioner -- >> yeah. >> please be careful, there are some stumps -- >> reporter: mark says he ising that nightmare. he says he's a good neighbor trapped next to a hellhole. >> mark you can see the problems that started here with overgrown everything has seeped into his yard. we're now in his yard. you see these holes. >> reporter: mark says his home was once valued at $250,000. but he says that price plummeted during the crash to $68,000.

mark and his wife are desperate to refinance but -- >> i couldn't tell you where my house values because of this. >> reporter: next door a zombie house. he says it's in shambles neglected for years, he says. until he opened his own wallet to do damage control for the good of the otherwise lovely family-friendly neighborhood. >> so this is snake central, weeds, jungle everywhere. >> black widows, brown widows poisonous spiders. >> it's not just a dilapidated house, it's a jungle of spiders and snakes and everything that no one wants to live next to. >> right. >> this is the new surround of your home -- >> yes, the minute an appraiser comes out that's going to be the problem. >> reporter: mark says he's a prisoner, like so many living next to dilapidated wrecks languishing in foreclosure limbo. abandoned by the owner and often ignored by the bank for years. dying a slow painful death. >> it's logical. right?

you have a diamond, next door there's a disaster. >> reporter: here in florida there are more than 35,000 zombie homes. three times the national average. new jersey and new york are next. in new jersey alone, zombie foreclosures increasing 109% from just one year ago. like on "the walking dead," it takes just one zombie to terrorize a neighborhood. >> if you just have one zombie property in a neighborhood and there's ten properties for sale within a mile of that home or within half a mile of that home it's going to affect those homes. >> first house. >> reporter: real estate agent debbie paine thought she had seen it all until this. >> oh, man. oh my god. oh my god. this is where you don't -- >> does not smell good. >> what is that? >> mold. >> that is nasty. the water damage is all over the house.

actually kind of nauls yating. >> it is. >> you can see where the water here but no -- i don't know where the water's coming from. oh, this room -- >> nasty. what is in there? >> this is all the ceiling. >> what is this stuff? >> reporter: once owners vacate a home the bank is not obligated in many states to maintain it until foreclosure is done. that process can take years. >> there have been neighbors on this street living this house getting worse and worse for years. >> yes. >> years. >> yes. >> nothing they can do about it. >> no. >> reporter: mark says he tried to get help. >> just to find out who owned it. i got one answer machine to another answer machine. i never, ever actually spoke to a human being. >> reporter: so we tried to find out. property records tie the eyesore to deutsche bank national trust. they referred us to mortgage services bank of america. who referred us to select quote services who's not responded to a request for comment. not one has taken responsibility

for the condition of the home. >> this has a mold issue. >> reporter: someone once paid over $100,000 for this house. scary now, on debbie's first visit she brought protection and carried a gun. >> again that smell hits you. that is not good. oh my god, there's a chicken in here. two chickens. >> great. >> i thought the last house was bad. but this house has the mold has the chickens has the dog feces. it's bad. it's bad. it's bad. it's like -- i just want to vomit. >> reporter: debbie says this zombie needs to be killed with a bull dozer. our final stop, a zombie mansion. >> now zombies come in all shapes and sizes. >> reporter: once a pristine multi-million dollar lakefront home. once the crown jewel in an upscale neighborhood. >> squatters got in here. just vandals? >> looks like vandalism. >> every window smashed out.

this is horrible. this was a go >> reporter: previous owners are now in jail, convicted of fraud. >> there's glass everywhere. >> everywhere. >> they've taken all the copper from the air conditioners. >> so we've seen this before in homes. anything that has any value in a zombie house will be stripped. >> they take everything? >> yeah. you've got a shoe, someone ran out of here -- well i didn't think it could get worse after the chickens but it did. >> we've seen lights back there at night. >> reporter: neighbor donna describes strange sounds late at night. >> we don't know what's back there and that's frightening in a way. there's small children on this side, children on this side. and all of the neighbors are frightened by it. >> reporter: at homeowners meetings -- >> they address it with the bank. and the bank does nothing. >> what are we going to do about that house? >> right. >> and no answers from the bank? >> right. >> reporter: in a statement wells fargo, the bank associated with this so-called zombie

mansion, says it has not been able to maintain the property because the owners have taken action that has delayed the process, including filing multiple bankruptcies. >> it is clear that there are banks allowing properties to deteriorate. if it's insurance or any other reason, it's unacceptable. >> reporter: new york attorney general eric schneider man is proposing new legislation to hold banks accountable. >> our neighborhood protection act is going to give the banks every incentive to complete a foreclosure quickly because they are going to have to maintain the property. >> reporter: the banks are pushing back. the new york bankers association saying in a statement, lenders favor a different approach to the one the attorney general has promoted. his approach focuses on maintenance rather than the core problem, which is the length of time it takes to complete the foreclosure. for now, thousands of americans just like mark are stuck. >> something's not right. and i would like a few answers. and i think a lot of other people in this country are in the same boat as i am. >> reporter: for "nightline," gloria riviera, abc news,

orlando. up next when it's time to give birth mops are choosing new options in and out of the hospital. but are they safe? later, 50 years after "the sound of music" made movie history -- ♪ the hills are alive with the sound of music ♪ -- the real-life von trapps talk family history and modern updates. but i've managed. except that managing my symptoms was all i was doing. and when i finally told my doctor, he said humira is for adults like me who have tried other medications but still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe crohn's disease. and that in clinical studies the majority of patients on humira saw significant symptom relief. and many achieved remission. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections

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giving birth without painkillers. imagine choosing to do it without a roof over your head. a growing number of pregnant americans now making an extreme choice -- seizing control over how and where to deliver. they say it's only natural. but is it safe? >> reporter: it's the most primal act in a woman's life. and yet modern medicine has turned birthing into a sterile medical procedure. so more and more women are rejecting the cookie cutter approach in favor of a more personalized birth plan. some literally trekking into the wilderness to assure their babies are born in the wild. >> it is really pretty. >> reporter: peter and audrey byrd, whoin alaska, had a negative experience in the hospital with the birth of their 6-year-old son. >> my labor was full of fear. that's not something that i ever wanted to do again. >> reporter: for this baby they decided to go into the great outdoors. in a makeshift tent with no medical assistance. which became part of a new

lifetime series "born in the wild." >> we are about 100 miles from the nearest road. no power lines run to the property. no phone lines. we don't have a sewer system. >> it's just us. there's no neighbors. there's no other families nearby. so we are very isolated. >> reporter: while this may be extreme, more women are taking control of their labor and delivery, according to dr. jennifer ashton. >> we're certainly hearing a lot more about alternative births. in large measure that comes because women are growing more and more dissatisfied with what's being offered by their doctor. >> reporter: in suburban new jersey cheryl sodam is roughly 15 hours into labor. her plan, to give birth to the third child in this tub. with midwives on hand. and her husband all suited up and acting as birthing coach. >> if it works out i'm just going to catch the baby. >> if it goes flying out of your hands? >> yikes, where's my baseball

mitt? >> reporter: hours later, in the final stages of labor, cheryl changes her mind decides she wants to try pushing on the family sofa instead. her midwives judy and casey keep her comfortable. >> try and push, let's see what happens when you push. maybe the baby's ready. >> reporter: it's a priority for this family to have everyone in the house, including the kids and the family dog, involved in the birthing experience. even if they're unsure what to make of it all. >> is that the head? >> reporter: after 21 hours of birthing -- >> push, cheryl. >> reporter: a final push -- >> there. >> reporter: and a life emerges. >> it's a girl. >> reporter: the number of babies born in birding centers has increased more than 50% in the last decade. more top medical centers are offering their own natural birth options. >> the argument that a lot of women have about these alternative birthing practices is that there are less intervention asks that overall

is safer for the mother and the baby. >> reporter: in nashville, jennifer horn is about to undergo her third c-section. unlike before where a surgical drape cut her off from the action, this time she'll be able to see her baby being born. >> very excited. and nervous. >> reporter: anesthesiologist dr. sarah starr developed vanderbilt's guidelines for this innovative c-section. >> like threading a needle. >> great. thread it in. >> -- putting the ekg leads away from the front of the chest -- >> you can still monitor her heart rate from here but she can still have access to skin on skin later. >> that's right. >> reporter: this curtain with cut-out window will make all the difference. >> in a vaginal birth you don't see anything down there but you get to see the baby come out. >> oh i see the baby! >> reporter: making it less like a surgery and more like a birth that the mother can take part in.

>> oh honey! it's a beautiful sight, isn't it? >> congratulations. >> oh, beautiful! >> reporter: vanderbilt university medical center is one of a handful of u.s. hospitals that offer a wide variety of options for every kind of birth. another tweak in this birth process will allow the mom to snuggle the baby immediately after delivery. within moments of the baby's arrival -- >> sweet boy let's meet your mama. >> babies who have that skin to skin in the first hour have higher rates of breastfeeding. >> reporter: mother and son are already bonding. while on the other side of the curtain, the surgeons are still hard at work. >> you're still undergoing surgery, right jennifer? >> i'm more relaxed and calm right now. to have him with me. before, i was nervous. i don't even know the surgery's

still going on. >> it didn't occur to you, sorry, i shouldn't have mentioned it. >> okay, we have arrived at the hospital. >> reporter: in the same hospital mother to be glenna kramer is taking advantage of another unusual offering for pain relief. for her first baby it's still a natural child bird -- no epidural, no obstetrician, only a midwife and nurse. to ease the pain she enjoys the soothing benefits of a hot tub, an option not available to women attached to ivs. here's the twist. >> we've got glenna using nitrous during a contraction. >> reporter: nitrous, nitrous ox said, aka, laughing gas. the stuff they use at the dentist. she's using it to take the edge off. >> it more or less serves a purpose of calming me down and helping me relax and cope with the pain rather than taking the pain away. >> reporter: glenna believes by skipping the spinal-numbing anesthesia they won't be exposing her baby baby to the chemicals in the medication.

>> every contraction was i would say just as painful, just as intense without the nitrous oxide. >> good job. >> there he is. he's starting to crown, girl. you can see his head when you're pushing. here he comes. here he is. >> reporter: glenna is toughing it out without a scream. >> good girl. >> reporter: and within seconds after giving birth watch. >> grab your baby. >> go get him. >> reporter: she reaches down and picks up her newborn baby boy for the first time. cord still attached. >> he's a big one. >> be careful. >> okay. >> reporter: she is unsfetered by iv cables and lucid enough to do so. >> looks like a strong boy. >> glenna did so great, we have a beautiful baby boy. >> it's great to finally see him.

>> her head's almost out, her head's almost out! >> reporter: it's the exhilaration that inspires some women like audrey to skip the hospital entirely. >> she's beautiful. >> you did it you did it, you did it. >> oh, look at her. >> reporter: baby piper. kelsey grace. >> a lot of hard work. look at this. >> reporter: baby jude. >> you're beautiful. >> reporter: baby saideth. >> he really is beautiful. >> reporter: four mops four bundles of joy. each born on their own terms. >> so what do you think about home birds? head to our facebook page and let us know if hospitals or hot tubs or even the woods is the way to go. up next, we're with the real-life von trapp family on the 50th anniversary of "the sound of music." and back in the spotlight thanks to lady gaga at the oscars. ♪ then i don't feel so bad ♪

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let see. lady gaga, julie andrews, "the sound of music." these are a few of my favorite things. tonight on a very special anniversary, that movie classic is winning over a new generation of fans. you might be surprised to discover what the real-life von trapps have to say about it. ♪ the hills are alive ♪ >> reporter: the hills are still alive with the sound of music. the film debuted five decades ago enchanting generations.

at the oscars lady gaga paying tribute to the magic of julie andrews. ♪ the hills fill my heart with the sound of music ♪ >> reporter: andrews, then 29 years old, starred as marieamaria, a governess who captivates the von trapp family with her vice. ♪ silver white winters that melt into spring ♪ ♪ these are a few of my favorite things ♪ >> reporter: for one family it's more than a movie, it's based on their lives. the real maria had children. she was pregnant with johannes when the family thread nazi-occupied austria. they own a lodge on the same land they bought when they came to america. >> i'll look out did see someone pirouetting pretending they're julie andrews.

>> reporter: the von trapp great grandchildren have started their own band seen here singing. ♪ dancing in gold ♪ >> reporter: even as time passes, so many of us haven't said so long, farewell, to the film. ♪ so long farewell, auf wiedersehen ♪ good night. >> reporter: a classic that after 50 years still tugs at our hearts. thanks for watching abc news. tune into "good morning america" and as always we're online at abcnews.com. ♪turn around!♪ ♪every now and then i get a little bit hungry♪ ♪ and there's nothing really good around♪ ♪turn around!♪ ♪ every now and then i get a little bit tired of living off the taste of the air.♪ ♪tu ♪ i finally found the right snack!♪ now try fiber one protein bars with the great new taste of cookies and

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