News

26th April 2004

Home births are as safe as hospital births, says Royal College of Midwives

Following recent news stories about the tragic death of a baby whose parents refused assistance from midwives during a planned home birth, the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has reassured parents-to-be that home births are just as safe as hospital births.

Dame Karlene Davies, General Secretary of the RCM, said that the outcomes of planned home births are at least as good as those of hospital births. She went on to add that for many women home birth may even be the safer option as it reduces the likelihood of medical interventions, which interfere with the natural process of labour and delivery.

Around two per cent of babies in the UK are delivered at home, and it is generally assumed that the majority of women will give birth in hospital. However, Dame Karlene stressed the positive aspects of home birth. 'Birth is one of the most important events in a woman's and her partner's life,' she said. 'The birth of a child is a family event and yet too often babies are brought into this world outside of the family environment. The home environment facilitates physiological processes and emotional experiences of birth. Yet in the UK today, the overriding direction is for birth to take place not at home but within an environment normally associated with illness and disease.'

There is plenty of evidence to support the view that home birth can be a beneficial choice for women for labour and delivery. In 1994/5, a study of around 6000 home births and 6000 hospital births by the National Birthday Trust Fund found that women opting for home birth had a lower risk of caesarean section, ventouse or forceps delivery, as well as being less likely to suffer from postpartum haemorrhage. The babies born at home were also less likely to receive birth injuries or need resuscitation.

Dame Karlene pointed out that currently home births are widely available to women in some areas of the country but not in others, despite the Government's policy to offer choice to users of NHS services. 'The RCM wants to see greater choice for women in all parts of the country, with home birth being fully integrated into the NHS,' she said.

• Thinking about having your baby at home? Find out more
• Read Lonnie's homebirth story
• Have you had a homebirth? Tell us your story in Your shout