Home birth as safe as hospital birth

Released on 15/04/2009

NCT press statement

Embargo: 00.01hrs 15 April 2009 

NCT Statement on Dutch Home Birth Study

Today the British Journal of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (BJOG) published a study based in the Netherlands to compare perinatal mortality and severe perinatal morbidity between planned home and planned hospital births, among low-risk women who started their labour in primary care. 

During a seven year study, a total of 529,688 low-risk women were in primary midwife-led care at the onset of labour. Of these, 321,307 (60.7%) intended to give birth at home, 163,261 (30.8%) planned to give birth in hospital and for 45,120 (8.5%) the intended place of birth was unknown. 

The study found that planning a home birth does not increase the risks of perinatal mortality and severe perinatal morbidity among low-risk women, provided the maternity care system facilitates this choice through the availability of well-trained midwives and through a good transportation and referral system. 

Mary Newburn, Head of Research & Information, NCT, said;  

“This is a really important study on the safety of planned home birth and makes a significant contribution to the growing body of reassuring evidence that suggests offering women a choice of place of birth is entirely appropriate. 

The study’s strengths include the large number of women who took part - half a million - the high number of planned home births, and the accurate details of which women were still low-risk and planning a home birth at the start of labour (61%).  

In the UK, however, many women still find it difficult to access a home birth. There is a lack of balanced information and low midwifery staffing levels mean that the option of a home birth is either not being offered or services end up being withdrawn at short notice.
 

If the Government’s guarantee on choice of place of birth is to be offered to all women by the end of 2009, considerable work must be done to increase access to home birth. 

The finding that these planned home births in the Netherlands did not increase health risks among low-risk women and babies is relevant, but not directly transferable to the UK setting where geography and organisation of maternity services is different. However, the authors of the study acknowledge that further prospective studies are still needed, i.e. studies that follow women forward in time during their pregnancy, labour and postnatal care, rather than looking at previously collected data.” 

ENDS 

References

De Jonge A, van der Goes B, Ravelli A, Amelink-Verburg M, Mol B, Nijhuis J, Gravenhorst J, Buitendijk S. Perinatal mortality and morbidity in a nationwide cohort of 529,688 low-risk planned home and hospital births. BJOG 2009;116:18. 

 Letter in the Times - In response to Melanie Reid's article in the Times, the NCT published a letter. Please view here .

For further press information contact NCT Press Office on 020 8752 2404 or email press@nct.org.uk  For out of hours, please call 07722 839 428.  The NCT has ISDN line on 020 8992 6499 – please call Press Office first to book.