The largest study of its kind has found that for low-risk women, giving birth at home is as safe as doing so in hospital with a midwife. Research from the Netherlands - which has a high rate of home births - found no difference in death rates of either mothers or babies in 530,000 births. Home births have long been debated amid concerns about their safety. UK obstetricians welcomed the study - published in the journal BJOG.
The research was carried out in the Netherlands after figures showed the country had one of the highest rates in Europe of babies dying during or just after birth. It was suggested that home births could be a factor, as Dutch women are able and encouraged to choose this option. One third do so. But a comparison of "low-risk" women who planned to give birth at home with those who planned to give birth in hospital with a midwife found no difference in death or serious illness among either baby or mother. "
In the UK, the government has pledged to give all women the option of a home birth by the end of this year.
No comments:
Post a Comment