20.04.12
Births at home and in midwifery units – safer and cheaper
New research suggests that more women should be given the chance to give birth at home or in midwifery units, improving their own health outcomes and saving NHS resources.
The study showed that for women who have previously given birth and who are at low risk of complications, planned home births were safe for the mother and baby, resulted in fewer expensive obstetric interventions and cost the NHS less than births in other settings.
Planned births in midwifery units were also safe and cost saving relative to planned birth in an obstetric unit.
TheUniversityofOxfordresearch – ‘Cost-Effectiveness of alternative planned places of birth in woman at low risk of complications: evidence from the Birthplace in England national prospective cohort study’ – was published in the BMJ.
Co-author of the study, Liz Schroder said: “At the time of the study, only half of the NHS Trusts inEnglandprovided women with access to a midwifery unit, and occupancy levels were often low. The findings of the Birthplace study may encourage women – particularly women having a second or subsequent baby – to request an ‘out of hospital’ birth. And the potential for cost savings could make offering women more choice an attractive option for the NHS.”
Louise Silverton, deputy general secretary of the Royal College of Midwives, said: “This and other research points out the substantial benefits of midwife led care; it is better for mothers and babies, it is better for midwives and it is better for the NHS.
“However, we are still seeing 96% of births taking place in hospitals and this underlines the need to make a fundamental change in the way we deliver maternity services in this country. The Government constantly tells us it wants more for less, and this is a shining example of how that can be delivered.”
The full paper is at www.bmj.com/cgi/doi/10.1136/bmj.e2292
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