Midwife shortage pushes home births to a 16-year low

 Home births have fallen to their lowest level in 16 years, new figures reveal, as health leaders say cuts to midwife numbers are restricting choice for parents.

Data from the Office for National Statistics shows that just 2.1 per cent of mothers gave birth at home in 2016, despite NHS efforts to encourage the practice.

When records began in the Sixties, almost a third of babies were born at home. But the figure has drastically fallen since then, dipping to the lowest level in the Eighties when it was about one in every 100 babies.

The figure rose slightly over time and by 2008, 2.9 per cent of babies had a home birth. In 2015, 2.3 per cent of mothers gave birth at home.

The last time the figure was at this level was in 2001. There is currently a shortage of at least 3,500 midwives, according to the Royal College of Midwives.

Louise Silverton, its director of midwifery, said: “We know many women are being denied this choice because of staffing shortages and resource issues, and this is not good enough. We need to ensure that those women who choose a home birth get the birth that they want.”