Free birthing is dangerous say medics amid rise in home delivery
Several NHS trusts say they are concerned over trend but will not make visits to women in labour
FREE BIRTHING can be dangerous, doctors have warned, amid a rise of women giving birth without medical assistance.
Health leaders have issued a warning after a rising number of free births since the pandemic. Several NHS hospital leaders have also highlighted their concerns at board meetings, with one hospital trust declaring it would not send a midwife if mothers-to-be changed their minds at the last moment.
While the number of free births is not recorded, the number of births at home, which includes both free birthing and callouts of a midwife to help, are recorded. The figures show an increase in home births, from 2.1 per cent of births between 2016 and 2019, to 2.5 per cent in 2021, said the Health Service
Journal. This is about 17,400 of the 694,685 babies born in 2021.
The pandemic is thought to have exacerbated the free-birthing trend, because midwives were temporarily banned from visiting pregnant women’s homes to deliver babies.
However, there is also a growing number of social media pages, hashtags and influencers giving out advice to expectant mothers on free births.
It comes after doctors questioning the “ideologically driven” push for natural births.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) said that women should be supported to have the birth they choose but “safety is paramount” and families need to be aware of the risks of going it alone.
Unassisted births are not illegal and women have the right to decline any care during their pregnancy and delivery, however it is illegal not to register the birth of a child.
Prof Asma Khalil, the vice president of RCOG, said: “Women opting for unassisted births need awareness of the potential challenges and delays in accessing medical assistance if complications arise, as emergency intervention may be necessary, even for those at low risk.”
She said that there was evidence that “a home birth slightly increase[s] the risk of a poor outcome for” a woman’s first baby.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council, the regulator, said that it was in the “early stages of collaboration” with colleagues across the profession. The Royal College of Midwives has also confirmed it is looking at the issue.
It said “midwives are understandably concerned about women giving birth at home without assistance, as it brings with it increased risks to both the mother and baby”.
The Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust now tells women that they will need to go to hospital if they need help.
A spokesman for the trust said: “If we are contacted to help a woman in labour, we will assess the best way for her to come to the hospital and support the process to achieve safe transfer.”
Several other hospital trusts, including in Somerset, Rotherham and Derby, have raised the subject of free-birthing trends in board papers and meetings.