Women and Birth
Volume 24, Issue 4 , Pages 148-155 , December 2011

Home birth and the National Australian Maternity Services Review: Too hot to handle?

  • H. Dahlen

      Affiliations

    • School of Nursing and Midwifery, Family and Community Health Group, University of Western Sydney, Australia
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author at: School of Nursing and Midwifery, College of Health and Science, University of Western Sydney, Building ER, Parramatta Campus, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South DC, NSW 1797, Australia. Tel.: +61 02 9685 9118; fax: +61 02 9685 9599.
    • ,
  • V. Schmied

      Affiliations

    • School of Nursing and Midwifery, Family and Community Health Group, University of Western Sydney, Australia
    • ,
  • S.K. Tracy

      Affiliations

    • University of Sydney & Royal Hospital for Women, Sydney, Australia
    • ,
  • M. Jackson

      Affiliations

    • School of Nursing and Midwifery, Family and Community Health Group, University of Western Sydney, Australia
    • ,
  • J. Cummings

      Affiliations

    • Nursing Research Unit, Sydney West Area, Health Service & University of Western Sydney, Australia
    • ,
  • H. Priddis

      Affiliations

    • School of Nursing and Midwifery, Family and Community Health Group, University of Western Sydney, Australia

Received 1 August 2010 ,Revised 13 October 2010 ,Accepted 14 October 2010.

References 

  1. Commonwealth of Australia. Improving Maternity Services in Australia: The report of the Maternity Services Review. Commonwealth of Australia; 2009.
  2. Laws P, Hilder L. Australian mothers and babies 2006. Sydney: AIHW National Perinatal Statistics Unit; 2009;
  3. QSR. NVivo 8. QRS. NVivo 8; 2007. Available from: http://wwwqsrinternationalcom/defaultaspx.
  4. Kildea S. Risky business: contested knowledge over safe birthing services for Aboriginal women. Health Sociology Review. 2006;15:387–396
  5. Green JM, Baston HA. Feeling in control during labour: concepts, correlates and consequences. Birth. 2003;30(4):235–247
  6. Hatem M, Sandall J, Devane D, Soltani H, Gates S. Midwifery-led versus other models of care delivery for childbearing women (review) (Publication no Art No: CD004667. doi:10.1002/14651858CD004667pub2) from John Wiley & Sons; 2008.
  7. Johnson KC, Daviss B. Outcomes of planned home births with certified professional midwives: large prospective study in North America. British Medical Journal. 2005;330:1416–1423
  8. Olsen O, Jewell MD. Home birth versus hospital birth (Cochrane Review). Issue 3 ed.. Oxford: Update Software; 2001;
  9. Olsen O. Meta-analysis of the safety of homebirth. Birth. 1997;24(1):4–13
  10. Murphy PA, Fullerton J. Outcomes of intended home births in nurse-midwifery practice: a prospective descriptive study. Obsterics and Gynecology. 1998;92(3):461–470
  11. Wiegers T, Keirse MJNC, van der Zee J. Outcome of planned home and hospital births in low risk pregnancies: prospective study in midwifery practice in the Netherlands. BMJ. 1996;313(7068):1309–1313
  12. de Jonge A, van der Goes B, Ravelli A, Amelink-Verburg M, Mol B, Nijhuis J, et al. Perinatal mortality and morbidity in a nationwide cohort of 529,688 low risk planned home and hospital births. British Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology. 2009;
  13. Janssen P, Saxell M, Page L, Klein M, Liston M, Lee S. Outcomes of planned home birth with registered midwife versus planned hospital birth with midwife or physician. Canadian Medical Association Journal. 2009;published at www.cmaj.ca on August 31, 2009
  14. Bastian H, Keirse MJ, Lancaster P. Perinatal death associated with planned home birth in Australia: population based study. BMJ. 1998;317(7155):384–388
  15. Symon A, Winter C, Inkster M, Donnan PT. Outcomes for births booked under an independent midwife and births in NHS maternity units: matched comparison study. British Medical Journal. 2009;338(2060):[online]
  16. Kennare RM, Keirse MJNC, Tucker GR, Chan AC. Planned home and hospital births in South Australia, 1991–2006: differences in outcomes. Medical Journal of Australia. 2010;192:76–80
  17. Dahlen H, Barclay L, Homer C. Preparing for the first birth: mothers’ experiences at home and in hospital in Australia. Journal of Perinatal Education. 2008;17(4):21–32
  18. Edwards N. Womens decision making around homebirth. AIMS Journal. 1997;8(4):
  19. Newman LA. Why Planned attended homebirth should be more widely supported in Australia. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 2008;48:450–453
  20. Freeze RAS. Unassisted childbirth in North America. Iowa: Graduate College of the University of Iowa; 2008;

PII: S1871-5192(10)00075-2

doi: 10.1016/j.wombi.2010.10.002

Women and Birth
Volume 24, Issue 4 , Pages 148-155 , December 2011

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