This paper is only available as a PDF. To read, Please Download here.
Background
The majority of Australian women birth in a hospital, with approximately 1% of women
having a homebirth. There are currently 15 publicly-funded homebirth services in Australia.
The clinical outcomes of homebirth services are rarely reported.
Aim
To report maternal and neonatal outcomes of the first ten years of operation of a
single publicly funded homebirth program in a large metropolitan health service in
Australia, 2009-2019.
Methods
Retrospective analysis of clinical outcome data of women and their babies who intended
to have a homebirth. Case records of all women (n=827) who were identified as wanting
a homebirth were included. Maternal, birth, and neonatal outcomes were compared for:
(a) women who birthed at home; and (b) those who were referred to the program but
did not birth at home. Descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests were conducted.
Results
Of the 827 women seeking homebirth, 621 remained eligible at 36 weeks’ gestation,
562 commenced labour at home, and 483 birthed at home. The women who had a homebirth
were more likely to be multiparous, be married or in a de facto relationship, have
a normal vaginal birth, have an intact perineum, and less likely to require suturing
compared to those who wanted a homebirth but gave birth in hospital. Infants born
at home were less likely to require resuscitation and to be of low birth weight, and
more likely to be exclusively breastfed in the early days after birth than the infants
born in hospital. There was one neonatal death of a baby born at home before arrival
of a midwife.
Conclusion
The outcomes for women accepted into the publicly funded homebirth program are reassuring
and suggest appropriate triaging and case selection. A publicly funded homebirth program,
with appropriate governance and clinical guidelines, is a safe option for women experiencing
low-risk pregnancies.
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Women and BirthAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
Article info
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 Published by Elsevier Inc.
