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Home birthing: mums or money first?
If true, this means a change from current policy, under which medical professionals had been actively encouraging us mums to head to a hospital. The change seems to have come about after changes in National Institute for Clinical Excellent (NICE) guidelines.
NICE, reports the Mail, wants midwives and medical professionals now to advise ‘low-risk women who have already had at least one child’ to ‘plan to give birth either at home or in a midwife-led unit’. Midwives should now advise all ‘low risk women who are expecting their first baby to plan to give birth in a midwife-led unit.’
However, this seems to have left some feeling that the changes stem from the current midwifery shortfall and are not, in fact, based on the needs of mums and their babies. Could it be that the real story is about saving money?
The Mail cites studies that show that the average home birth costs the taxpayer £1,066, compared with £1,450 at midwife-led centres and £1,631 in hospital. Now, everyone knows that the NHS needs to cut costs, especially with births averaging 730,000 each year, 94% of them taking place in an NHS hospital.
With these super high birth rates, it’s obvious that labour and delivery suites across the country are bound to be suffering under the strain. If that strain can be relieved, and costs cut with no added risk to mums, surely it’s the right time for NICE to be rewriting its advice?
As you might expect, it’s that question of risk that has got the media, and some mums, up in arms.
Where the debate will go from here is uncertain: the only things that are for sure are that the problem of a rising birth rate isn’t going to go away soon – and that uncertainty is the last thing that anxious mums-to-be need.
Do you have any experiences of home birth? Was it great - or a nightmare? Let us know!
