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BY MALLORY PERRYMAN


British media outlets call it a landmark study-- and the results may help answer the question every pregnant woman asks-- where’s the safest place to deliver?

The Telegraph reports, researchers studied almost 65,000 births in England and found...

“First-time mothers who opt for a home birth are almost three times more likely to suffer complications than if they go to hospital... However the research found that women having their second or third babies, who were [classified] as low risk, were just as safe at home or in a midwife-only unit...”

But from a statistical standpoint-- the percentage of complicated births was fairly low regardless of where moms delivered-- leaving media outlets a variety of stats to focus on.

At The Independent it’s: “Home as safe as hospitals for second births”

Compared to the Scotsman: “Risk triples for babies if first-time mothers choose home birth”

And then-- there’s the plug for midwives at the Nursing Times: “Evidence backs safety and cost effectiveness of mid-wife led units”

Midwife-led birthing centers are available in only half of the National Health Service areas in England. A blogger for Made for Mums suggests...

“The clear benefit of midwife-led care has prompted further calls for the Government to provide more local amenities and to increase options for home birth.”

But in a report for the Huffington Post UK-- Melanie Batey says-- even if the numbers are close, giving birth in a hospital is still safer-- so-- why does the National Health Service push for home births?

“For one, it costs the NHS more money and resources for women to have their babies in the hospital. Maybe they've been told to do everything they can to keep costs down. Secondly, maternity care in this country is lead by midwives who on the whole are heavily biased toward ‘natural’ birth.”

Finally-- midwife advocate Cathy Warwick tells the BBC-- maybe the takeaway point from the study is that soon-to-be-parents should know-- they’ve got options.

Cathy Warwick (Royal College of Midwives): “So it’s all a case of sort of balancing out the pros and cons and I think what we need to do is just really help women to make decisions that are right for them.”

According to the study, only 4% of births in England take place in the home.