Midwives condemn home-birth backlash

Tuesday August 17th, 2010

A midwife leader has launched a strong defence of home births amid concern of a global movement against them.

There is a "concerted backlash" against midwife care, according to Professor Cathy Warwick, general secretary of the Royal College of Midwives.

She spoke out after an international study seemed to show an increased risk for babies born at home. This led The Lancet to publish an editorial criticising mothers for allegedly putting their own welfare before the baby's.

Professor Warwick said the latest research was "flawed".

She said: "What shocked us about The Lancet editorial about homebirth was its language and tone and how it pumped the hype about the dangers of home-birth, and made sweeping and misogynistic statements, such as 'Women do not have the right to put their baby at risk.'"

She added: "The publication of evidence with flaws is being used globally to deter women from choosing midwifery-led options, such as homebirth, and to pathologise and demonise normal childbirth.

"No mother would ever put her baby at risk and there is no evidence base to suggest that having a homebirth deliberately puts a baby at risk."

She gained backing from several international experts.

Professor Simone Buitendijk, of the University of Amsterdam Medical Centre, Holland, said she had reported the largest study so far of home-births, based on half a million births in her country.

This had shown no additional risk to babies when the birth was known to be low-risk - and was reported last year in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

She said: "In my opinion, the present state of scientific evidence supports the practice of providing low risk women with a choice of a birth in their own home."

Tags: Childbirth and Pregnancy | Europe | Nursing & Midwifery | UK News | Women’s Health & Gynaecology | World Health

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