Would you give birth at home?

A growing number of expectant mothers are choosing to give birth at home instead of hospital.

According to the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) three per cent of women are now opting to go into labour in the comfort of their own home - twice as many women as ten years ago.

There appear to be several reasons behind the increase. Firstly, mothers who give birth at home are more likely to have built up a relationship with the midwife who delivers their baby because they are assigned a specific midwife in advance.

According to the NCT, 99 per cent of mothers who give birth at home know the midwife who delivers their baby, compared to just 25 per cent in hospitals. Most hospital midwives look after two to three women at a time, whereas at home each woman receives support from two midwives during delivery.

For many women the idea of giving birth in their own environment also makes the prospect of labour far less terrifying. Many say having a midwife at home feels like a friend visiting rather than having an authoritarian figure standing over the birth.

Also, recent scares over dirty hospital wards - particularly concerning the MRSA super bug - have encouraged more expectant mothers to opt for home births. The bug - which is resistant to treatment with most antibiotics - thrives in many hospitals partly because doctors and nurses are not following basic hygiene rules, such as washing their hands between patients.

There are also concerns among expectant mothers over the number of Caesareans being performed in hospitals. One in five women now have Caesareans.

The NCT claims this increase is due to understaffing and medics' fear of litigation if things go wrong during a natural birth. Women booked to have their baby at home are less likely to have a Caesarean, because the operation can not be performed at home.

A recent survey by the National Childbirth Trust also revealed that 70 per cent of mothers were unhappy with the after-care they received in hospital.

Another study revealed that one in ten mothers thought that the maternity staff in hospitals behaved incompetently.

By contrast, women who have experienced both hospital and home births feel more satisfied with the care they received at home.

Mary Newburn, head of policy research at the National Childbirth Trust believes that home births gives mothers important psychological advantages. She said: 'In order for a woman's body to work well during birth, she needs to be relaxed.

'The luxury of getting into your own bath and bed, without the emotional upheaval of being separated from your partner or other children, cannot be underestimated.'

But is home birth safe? Research shows that home birth is as safe as hospital birth for healthy women demonstrating a straightforward pregnancy. However, women with diabetes, a history of heart problems, mental instability or previous abdominal operations are discouraged from home births.

The biggest worry for women giving birth at home is if a complication occurs. If this happens, the mother is transferred to hospital. The main reasons for deciding to transfer are a long labour - where the mother tires - or concerns about the baby's position in the birth channel.

The chance of needing to transfer to hospital is quite high for first-time mothers - about three in ten. For second-time mums, the chances are much lower - between one and twelve out of every hundred.

Although some GPs are opposed to home births - despite the Government's 'Changing Childbirth' policy introduced five years ago to encourage women to get the maternity care that suited them -it is every woman's right to ask for a NHS home birth. If your doctor won't support a home birth, the NCT suggests contacting the head of midwifery at your local hospital, or the community midwifery manager.

In most areas, midwives are supportive of a woman's choice to have her baby at home and will try to provide a home birth service. It is not necessary to have a doctor's referral or involvement - a midwife is trained in all aspects of birth and can arrange scans and blood tests at her hospital.