He Ministry of Health has given important support to the opinion that give birth at home is safe When collecting in your newsletter a recently published study that concludes that, in low-risk pregnant women, giving birth at home is not associated with increased neonatal morbidity and mortality.
This study appeared in the "International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology" and focused on more than half a million deliveries in the Netherlands between 2000 and 2006.
No significant differences were found between births planned at home and those planned at the hospital. The figures for intrapartum death, neonatal death at 24 hours and 7 days, and admission of the baby to a neonatal ICU were similar counting only low-risk deliveries in the study.
This study is the largest one to date and the conclusion is that, contrary to what Dr. Bajo Arenas, President of the Spanish Obstetrics Association defends, home birth is a safe option.
These types of births are indicated for low-risk pregnant women as long as an adequate and quality system of maternity care and care is offered to carry out this practice.
The inclusion of this study in the bulletin of the Ministry of Health It is significant, since it is intended to be the means by which Spanish Health achieves better safety and user satisfaction rates, through information to professionals.
Many doctors will read that give birth at home is safe and they will have new information to consider that the Spanish system can and should change.
