Give birth at home to save NHS money research finds

Give birth at home to save the NHS money, finds a new study published on bmj.com today.

Women who have already had a baby and are at a low risk of complications, should be given the opportunity to have their baby born at home, the study says.

The research from the University of Oxford, finds that this will be safe for the baby and will save the NHS money.

Researchers examined 64,000 births between 2008 and 2010 from across England.

They looked at both women who had given birth before and first time mums.

The costs of planned births at obstetric units, midwifery units (with an obstetric unit in the same hospital) free-standing midwifery units and homes were totted up.

This included the midwife, pain relief, medical care and costs of staying in a hospital or neonatal unit directly after the birth.

Extra costs for planned home delivery and midwifery units where mothers were transferred into hospital during labour or the birth were also included.

Final results showed that for women who had already given birth and were at a low-risk of complications, home birth could result in fewer interventions and save the NHS money.

Costs were found to be £1,142 per woman giving birth in an obstetric unit, compared to £780 for a woman giving borth at home.

But planned birth at home, whilst being cost saving, was associated with poorer outcomes for the baby.

Co-author of the study, Liz Schroder said: “At the time of the study, only half of the NHS Trusts in England provided women with access to a midwifery unit, and occupancy levels were often low. The findings of the Birthplace study may encourage women – particularly women having a second or subsequent baby – to request an ‘out of hospital’ birth. And the potential for cost savings could make offering women more choice an attractive option for the NHS.”