Hospital the sole option for Emma and Paul
Information key to decision
WHERE to give birth is a matter of informed choice says community midwife Louise Wilde.
“As long as there is no risk to the mother or baby and there have been no complications then there is no reason why a woman cannot have a home birth or use the birth centre,” she says. “It is all about ensuring they have the right information and we have done specific checks.”
The birth centre, based at Birmingham Women’s Hospital, aims to be a halfway house between home and hospital birth.
“It aims to be like a home setting,” says Louise. “It is staffed by midwives rather than doctors and everyone has little private rooms and one-to-one care.”
With only six rooms, demand can be high but staff aim to ensure new mums and their babies are able to return home within six to eight hours after giving birth, freeing up the rooms for other families.
For some families, though, the delivery suite is the best option - particularly if there is any risk of complications.
Louise says staff also work hard to ensure that the majority of women requesting home births are able to do so.
“We double up and have a team of four with two midwives needed at a home birth so in most cases we have enough staff,” she says.
The team is keen to promote the options so that mums do have a full choice. And Louise is undertaking research for the Government into home births and their prevalence. “We actually have fewer home births than many other areas but I think that is because we have the birth centre,” she adds.
