Mode of birth and medical interventions among women at low risk of complications : a cross-national comparison of birth settings in England and the Netherlands

Objectives: To compare mode of birth and medical interventions between broadly equivalent birth settings in England and the Netherlands. Methods: Data were combined from the Birthplace study in England (from April 2008 to April 2010) and the National Perinatal Register in the Netherlands (2009). Low risk women in England planning birth at home (16,470) or in freestanding midwifery units (11,133) were compared with Dutch women with planned home births (40,468). Low risk English women with births planned in alongside midwifery units (16,418) or obstetric units (19,096) were compared with Dutch w... Mehr ...