Mothers warn of cut in home births by stealth

Published on Friday 12 August 2011 12:37

MOTHERS have launched a defiant fight back over threats to home birth services which could deny women the choice of where to have their baby.

Hundreds of women have joined an online campaign to protect their rights to give birth at home after suggestions the service could be closed in parts of Scotland. The move follows a significant decrease in women choosing to have home births, alongside health boards looking to save money.

But parents, midwives and campaigners say they're outraged at attempts to undermine services, writing to health officials and ministers to demand they are protected.

It comes after NHS Fife last month suggested home births could be stopped as one of a number of options being considered in a review of the service as part of efficiency savings across the board.

NHS Lanarkshire - with only five home births last year - has also said it is keeping its service under review after a drop in demand.

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) and the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) voiced fears that if one area succeeded in ending home births, others would follow.

Belinda Phipps, chief executive of the NCT, questioned figures suggesting fewer women wanted a home birth.

"You can reduce the numbers of women wanting home births by not offering it to them, which is what happens," she said.

Phipps said she was concerned that if Fife or other areas succeeded in stopping home births services, other parts of Scotland would follow.

Gillian Smith, RCM Scotland director, said if home births were removed, they had fears women who wanted to have their baby at home would do so regardless, leading to risky, unplanned deliveries.

"The worst thing for me would be they stop the home birth service, then women who want a home birth stay at home and at the very last minute call for help," she said.

Smith said withdrawing home births was withdrawing choice from women, even if only a small number of women wanted to use this service.

And she also voiced concerns that the axing of home birth services could spread.

"I think if Fife get away with it then it will be a rolling progress," Smith said. "And in the scheme of things, any money saved would be pennies."

Smith said she would write to Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon with her concerns.

A Facebook group - Right to Home Birth for Parents of Fife - has almost 400 supporters concerned changes to services in the area.

Jane Shevas, who helped set up the campaign, said they had so far failed to get a clear response from the health board about their intentions for the home birth service.

"Women across the country should have the choice of three places to give birth - an obstetric unit, a midwife led unit or home," she said.

"We really feel women should have the choice to give birth at home. It is very unjust if that option is removed."

Shevas, who runs a home birth support group, said she would dispute the suggestion there was a decline in women wanting home births, saying many might opt to pay for an independent midwife's services to get more one-on-one care.

While the percentage of home births in Scotland has increased since the 1990s - now believed to stand at around 0.6 per cent of all births, or around 350 a year - some areas have seen steep declines.

NHS Fife said it did not currently have a date for stopping home births, but pointed to falling use of the service.

A spokeswoman said: "Over recent years the numbers of women requesting home births has been falling. Last year 39 home births took place and only ten are booked for this year.

"The majority of women transfer home after six hours into the care of the community maternity teams, that coupled with the numbers of women choosing to give birth in our midwife-led unit and the falling number of home birth requests has led to our review of our home birth service." NHS Lanarkshire has also seen a dramatic drop in demand for home births - in 2008 the region saw 40 home births, dropping to 17 in 2009 and just five in 2010.

An NHS Lanarkshire spokesman said: "NHS Lanarkshire can arrange a home birth as part of the on-call arrangements of the midwifery service. Given the year-on-year reduction, the service is being kept under review."

Elsewhere in Scotland health boards said they had no current plans to change home birth services.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "Our Refreshed Framework for Maternity Care outlines the services we expect to be in place for woman and babies and the home birth option is included in this.

"NHS Fife will provide the service for women who have already registered for it and we expect them to continue to provide the service, when clinically appropriate, for those who request it."