Homebirth Service receives Official Launch

On Monday 7 July, the West Midlands, first dedicated homebirth service wasHB Launch 3 officially launched and we were delighted to welcome Cathy Warwick, Chief Executive of the Royal College of Midwives to attend the launch.

The service, which has now been up and running since April 2014, was commissioned by Birmingham South Central CCG and is the first of its kind in the West Midlands. If the pilot is successful, more Maternity Units across the region will be developing their own dedicated service.

Whilst homebirth has always been an option for women with no complexities in their pregnancy, it hasn’t necessarily been encouraged because more women have felt that it is safer to give birth in hospital. However, evidence from the recent place of birth study has shown that homebirth is as safe an option as hospital for women having their second child who have a normal pregnancy.

Recent statistics have shown that the numbers of homebirths in the UK have fallen over the years and have been at just 1% in Birmingham which is lower than the national average. The Homebirth Service aims to increase the number of births by 3% over the next three years.

The Homebirth Team is led by Consultant Midwife, Sarah Noble, she explained,

“The benefits for second time mothers are that they have better outcomes at home. They have a higher chance of a normal birth and are five times less likely to have a Caesarean Section and four times less likely to have any interventions. Homebirth is safe for mother and baby and we actively encourage all women who have had a baby before, and who do not have any medical complications, to consider homebirth as a preferred choice. Since the service started we have seen an increase homebirth and the feedback from women has been extremely positive.”

Dr Clare Elliott from Birmingham South Central CCG (Clinical Commissioning Group) which funds the service, explained the reason behind the pilot,

“The reasons behind the pilot are simple and compelling – offering a dedicated Home Birth service not only increases the birth options available to women, but extends home birth as a ‘choice’ to a wider group of women who in the past may not have considered this a realistic option. As a practising GP and the clinical commissioning lead I am focused on patient safety and patient experience and in both these respects the evidence is clear; home birth is safe for low risk women, results in less medical intervention and is associated with high levels of patient satisfaction ; this is why BSC CCG is totally committed to working with Birmingham Women’s Hospital to set up a dedicated home birth service and we are excited and proud to be commissioning this service.”

Chief Executive of the Royal College of Midwives, Cathy Warwick was instrumental in setting up a homebirth service whilst at Kings College Hospital in London and has always been very positive about promoting women centred care, she commented,

“I take my hat off to Birmingham Women’s Hospital and the Commissioners who are offering homebirth as a real choice for women. Homebirth is not only about a woman’s choice but also the midwives and commissioners support for women to have this choice. I believe I now have some work to do to spread the word about the excellent service!”