The Government backed organisation NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) has issued guidance that it may be safer to give birth at home or in a midwifery unit if you have a low risk pregnancy. I’m not sure you can ever say a pregnancy is low risk until the baby has been delivered.
I feel duty bound to issue a word of caution – if you give birth at home or in a stand alone unit, you are potentially a long way from medical help if something does go wrong. In my experience, a few minutes can make a critical difference – any delay in getting medical help may make the difference between having a child who is healthy and a child who is seriously brain damaged.
A wise doctor once said to me that the statistical risk may be small but you are a person not a statistic. If something goes wrong it can affect you 100%
The following article appeared in The Times last week – it is well worth a read: