The new research suggests women should consider their options carefully before opting for a home birth

The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology analysed 350,000 planned home births and more than 200,000 planned hospital deliveries taking place in North America and Europe.

The most common deaths among home births were found to be due to respiratory problems and failed resuscitations.

Many women opt for home births for various reasons, including personal comfort and less medical interventions. But The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has now called for pregnant women to consider the increased risk when planning their deliveries.

‘The finding that the consequences for the baby are more severe needs to be carefully considered by women, policy makers and care providers,’ says Professor Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran.

The study has however come under scrutiny from birthing associations.

Mervi Jokinen of The Royal College of Midwives is quick to highlight that the study used statistics from several countries and may not be entirely relevant to UK, where midwives are highly skilled and less than 3% of births are home-based.

Mary Newburn from The National Childbirth Trust says their research does not concur with the American study.

‘Although the quality of comparative evidence on safety of home birth is poor, there is no evidence that for women with a low risk of complications the likelihood of a baby dying during or shortly after labour is any higher if they plan for a home birth compared with planning a hospital birth,’ she says.

The Department of Health will publish its own independent research next year.

Jessica Whiteley