Will hospital deliveries soon be a has-been in Britain? We can ask ourselves the question after the recommendation of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice), the high health authority across the Channel, for pregnant women. For those who have already had a child and whose pregnancy does not present a foreseeable risk, Nice recommends childbirth at home or in a midwife’s office (somewhat equivalent to birthing centers in France, editor’s note).
A simple suggestion, but supported by many arguments on the site of the British health authority, spotted by Le Figaro: “There is scientific evidence showing that a childbirth under the authority of a midwife is safer than the hospital for a woman without risk of complications. The rate of interventions, such as the use of forceps or epidurals, is lower without the health of the baby being adversely affected “. As for home births, they can be done in a completely secure way, adds Nice. These deliveries “ensure the same health security as the services managed by midwives”.
Pregnant women “at risk”: over 35, overweight or obesity, hypertension, etc. are not affected by these recommendations. They must continue to give birth in the hospital.
Experienced birth centers in France
In France, the debate on childbirth at home or in hospital does not respond to the news as in Great Britain. A law authorizes the experimentation for five years of birth centers, defined as “a structure where midwives carry out the delivery of pregnant women for whom they have ensured the pregnancy follow-up”. If the house is not a hospital, it must all the same be backed up “to a structure authorized for the activity of gynecology and obstetrics”, specifies the text of the law.
It is estimated that only 1% of French women choose home birth.
>> To read also: Birthing centers on trial
