CLAHRC West Midlands
Information about your options for where you can choose to have
your first baby
Birth is generally very safe for women at low risk of complications and their babies. These diagrams
show outcomes for babies when birth is planned in different settings. In each case, the green circles
represent a baby born healthy, and the blue circles represent a baby with a poor outcome, meaning
that the baby was injured, seriously ill or died during or just after birth. These outcomes are very rare
amongst healthy women who are at low risk of complications, but they can happen in any birth
setting. For women expecting their first baby, a poor outcome, whilst still uncommon, is more likely
for planned home births.
Birth planned in Birth Centre
The Birth Centre is next to Delivery Suite, and is a relaxing home-from-home setting in the hospital, run by midwives.
Birth planned in Delivery Suite
Delivery Suite is generally for more complex pregnancies and looks and feels more like a hospital. There you will be
cared for by a midwife, as well as a doctor if needed.
Birth planned at home
At home, you will be cared for by a midwife from the Homebirth team, who will help you to prepare for your baby’s
birth and afterwards will leave your home as it was before birth.
The orange outline shows that 4 more babies per 1000 have a poor outcome, compared to planned first birth in a Delivery Suite.
What are the chances of medical interventions in the different
places for women having their first baby?
Having your baby in the Birth Centre is as safe as having it in Delivery Suite. However, there is a
slightly increased chance of the baby having problems if you plan to have your baby at home, with an
increase of problems in 9 out of 1000 babies compared to 5 out of 1000 babies in the Birth Centre or
Delivery Suite. You’re more likely to have a normal birth with fewer difficulties and better recovery in
the Birth Centre or at home and less likely to have a Caesarean section. Women giving birth in the
Birth Centre or at home generally have lower intervention rates and are more likely to use a birth
pool in labour.
Normal Birth
Labour in
water
69%
11%
22%
24%
Epidural
Episiotomy
Caesarean
section
37%
79%
77%
49%
Home
35%
17%
22%
24%
Birth Centre
Delivery
Suite
8%
8%
12%
Normal birth is birth that
occurs naturally, without
any medical interventions
and without the need for
general, spinal or epidural
anaesthetic before or
during delivery.
An episiotomy is a surgical
incision made in the area
between the vagina and
anus (perineum) to prevent
tearing during the delivery
of the baby.
What are the chances of being transferred to Delivery Suite from
home or the Birth Centre?
Of every 100 women planning to have their first baby at home or in the Birth Centre, about 40 (or
40%) are transferred to Delivery Suite during labour or immediately after birth. If this happens, it is
usually because labour is taking longer than expected, and seldom because of an emergency.
For those women who are transferred into Delivery Suite, the most common reasons are due to:
 Delays during labour (around 1 in 3 women)
 Meconium staining* (around 1 in 10 women)
 Women needing stitches (around 1 in 10 women)
 Epidurals (around 1 in 10 women)
 Problems with the baby’s heart rate (around 1 in 10 women)
*Meconium staining is when a greenish fluid is passed as a bowel movement while the baby is still in the
womb, staining the amniotic fluid.
For further details about the information provided, please contact one of the ‘Place of Birth Lead’
midwives at the following community teams: Charlotte Road team: 0121 444 4758; Quinton Lane
team: 07970 205790; Stratford Road team: 01212559208; Weoley Castle team: 0121 483 2134
This resource for midwives has been developed by the CLAHRC WM Maternity and Child Health Theme at the University
of Birmingham and midwives from Birmingham Women’s NHS Foundation Trust.
© 2016 Birmingham Women’s NHS Foundation Trust and University of Birmingham. All rights reserved.