Midwives condemn 'campaign against home births'

Researchers scare women into thinking home birth is not a safe option, says Royal College of MidwivesThe head of the Royal College of Midwives has condemned what she called a calculated campaign against home births intended to scare women into believing it was unsafe.Maternity services in the NHS were "embedded in a medicalised culture", meaning many women did not realise a home birth was a viable option, Cathy Warwick, general secretary of the organisation, said in a new year message.Speaking later on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Warwick said that many UK obstetricians and gynaecologists favoured the option of home birth. Asked who was spreading the anti-home birth message, she said: "Researchers from across the world, who seem to be collaborating with the media … publishing studies which suggest home birth is not safe and give the impression that hospital birth, on the other hand, is completely safe".These studies often...

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