Planned Home Birth in Low-Risk Pregnancies in Spain: A Descriptive Study

Trinidad M. Galera-Barbero and Gabriel Aguilera-Manrique
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Trinidad M. Galera-Barbero: Department of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Almería, 04120 Almería, Spain
Gabriel Aguilera-Manrique: Research Group for Health Sciences CST-451, University of Almería, 04120 Almería, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 7, 1-13

Abstract: Previous studies have shown that planned home birth in low-risk pregnancies is a generally safe option. However nowadays, only 0.5 percent of deliveries have been at home in Spain. This study sought to understand the characteristics of planned home births with qualified healthcare professionals in low-risk pregnancies and their results on maternal and neonatal health in the Balearic Islands. The study followed a retrospective descriptive design to investigate planned home births from 1989 to 2019 ( n = 820). Sociodemographic data of women, healthcare professional intervention rates, and maternal/fetal morbidity/mortality results were collected. Statistical analysis of the results was performed using the IBM SPSS Version 25 software package. The results indicated that women with low-risk pregnancies who planned home births with a qualified midwife had a higher probability of spontaneous vaginal birth delivery and positive maternal health results. Furthermore, the risk of hospital transfer was low (10.7%) and the rate of prolonged breastfeeding (>1 year) was extremely high (99%). Moreover, the study showed that planned home births can be generally associated with fetal well-being. The conclusions and implications of this study are that planned home births in low-risk pregnancies attended by qualified midwives in the Balearic Islands achieve positive results in both maternal and newborn health, as well as low rates of obstetric intervention.

Keywords: low-risk pregnancy; maternal outcomes; midwife; newborn outcomes; obstetric interventions; planned home birth (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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