US study on home birth response

The recent study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology on the safety of home birth has been called into question by the charity.  

The US analysis claimed that there is a three-times greater risk of death among babies without congenital anomalies planned to be born at home. The researchers argued that the safety of home births may have previously been overplayed by the fact that when there are complications and a woman is rushed to hospital, any adverse outcome is recorded as a hospital birth.

However NCT believes that there are a range of serious methodological limitations in this study and that the conclusion drawn is completely unjustifiable.   

Today Mary Newburn, Head of Research and Information, NCT, has responded with an article on the limitations of this study in the Guardian's Comment is Free section.   

Please find the link to the article here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jul/08/home-birth-risk-babies-die  

NCT has also provided a critique of the study for those interested in reading further about the analysis. It is available to read here: http://www.nct.org.uk/about-us/what-we-do/policy/choiceofplaceofbirth