Researchers from the University of Oxford compared the outcomes of children born to more than 64,000 women with low risk pregnancies across England just before, during, or shortly after birth, to the interventions used during labour.
The landmark Birthplace study - the first to study where women planned to give birth - found that overall there were no differences in outcomes for babies between any of the planned places of birth.
The women involved in the study either gave birth at home, in standalone midwifery units, midwife-led-units within a hospital, and maternity units.
The findings reveal that overall the rate of adverse outcomes was low in all birth settings. Serious adverse outcomes were considered as still birth, early neonatal death and a range of conditions associated with trauma at birth, or teh baby becoming distressed or being deprived of oxygen during labour.
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