Women should be given more birth choices

LONDON (Reuters) – Women should be given choice over where
they give birth to allow labor to be as normal as possible,
according to proposals from Britain’s health guidance watchdog
on Friday.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
(NICE) said women should be allowed to decide whether they want
to give birth at home, in hospital or at specialist midwife
units and given more information to help them make that
decision.

“Our primary concern is to make birth as normal as possible
by reducing unnecessary medical interventions whilst ensuring
that babies and their mothers are as safe as possible during
and shortly after birth,” said NICE’s Deputy Chief Executive,
Andrea Sutcliffe.

The government is aiming to give pregnant women a full
range of choices by 2009 but critics say the system is too
inflexible and that most end up giving birth in hospitals.

The National Childcare Trust said currently just over 2
percent of women gave birth at home and many did not get
balanced information about the various risks.

The Royal College of Midwives also said there was a
shortage of midwives and that specialist units were being
closed because of financial problems.

“Women are entitled to have the best quality advice,”
Health Minister Ivan Lewis told BBC radio. “We have to trust
and respect women, give them the information and allow them to
make the best choice for themselves.”