The dangers of planned hospital births.

Hospital birth* has not undergone rigorous scientific scrutiny, yet is commonly believed to be safer than planned homebirth, even for low-risk women. A commonly promoted notion is that there are rare complications, which can arise at birth, making a hospital birth safer for low-risk women. There is no published research to support this notion. Where trained and equipped birth attendants are available, and hospital transfer is closer than 30-45 minutes, a planned, attended homebirth is safer for low-risk women than a planned hospital birth. Currently available published research suggests planning a hospital birth is not safer than planning an attended homebirth for women with one head-down fetus, between 37-42 weeks, no high blood pressure, no previous cesareans and no serious medical conditions that affect pregnancy outcome.