Publicly funded homebirth in Australia: a review of maternal and neonatal outcomes over 6 years

Ieraci, Susan; Tuteur, Amy B

doi:10.5694/mja13.10863

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To the Editor: The analysis of publicly funded home births in Australia by Catling-Paull and colleagues1 contains some significant gaps that require clarification. Without accurate information, women may not be fully informed about their childbirth choices.

1 Emergency Department, Bankstown Hospital, Sydney, NSW.
2 Boston, Mass, USA.

Correspondence: sieraci@ozemail.com.au

Competing interests:

No relevant disclosures.

1. Catling-Paull C, Coddington RL, Foureur MJ, Homer CSE; the Birthplace in Australia Study and the National Publicly-funded Homebirth. Publicly funded homebirth in Australia: a review of maternal and neonatal outcomes over 6 years. Med J Aust 2013; 198: 616-620. <MJA full text>
2. Chan A, Scheil W, Scott J, et al. Pregnancy outcome in South Australia 2009. Adelaide: Pregnancy Outcome Unit, SA Health, Government of South Australia, 2011.
3. Birthplace in England Collaborative Group, Brocklehurst P, Hardy P, Hollowell J, et al. Perinatal and maternal outcomes by planned place of birth for healthy women with low risk pregnancies: the Birthplace in England national prospective cohort study. BMJ 2011; 343: d7400.

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