Giving birth in hospital raises risk of new mothers bleeding to death

Women who choose to give birth at home are less likely to suffer from life-threatening bleeding than those who have their baby in hospital, a study has found.

The report, by researchers at the University of Southampton, says reliance on drugs to speed up contractions, surgical incisions to ease delivery and emergency caesareans may be compromising the safety of women in labour

Excessive bleeding after birth – Postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) – is one of the main causes of childbirth-related deaths in the UK.
It occurs more often in maternity units than during planned home deliveries, according to an analysis of the medical records of more than 500,000 women.
Now there are calls for a change in hospital procedures after researchers concluded that the over-use of medical intervention techniques during childbirth may be partly to blame.