Surrey Hills homebirth team provide a continuity model of care to families planning to birth their babies at home.

Our clients are allocated a named midwife who provides the majority of their antenatal care. Towards the end of pregnancy clients are provided with the opportunity to meet the other members of the team, increasing the likelihood that they will know one or both midwives who attend their labour at home.

The team also continues to provide care in the postnatal period until they handover of care to your Health Visiting teams and GP.

In 2019, 82% of our clients knew the midwife who cared for them in labour.

A Cochrane review of 15 trials, involving 17,674 women, compared women who received continuity of midwifery care with shared or medically led care.

The results found continuity of midwifery care was associated with significant benefits for mothers and babies, and had no identified adverse effects. Findings demonstrated Women who received continuity of midwifery care were…

19% less likely to lose their baby before 24 weeks

16% less likely to have a late pregnancy loss (after 24 weeks)

24% less likely to experience a preterm birth (birth prior to 37 weeks)

15% less likely to have regional analgesia (Epidural)

7 x More likely to know their midwife in labour

16% less likely to have an episiotomy

If you would like to learn more about birthing your baby at home contact us at rsch.homebirth.referrals@nhs.net