2020 Annual Stats

Posted in Inspiration & Information by surreyhillshomebirth

Here’s an overview of our Annual Stats from 2020 – an unusual year for everyone to say the least, but babies kept coming, and it continued to be magical to provide continuity to our caseload throughout 2020.

During 2020, Surrey Hills Homebirth team cared for a total caseload of 174 families – 84 baby girls and 90 baby boys! Of these families, 97 started labour at home. We are proud to support a mixed caseload of mums including both those requiring consultant input during pregnancy as well as those who are midwifery led care to make informed birthplace decisions. As well as prelabour clinical reasons for changes in planned birthplace, Covid had its own impact on our families birthing in 2020.

Of our Mums who started labour at home..
-98% had vaginal births
-61% birthed or laboured in a pool
-81% had physiological third stages
-88% knew the team members who cared for them in labour
-19 required transfer in labour, and 8 postnatally

Of our total caseload, including those families who birthed in hospital and we provided continuity for antenatally and postnatally,
a fantastic 97% were feeding their babies as intended on discharge to the health visitors.

During the height of lockdown 1 the team was temporarily suspended from providing Homebirths due to the impact of Covid on the ambulance service. This suspension lasted 7 weeks, from the 24th March till the 11th May. During this time the team covered labour ward shifts to support as many of our families as possible. 25 babies from our caseload were born during this suspension. Of these, the majority were cared for by the team and 96% had vaginal births.

In addition to the Covid suspension having an impact on the plans of those mums birthing during this time, it was naturally an unsettling time for Mums due in the following month, who had started to prepare for their midwifery led hospital birth. We continued to support our caseload throughout this transitional time.

2020 was a whirlwind and it was an absolute privilege as a team to support so many wonderful families welcome their bundles of joy during this unforgettable year!
2021 has been wonderful so far and we look forward to sharing our first quarterly stats with you soon!

If you would like to explore your option of Homebirth or arrange an individualised face to face appointment with a team member, get in touch:

RSCH.Homebirth.Referrals@nhs.net

9Feb2021

October – December 2020 Stats

Posted in Inspiration & Information by surreyhillshomebirth

9Nov2020

July – September 2020 Stats

Posted in Inspiration & Information by surreyhillshomebirth

We are delighted to share our Team Stats for the last quarter!

Even through all the uncertainties that this year has thrown at everyone, we are so pleased to be offering our homebirth service as normal (with PPE). To support birth choices is both a priority and a privilege to us all in the Surrey Hills Team.

52 families were cared for within our caseload during this period.

Out of these Mums, 93% of their babies were breastfeeding or receiving breastmilk at discharge to the health visitors. A total of 99% of babies were being fed using the feeding method of their mothers intention.

Of the 52 Mothers, 40 were still planning a homebirth at the start of active labour. The 12 babies who were transfers to hospital pre-labour, all received postnatal continuity from the Surrey Hills team. Of these 40 women who started labour at home, 98% had vaginal births.

Of these 40 mothers who started labour at home:

7 required transfer in labour, 3 required postnatal transfer (Transfer rate of 25%).

75% had physiological third stages with optimal cord clamping

48% of the births that occurred at home, happened in the pool. A further 20% of clients who laboured at home used the pool for pain relief.

If you would like to learn more about the team and birthing your baby at home, and you live within the teams catchment, please email us at:

rsch.homebirth.referrals@nhs.net

9Sep2020

2020 January – June Stats

Posted in Inspiration & Information by surreyhillshomebirth

It’s been a whirlwind of a year so far, with Covid restrictions and the temporary suspension of the team having a impact on this half years statistics.

83 clients were cared for within our caseload during this period. This includes those clients who were impacted by the temporary suspension of the team due to covid.

Out of these 83 clients, 89% of their babies were breastfeeding or receiving breastmilk at discharge to the health visitors.

52 of these clients changed their planned place of birth prior to the start of active labour – 25 of these were due to the covid suspension. Of these 25 Mums, 14 were still cared for by the team at The Royal Surrey. Additionally we have seen a change from a midwifery led caseload to a mixed caseload with a higher number of clients (24%) joining the caseload having consultant input in their pregnancies.

31 clients from the total caseload were still intending to birth their babies at home at the start of active labour. Of these mothers, 100% had vaginal births, and 84% were cared for by a midwife they knew.

Of these 31 mothers who started labour at home:

5 required transfer in labour, 3 required postnatal transfer (Transfer rate of 26%).

76% had physiological third stages with optimal cord clamping

58% of the births that occurred at home, happened in the pool. A further 10% of clients who laboured at home used the pool for pain relief.

If you would like to learn more about the team and birthing your baby at home, and you live within the team’s catchment https://surreyhillshomebirth.org/about/

26May2020

Team Stats 2019

Posted in Inspiration & Information by surreyhillshomebirth

We are delighted to be able to finally share our 2019 stats with you.

The Surrey Hills Homebirth team work within a continuity caseloading model which means that we continue to care for our clients throughout their childbearing journey, even if plans or place of birth change along the way*

In 2019 we were responsible for the care of 203 pregnant women and their families.

Of these families 32% birthed their first baby, 42% birthed their second, while 26% birthed their third or subsequent baby

92% of our entire caseload experienced a vaginal birth and 82% knew the midwife who was caring for them in labour.

133 (66%) of our caseload used water in labour (hydrotherapy) with 50% (n=101) remaining in the water as they birthed their baby (waterbirth).

We welcomed 99 girls and 104 boys in to the world.

From our original caseload (n=203) 73% (n=148) of families planned to give birth at home with the Surrey Hills team at the onset of established labour. The remaining 55 families (27%) opted for an alternative place of birth. This change in planned place of birth occurred for a number of different reasons including consent to Induction of Labour, the development of situations/conditions which recommended a hospital based birth and moving out of area.

Of the 148 families who planned to give birth at home at the onset of labour 82% achieved their planned birth at home (n=121). 18% (n=27) experienced an in labour transfer to an alternative place of birth, while 3% (n=5) were transferred in the immediate postnatal period.

95% of the clients that birthed at home had a physiological (natural) birth of the placenta with optimal cord clamping.

*please note that there have been some changes to our service in 2020 due to Covid 19 pandemic. Please talk to a team member or read the Covid 19 page for more details

25Nov2019

2019: The Third Quarter

Posted in Inspiration & Information by surreyhillshomebirth

Due to the popularity of our previously published stats the Jodie has put together the stats for the third quarter (July- September 2019) of this year.

In the third quarter of 2019 the team were responsible for case-loading the care of 42 woman. We work within a continuity caseloading model which means that we continue to care for our clients throughout their childbearing journey, even if plans or place of birth change along the way.

74% of our entire caseload were cared for in labour by a midwife they had met before and all women who birthed at home were cared for by a member of the Surrey Hills team.

From this caseload of 42 women, 66.7 % (n=28) still intending to birth at home at the start of their labours, while 14 women (33.3%) changed their intended place of birth before labour started for various reasons including; consenting to an Induction of Labour (n=8) and planned/elective Caesarean birth (n=3).

23 members of our caseload (82%) birthed their babies at home as planned, while 17.8 % (n=5) transferred in labour to the Royal Surrey for further care/support in labour. Two members (7.14%) of our caseload transferred to the Royal Surrey in the immediate postnatal period.

All of the mums who started their labour’s at home had a vaginal birth!

61% (n=26) of our total caseload used water to support them in their labours (hydrotherapy), while 47.6% (n=20) birthed their baby in the water (waterbirth).

We were privileged to welcomed 19 girls and 23 boys in to the world and to support their parents in the first crucial weeks of parenthood.

If you would like to learn more about the team and birthing your baby at home, and you live within our catchment, come along to one of the team’s informal forums or contact the team to arrange a 1-2-1 chat in the privacy of your own home at rsch.homebirth.referrals@nhs.net

30Oct2019

2019: The Second Quarter

Posted in Inspiration & Information by surreyhillshomebirth

Due to the popularity of our previously published stats the Jodie has put together the stats for the second quarter (April 2019-June 2019) of this year.

In the second quarter of 2019 the team were responsible for case-loading the care of 49 woman, 94% of whom went on to have a vaginal birth.

92% of our caseload were cared for in labour by a midwife they had met before.

From this caseload of 49 women, 81.6% (n=40) still intending to birth at home at the start of their labours, while 9 women (18.4%) , for various reasons, changed their intended place of birth.

35 members of our caseload (87.5%) birthed their babies at home as planned while 12.5% changed their planned during the intrapartum period (active labour to two hours after birth) and transferred to the Royal Surrey for further care/support.

90% of the women who laboured/birthed at home used water to support them in their labours (hydrotherapy) and 85.7% of the births that took place at home occurred within the water (waterbirth).

We were privileged to welcomed 19 girls and 30 boys in to the world and to support their parents in the first crucial weeks of parenthood.

24Jul2019

2019: The First Quarter

Posted in Inspiration & Information by surreyhillshomebirth

Due to the popularity of our previously published stats the lovely Jodie has put together the stats for the first quarter (January 2019-March 2019) of this year.

In the first quarter of 2019 the team were responsible for case-loading the care of 56 woman. From this caseload, 47 women (83.9%) still intending to birth at home at the start of their labours, while 9 women (16.1%) , for various reasons had changed their intended place of birth.

37 members of our caseload (78.7%) birthed their babies at home as planned while 21.3% changed their planned place of birth while in labour (care transferred to the Royal Surrey).

75% of our caseload were cared for in labour by a midwife they had met before and 30% were cared for by their own named midwife.

76.6 % of the women who birthed at home used water to support them in their labours (hydrotherapy) and 70% of the births that took place at home occurred within the water (waterbirth).

We were privileged to welcomed 26 girls and 30 boys in to the world and to support their parents in the first crucial weeks of parenthood.

11Jun2019

Team Stats 2018

Posted in Inspiration & Information by surreyhillshomebirth

We are delighted to be able to finally share our 2018 stats with you.

In 2018 we were responsible for the care of 190 pregnant women and their families (6.3% of 2998 registrable births supported by Royal Surrey Maternity in 2018).

Of these families 27% birthed their first baby and 73 % had had at least one child before.

We welcomed 99 girls and 91 boys in to the world.

From our caseload of 190 clients, 135 (71%) families planned to give birth at home with the Surrey Hills team at the onset of established labour.

The remaining 55 families opted for an alternative place of birth. This change in planned place of birth occurred for a number of different reasons including consent to Induction of Labour, the development of situations/conditions which recommended a hospital based birth and moving out of area.

79% of our caseload (n=190) knew the midwife who was caring for them in labour.

Of the 135 families who planned to give birth at home at the onset of labour 97.1% had a vaginal birth.

24 of our clients experienced an in labour transfer (17.8%) to an alternative place of birth. 111 families birthed their babies at home as planned (82.3 %). 3 of our families were transferred in the immediate postnatal period (2.2%).

Altogether 27 families (20%) were transferred during birth or in the immediate postnatal period.

Of the 135 families that planned to give birth at home at the onset of labour 98% used hydrotherapy (birthing pool) with 71 births (63% of our home births) occurring in the water.

95% of the clients that birthed at home had a physiological (natural) birth of the placenta with optimal cord clamping.

17Dec2018

November Stats: Transfers

Posted in Inspiration & Information by surreyhillshomebirth

Following on from our November stats we would like to show you in more detail why not all of our caseload’s babies were born at home.

The more research you do in to #homebirth the more you will discover that transfer rates and the reasons for transfer, aren’t quiet what you might imagine.

In November 28 of our caseload birthed their babies.

Six changed their planned place of birth from home to the Royal Surrey County Hospital prior to the onset of labour. Five consented to an induction of labour (18%) and one to an elective caesarean birth(3.5 %).

22 of our clients were planning to birth at home at the onset of their labours. Of these mums 18 went on to birth at home as planned, while four (18%) transferred in to hospital during the course of their labours.

Two transferred for additional analgesia (9%), one (4.5%)for meconium (baby’s first bowel movement) stained liquor (waters) and one (4.5%) for prolonged 2nd (pushing) stage of labour.

Because we are a #continuity case loading team we continue to care for our clients even if plans change along the way.

We hope that you find this information when exploring your birth place options and making decisions about your birth plan.

If you are planning to birth your baby with the Royal Surrey and would like to explore your birth place options we would be delight to talk things then with you.

You can either come to one of our informal “meet the homebirth team” mornings ( see details of upcoming Forums here), email the team at tanya.ashton@nhs.net to arrange a no obligation home visit or request a referral from your current community midwife.