Sir, - Dr Niall O'Brien (September 6th) has the important and commendable job of caring for sick new-borns, and it is precisely because of his occupation that he derides home births. He does not participate in the vast majority of straight forward midwife assisted deliveries, only the rare emergencies.
He states that there is "little doubt that the safest place for a newborn is in hospital," but in fact there is significant doubt. A survey conducted by Margaret Tew of Nottingham University Medical School on the prenatal death rate in the Netherlands concluded that a planned home birth with a midwife was the safest option. She concluded that "complications are most likely to occur in hospital because of, not in spite of, high-tech intervention. The threat of home birth is not a threat to mother and baby but a threat to the healthy survival of obstetric professions."
Nobody denies that the place for sick babies is in hospital, but we should examine some of the routine practices that may lead to neo-natal distress.
Meanwhile, I take exception to Dr. O'Brien's implication that women like myself, in choosing to give birth at home, view their own rights to be over and above those of their new-borns. It was because I wanted the best start in life for my children that I made that considered and informed decision. - Yours, etc.,
Deborah Thomas, Monkstown, Co Dublin.