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Is giving birth at home as safe as giving birth in hospital? How many women have the choice to do so, and does it make a difference if you've already had a child? Tim Harford talks to Dr Rachel Row, Senior Researcher at the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit at the University of Oxford, to cut through the noise and find out what the statistics say. A home birth is where the woman plans to have her baby at home under the care of an NHS midwife. Most typically home births are considered by ‘low risk’ women – those who are healthy and have had a straight-forward pregnancy. The best statistics on offer are that around 45% of women might be low risk just before they go into labour. Only 2% of women actually choose to have their baby at home. Strictly speaking this is 2% of births, rather than 2% of women, since some women will experience both hospital and home births. The researchers looked at the risks of serious adverse outcomes for the baby including death in labour, brain damage or bone fractures.

First broadcast on More or Less, 3 June 2018.