This analysis reveals adverse neonatal outcomes linked to birth settings in low-risk women, indicating potential interventions for safety in high-income countries.
( Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand . 2024;103(12):2465-2474. doi: 10.1111/aogs.14971) A rising percentage of low-risk, spontaneous deliveries take place in midwife-led birth centers (MLBCs) in high-income countries, with up to 1.8% of deliveries in Australia and up to 15% of deliveries in England. Recent studies have shown favorable maternal and neonatal outcomes in these centers when compared with obstetric-led units (OUs), especially lowering the risk of interventions without significant differences in neonatal outcomes such as Apgar scores or death. However, some studies have been criticized due to the population of individuals who typically deliver at MLBCs and the actual morbidity criteria evaluated. This study was designed to evaluate severe adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes as well as mode of birth in low-risk women with a birth planned in an MLBC compared with an OU in France.
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Blondel et al. (2025) studied this question.
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