The proportion of women with a «normal birth» (birth
without induction of labour, epidural or spinal analgesia, general anaesthesia, forceps or ventouse
delivery,
caesarean section, or episiotomy9 10) varied from 58 % for planned obstetric unit births to 76 % in alongside midwifery units, 83 % in freestanding midwifery units, and 88 % for planned home births; the adjusted odds of having a «normal birth» were significantly higher in all three non-obstetric unit settings (table 5 ⇓).
As intrapartum death and
delivery related neonatal death are very uncommon after an elective
caesarean delivery in the event of a term fetus
without congenital anomalies, we excluded elective
caesarean sections from the denominator for intrapartum and
delivery related neonatal death.