| Popis: |
Background Births can take place either at home or in healthcare institutions in Hungary. Until 2012, home birth was neither legal nor illegal. But as of today, home birth is legal and regulated by law in Hungary, however, it has not yet been broadly accepted since only criminal cases were reported in the media before 2012. Our study aimed at exploring both real maternal and foeto-neonatal characteristics associated with Hungarian home births compared with institutional births. Methods A total of 2,997 cases were considered in support of our comparative retrospective cohort study. Data regarding home birth cases (n = 1792 for years 2012–2020) was sourced from Hungarian Tauffer databases (2012–2020) and compared with its matched institutional birth data (n = 1205 for the year 2020) obtained from a university linked obstetrical department. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were conducted. Results In the examined period, there was a significant, continual incremental rise in the number of home births from 0.04 (2012) to 0.48% (2020) in Hungary, which represent a cc of 0.22% per year (95% CI, 0.02–0.25). The maternal age was 33.16 ± 4.71 and 29.69 ± 5.44 years for home births and institutionalized births, respectively (p ). Mothers choosing homebirth were multiparous and the majority have experienced spontaneous mode of childbirth compared with mothers who gave birth at a health care institution (p . Some pathology (secondary uterine inertia, prolonged second stage labour and primary post-partum haemorrhage) were prevalent among homebirth cases (p ); and associated with a cc. 12% rate of transfer to a health care institution. But, the overall intervention rate was lower among homebirth (0.11% vs 42.57%) compared to institutional birth cases (p ). A slightly better Apgar score among institutionalized newborns correlated with a relatively high rate (20%) in Caesarean deliveries (p ). Conclusions The finding of our study demonstrates an increasing number of home births in Hungary. Strict criteria and requirements for midwives of homebirth provide an acceptable alternative in support of home childbirth for relatively healthy, low-risk mothers, even if it is not entirely free of charge. |
