IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i16p10461-d894847.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Characteristics of Homebirth in Hungary: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Author

Listed:
  • Girma A. Wami

    (Doctoral School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pécs, Vörösmarty u. 4, H-7621 Pécs, Hungary)

  • Viktória Prémusz

    (Doctoral School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pécs, Vörösmarty u. 4, H-7621 Pécs, Hungary
    ELKH-PTE Human Reproduction Scientific Research Group, University of Pécs, Édesanyák u. 17, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary)

  • György M. Csákány

    (Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Jahn Ferenc Hospital, Kövesút 1, H-1204 Budapest, Hungary
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Kovács Kálmán

    (ELKH-PTE Human Reproduction Scientific Research Group, University of Pécs, Édesanyák u. 17, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary
    Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Pécs, Édesanyák u. 17, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary)

  • Viola Vértes

    (ELKH-PTE Human Reproduction Scientific Research Group, University of Pécs, Édesanyák u. 17, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary
    Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Pécs, Édesanyák u. 17, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Péter Tamás

    (Doctoral School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pécs, Vörösmarty u. 4, H-7621 Pécs, Hungary
    ELKH-PTE Human Reproduction Scientific Research Group, University of Pécs, Édesanyák u. 17, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary
    Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Pécs, Édesanyák u. 17, H-7624 Pécs, Hungary)

Abstract

Homebirth is legal and has been regulated by law in Hungary since 2012. Despite the obvious advantages of homebirth, it has not yet been broadly accepted, due to various opinions related to safety and risks associated with giving birth outside of a hospital. Our study aimed at exploring both real maternal and feto-neonatal characteristics associated with Hungarian homebirths. A total of 2997 cases were considered in support of our retrospective cohort study. In the examined period, there was a significant, continual rise in the number of homebirths by a rate of 0.22% on average per year. Aggregated maternal complications (primary uterine inertia, prolonged second stage labour, and third stage haemorrhage) were prevalent among homebirth cases (1.29% vs. 0.72%, p < 0.05) and were associated with an average of 11.77% rate of transfer to a health care institution. On the other hand, the rate of operative (vaginal or caesarean) delivery was 26.31% among institutionalized births. A slightly better Apgar score and relatively high rate (20%) of caesarean deliveries were correlated with institutionalized births ( p < 0.05). However, the overall intervention rate was lower among homebirths (0.11% vs. 42.57%) than institutional birth cases ( p < 0.001). Overall, homebirth is a reliable option for childbirth for healthy and low-risk mothers with uncomplicated pregnancies, which is reflected in the increasing number of deliveries at home in Hungary. Furthermore, utilizing the experiences of countries where homebirth is a long-established method may further improve the outcome of homebirths in Hungary.

Suggested Citation

  • Girma A. Wami & Viktória Prémusz & György M. Csákány & Kovács Kálmán & Viola Vértes & Péter Tamás, 2022. "Characteristics of Homebirth in Hungary: A Retrospective Cohort Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-12, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:16:p:10461-:d:894847
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/16/10461/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/16/10461/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Floor Opdam & Jeroen van Dillen & Marieke de Vries & Martine Hollander, 2021. "How to Make the Hospital an Option Again: Midwives’ and Obstetricians’ Experiences with a Designated Clinic for Women Who Request Different Care than Recommended in the Guidelines," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-16, November.
    2. Trinidad M. Galera-Barbero & Gabriel Aguilera-Manrique, 2021. "Planned Home Birth in Low-Risk Pregnancies in Spain: A Descriptive Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-13, April.
    3. Sushma Rajbanshi & Mohd Noor Norhayati & Nik Hussain Nik Hazlina, 2021. "A Qualitative Study to Explore the Barriers for Nonadherence to Referral to Hospital Births by Women with High-Risk Pregnancies in Nepal," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-14, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sushma Rajbanshi & Mohd Noor Norhayati & Nik Hussain Nik Hazlina, 2021. "Perceptions of Good-Quality Antenatal Care and Birthing Services among Postpartum Women in Nepal," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(13), pages 1-13, June.
    2. Marieke de Vries & Danique Oostdijk & Kim G. T. Janssen & Raymond de Vries & José Sanders, 2022. "Negotiating Awareness: Dutch Midwives’ Experiences of Noninvasive Prenatal Screening Counseling," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-14, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:16:p:10461-:d:894847. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.