Protocol: systematic review and meta-analyses of birth outcomes for women who intend at the onset of labour to give birth at home compared to women of low obstetrical risk who intend to give birth in hospital.

ABSTRACT:

Background

There has been a renewed interest in the place of birth, including intended home birth, for low risk women. In the absence of adequately-sized randomised controlled trials, a recent Cochrane review recommended that a systematic review and meta-analysis, including observational studies, be undertaken to inform this topic. The objective of this review is to determine if women intending at the onset of labour to give birth at home are more or less likely to experience a foetal or neonatal loss compared to a cohort of women who are comparable to the home birth cohort on the absence of risk factors but who intend to give birth in a hospital setting.

Methods

We will search using Embase, MEDLINE, CINAHL, AMED and the Cochrane Library to find studies published since 1990

SUBMITTER: Hutton EK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4046441 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature