Child development

Types of hospital provision:

• Consultant-led units 
• Midwife or GP-led units
• Birthing centres

Delievery rooms in hospitals are starting to become more home-like with things such as soft chairs and bean bags so the mother are able to change position. Warm baths and showers may also be available, but these are most commonly in birthing centres.

Maternity units increasingly offer birthing pools. A water birth needs to be arranged ahead of time as part of the birthing plan because there are limited pools avaiable.

• Highly trained staff and equipment are available if a emergency happens- this could save the baby's life and reassuring for parents.
• Some types of pain relief can only be given in hospital.
• Forceps, ventouse and Caesarean section deliveries can only be carried out in hospitals. 
• Midwives are on hand after the birth to help with concerns and issues such as feeding ans can let a mother rest by taking the baby into the nursery.
• The demands of the mother's home life are leftt behind.

This is an option when the pregnancy is normal and mother and baby are both well. Support is given by the midwife who attends during labour. If labour does not progress normally or the mother needs help, the midwife's role is to arrange a transfer to hospital. 

Considerations with home birth:

• A transfer to a hospital may be needed if there are complications.
• Epidurals are not given at home.
• A midwife or doctor might advise that a hospital birth is safer for a mother and baby in some circumstances. 
• The NHS report that for women gaving their second or more baby, a planned home birth is as safe as having a baby in hospital, however for women having their first baby, home birth slightly increases  the risk of a poor outcome for the baby.

• The mother is in familiar, relaxing surroundings. 
• Labour is not iterrupted by travelling to hospital. 
• If the new baby has older siblings, they will not need to be seperated from the mother as she gives birth and they can be involved in labour/birth.
• The mother is most likely to be looked after by a midwife she has seen throughout the pregnancy.
• An intervention such as forceps or ventouse is less likely than when giving birth in hospital. 

This is operated by some hospitals. It involves the community midwives providing antenatal care and then meeting the mother at the hospital for the delivery

In many cases the midwife is able to assess the mother closely during labour, so the move to hospital will not be made until close to the delivery. 

If all is well the mother and baby will be able to leave hospital after six hours. This means that the hospital stay can be shortened.

Some parents decide to pay for this rather than accessing free NHS provision. This decision might be made by some paretns who can afford it because they feel that the standard of the provision is high than that of the NHS. 

A private hospital is also a popular choice for families who are in the public eye, as they are not public buildings. It is easier for their privacy to be protected. 

An independent midwife might not undertake all of the reponsibilities of NHS midwives, so mother mya in fact use both services. For example, post birth and with support given soon after, an independent midwife may have fulfilled their role. If advice on feeding is needed after a few weeks, the mother might contact the an NHS midwife for advice.

Some parents decide to pay for this rather than accessing free NHS provision. This decision might be made by some paretns who can afford it because they feel that the standard of the provision is high than that of the NHS. 

A private hospital is also a popular choice for families who are in the public eye, as they are not public buildings. It is easier for their privacy to be protected. 

An independent midwife might not undertake all of the reponsibilities of NHS midwives, so mother mya in fact use both services. For example, post birth and with support given soon after, an independent midwife may have fulfilled their role. If advice on feeding is needed after a few weeks, the mother might contact the an NHS midwife for advice.