Comparison of intrapartum variables and postpartum maternal variables with relative risk presented for selected outcomes
| Variable | Planned home, no. (%) n = 11 493 | Planned hospital, no. (%) n = 11 493 | RR (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labour augmentation | 3 570 (31.1) | 4 438 (38.7) | 0.79 (0.76–0.82) |
| Nulliparous* | 1 605 (40.9) | 1 927 (49.2) | 0.83 (0.79–0.87) |
| Missing | 105 | 114 | |
| Multiparous* | 1 965 (27.1) | 2 511 (35.5) | 0.76 (0.73–0.80) |
| Missing | 210 | 393 | |
| Method of labour augmentation | |||
| Amniotomy | 2 896 (25.2) | 3 501 (30.5) | |
| Oxytocin | 1 000 (8.7) | 1 551 (13.5) | |
| Prostaglandin | 3 (0.03) | 12 (0.1) | |
| Missing method of augmentation | 14 | 21 | |
| Pharmaceutical pain relief | 1 866 (16.2) | 4 825 (42.0) | 0.39 (0.37–0.41) |
| Nulliparous* | 1 388 (34.5) | 2 413 (59.9) | 0.58 (0.55–0.60) |
| Multiparous* | 478 (6.4) | 2 413 (32.3) | 0.20 (0.18–0.22) |
| Type of pharmaceutical pain relief | |||
| Nitrous oxide | 465 (4.1) | 1 938 (16.9) | |
| Narcotic analgesia | 187 (1.6) | 660 (5.7) | |
| Epidural | 1221 (10.6) | 2 608 (22.7) | |
| Spinal | 259 (2.3) | 417 (3.6) | |
| Pudendal | 17 (0.1) | 34 (0.3) | |
| General anesthesia | 40 (0.3) | 59 (0.5) | |
| Mode of birth | |||
| Spontaneous vaginal | 10 449 (90.9) | 9 994 (87.0) | |
| Assisted vaginal† | 370 (3.2) | 591 (5.1) | 0.61 (0.54–0.70) |
| Nulliparous* | 313 (8.9) | 452 (13.2) | 0.68 (0.59–0.78) |
| Multiparous* | 57 (0.8) | 139 (1.9) | 0.40 (0.30–0.55) |
| Method of assisted vaginal birth | |||
| Forceps | 125 (1.1) | 194 (1.7) | |
| Vacuum | 223 (1.9) | 376 (3.3) | |
| Forceps and vacuum | 22 (0.2) | 21 (0.2) | |
| Cesarean delivery‡ | 672 (5.8) | 903 (7.9) | 0.74 (0.67–0.82) |
| Nulliparous* | 531 (13.2) | 611 (15.2) | 0.87 (0.78–0.97) |
| Multiparous* | 141 (1.9) | 292 (3.9) | 0.48 (0.40–0.59) |
| Missing mode of birth§ | 2 (0.02) | 5 (0.04) | |
| Laceration | |||
| Any laceration | 6 057 (52.7) | 6 785 (59.0) | |
| First-degree perineal | 1 966 (17.1) | 2 067 (18.0) | |
| Second-degree perineal | 3 089 (26.9) | 3 637 (31.6) | |
| Third-degree perineal | 118 (1.0) | 230 (2.0) | |
| Fourth-degree perineal | 33 (0.3) | 37 (0.3) | |
| Labial | 831 (7.2) | 684 (5.9) | |
| Vaginal | 1 041 (9.1) | 1 198 (10.4) | |
| Cervical | 4 (0.03) | 10 (0.1) | |
| Severe perineal trauma (third or fourth degree perineal laceration) | 151 (1.3) | 266 (2.3) | 0.57 (0.47–0.69) |
| Nulliparous* | 126 (3.1) | 189 (4.7) | 0.67 (0.53–0.83) |
| Multiparous* | 25 (0.3) | 77 (1.0) | 0.33 (0.21–0.51) |
| Episiotomy | 464 (4.0) | 680 (5.9) | 0.68 (0.61–0.77) |
| Nulliparous* | 373 (9.3) | 510 (12.7) | 0.73 (0.65–0.83) |
| Missing | 4 | 3 | |
| Multiparous* | 91 (1.2) | 170 (2.3) | 0.54 (0.42–0.69) |
| Missing | 7 | 6 | |
| Postpartum hemorrhage | 286 (2.5) | 348 (3.0) | 0.82 (0.70–0.96) |
| Nulliparous* | 130 (3.2) | 146 (3.6) | 0.89 (0.71–1.12) |
| Multiparous* | 156 (2.1) | 202 (2.7) | 0.77 (0.63–0.95) |
| Any maternal mortality | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | |
| Actual place of birth | |||
| Home | 8 588 (74.7) | 344 (3.0) | |
| Nulliparous* | 2 189 (54.4) | 133 (3.3) | |
| Multiparous* | 6 399 (85.7) | 211 (2.8) | |
| Hospital | 2 810 (24.4) | 11118 (96.7) | |
| Other | 95 (0.8) | 31 (0.3) | |
| Emergency services called to home during or immediately after birth | 927 (8.8) | 190 (1.7) | |
| Nulliparous* | 341 (8.5) | 51 (1.3) | |
| Missing | 17 | 97 | |
| Multiparous* | 586 (7.9) | 139 (1.9) | |
| Missing | 35 | 36 | |
Note: Denominator has been adjusted to exclude missing data. CI = confidence interval, RR = relative risk.
↵* Nulliparous n = 4 027; multiparous n = 7 466.
↵† Relative risk of assisted vaginal birth compared with spontaneous vaginal birth among all vaginal births. Denominators were as follows: nulliparous planned home births n = 3496, multiparous planned home births n = 7323, nulliparous planned hospital births n = 3416, multiparous planned hospital births n = 7169.
↵‡ Relative risk of cesarean delivery compared with vaginal birth among all records with mode of birth indicated.
↵§ Seven records were missing mode of birth (2 planned home births and 5 planned hospital births). All 7 records were from multiparous mothers.