Praxis and guidelines for planned homebirths in the Nordic countries - an overview.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this overview was to investigate the current situation regarding guidelines and praxis for planned homebirths and also to investigate possibilities for comparative studies on planned homebirths in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Finland and Sweden).


METHODS
National documents on homebirth and midwifery and recommendations regarding management and registration of planned homebirths in the included countries were investigated.


RESULTS
Guidelines regarding planned home birth were found in four of the included countries. In Denmark any woman has the right to be attended by a midwife during a homebirth and each county council must present a plan for the organization of birth services, including homebirth services. In Norway and Iceland the service is fully or partly funded by taxes and national guidelines are available but access to a midwife attending the birth varies geographically. In the Stockholm County Council guidelines have been developed for publicly funding of planned home births; for the rest of Sweden no national guidelines have been formulated and the service is privately funded.


CONCLUSIONS
Inconsistencies in the home birth services of the Nordic countries imply different opportunities for midwifery care to women with regard to their preferred place of birth. Uniform sociodemography, health care systems and cultural context in the Nordic countries are factors in favour of further research to compare and aggregate data on planned home births in this region. Additional data collection is needed since national registers do not sufficiently cover the planned place of birth.
Institute of Health and Care Sciences, The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden; Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. Electronic address: helena.lindgren@ki.se.
Helena
H
Lindgren
Research Unit Women's and Children's Health, The Juliane Marie Centre, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Denmark; Institute of Gynecology, Obstetrics and Paediatrics, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Copenhagen University, Denmark.
Hanne
H
Kjaergaard
School of Health Sciences, Department of Midwifery, Faculty of Nursing, University of Iceland, Iceland; Landpitali, University Hospital, Women's and Children's Care, Iceland.
Olof Asta
OA
Olafsdottir
Clinical Research Department, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
Ellen
E
Blix
D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006700:Home Childbirth; D006801:Humans; D007055:Iceland; D008880:Midwifery; D011247:Pregnancy; D012537:Scandinavian and Nordic Countries
Guidelines; Midwifery; Organization; Overview; Planned home birth