title: The characteristics of women who birth at home, in a birth centre or in a hospital labour ward: A study of a nationally-representative sample of 1835 pregnant women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A woman's choice of birth setting can depend on a variety of factors including her preference, availability of services and legislative environment. However, examination of the characteristics of women in relation to their birth environment has been limited in scope and design. This study presents the comparative characteristics of women who birth at home, in a birth centre or in a standard hospital setting.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional survey of women (n = 2445) identified as pregnant or recently given birth in the 2009 survey of the "young" cohort (n = 8012) from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Women's birth setting was associated with a variety of factors including employment status, private health insurance, attitudes towards obstetric care, health status, use of intrapartum pain management, and adverse birth events.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Women's choice of birth setting may be affected by factors such as government and institutional policy, personal values, and economic situation. The confluence of these factors for individual women can impact on the birth settings available to women and the corresponding choices they make. A clear understanding of these factors is important to ensure women access the most appropriate birth environment to achieve the best maternal and foetal health outcomes.
authors: Office of Research, Endeavour College of Natural Health, Level 2, 269 Wickham St, Fortitude Valley, QLD 4006, Australia; Australian Research Centre in Complementary and Integrative Medicine, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, 235-253 Jones St, Ultimo, NSW 2006, Australia. Electronic address: amie.steel@uts.edu.au.
authors: Amie
authors: A
authors: Steel
authors: Office of Research, Endeavour College of Natural Health, Level 2, 269 Wickham St, Fortitude Valley, QLD 4006, Australia.
authors: Jon
authors: J
authors: Adams
authors: Office of Research, Endeavour College of Natural Health, Level 2, 269 Wickham St, Fortitude Valley, QLD 4006, Australia.
authors: Jane
authors: J
authors: Frawley
authors: School of Social Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
authors: Alex
authors: A
authors: Broom
authors: Office of Research, Endeavour College of Natural Health, Level 2, 269 Wickham St, Fortitude Valley, QLD 4006, Australia.
authors: David
authors: D
authors: Sibbritt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia; D016550:Birthing Centers; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000523:psychology; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006700:Home Childbirth; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health; D007744:Obstetric Labor Complications / Q000523:psychology; D059408:Pain Management; D011247:Pregnancy
keywords: Birthing centre; Home childbirth; Midwifery; Obstetrics; Reproductive health