Women's Decision-Making And Factors Affecting Their Choice Of ...

"Women should be given unbiased information and an opportunity for choice in
the type of maternity care they receive, including the option, previously denied to
them, of having their babies at home or in small maternity units." page I, para 4.
The following section will trace government policy relating to the place of
birth, which contributed to the move from home to hospital birth.
Events leading to the move from home to hospital
deliveries
A brief history of the trends in the place of birth since the Second World
War shows a rapid decline of non-institutional births in the US from 44% in 1940
to less than 1% in 1970. Whilst the drop was slower in Britain, reducing from
50% in 1940 to less than 10% in 1970, it was slowest in the Netherlands, falling
from 70% in 1963 to 32% in 1982, and gradually increasing to 35% in 1990
(Wagner 1994).
Factors leading to the shift from home to hospital deliveries in the United
Kingdom is detailed by Campbell and Macfarlane (Campbell and Macfarlane
1987; Campbell and Macfarlane 1994). The historical account shows that the
decline in the home birth rate was a result of successive government reports. A
discussion of the reports thus follows, which exposes the origins of assumptions
and misconceptions that have influenced thinking about the place of birth.
The Cranbrook report (1959)
The Cranbrook committee was appointed by the Minister of Health in
1956 to review the organisation of maternity services in England and Wales and
to make recommendations. The chairman of the committee was Lord Cranbrook.
11