Evaluation of midwife-led care provided at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital

Findings: of the women who initially ʹbookedʹ for Bournemouth, 62.3% actually delivered there, 27.1% transferred before labour and a further 9.2% transferred during labour. No differences were seen between those ʹbookedʹ for Bournemouth or Poole in the proportions of low birthweight babies, babies who were transferred to special care or babies who had congenital abnormality. Higher proportions of babies whose mothers ʹbookedʹ for delivery in Poole were resuscitated and had one minute Apgar scores below seven but there was no difference in the five minute scores. Similar proportions of women had perineal tears but fewer of the women ʹbookedʹ for delivery in Bournemouth had an episiotomy. ʹBookingʹ for Poole was associated with higher rates of induction and augmentation of labour and greater use of anesthesia. ʹBookingʹ for Bournemouth was associated with a shorter first stage and a longer third stage of labour. Women ʹbookedʹ for delivery in Bournemouth were no more likely to be delivered by a midwife than those ʹbookedʹ for Poole.