Unplanned out of hospital births--who delivers the babies?

We report on 14 cases of unplanned out of hospital deliveries which occurring over a three year period. The incidence was 0.31%. All th women were booked and multi-parous. 11 (79%) of 14 deliveries occurred between the hours of 20.00 and 0800, suggesting some difficulty in getting to the hospital or a reluctance to attend the hospital during these hours. Family members were responsible for the deliveries in 7 (50%) of cases, and there was no maternal or fetal mortality. Morbidity in the babies was mainly hypothermia which occurred in 7 (50%) of the babies, 2 of whom (14%) required admission to the special care baby unit while 2 (14%) of the mothers suffered second degree tears. We conclude that women and their partners should be educated about contingency planning regarding how to respond in situations of unplanned out of hospital deliveries, to minimize maternal and neonatal morbidity.