Highest Fertility Rate Since 1973 As Average Woman Has Two Children

Fertility Rate Rises As Average Woman Has Two Children

There has been a continued fall in the proportion of women giving birth at home, according to new data.

In 2010 in England and Wales, 2.5% of women giving birth did so at home, down from 2.7% in 2009 and 2.9% in 2008, according to the Office for National Statistics.

NHS campaigns from 1950s persuaded women to give birth in hospital due to poor housing conditions. In 1960, the percentage was 33.2%. A record low of 0.9% was noted between 1985 and 1988.

The latest figures show the South West had the highest percentage of women giving birth at home in 2010 (3.8%) while the North East had the lowest (1.2 %).

Women aged 35 to 39 were most likely to deliver at home (3.5% of this age group), compared to 1% of the under-20s.

Government policy in England is for women to be given a choice over where they give birth.

The data also showed that women now have an average of two children each - the highest fertility rate since 1973.

The multiple birth rate fell in 2010 to 15.7 per 1,000 women giving birth, compared with 16.4 in 2009. Since 2000, this rate - which includes both live births and stillbirths - has risen by 6.8%.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said: "We are modernising the NHS so patients can continue to receive safe, high- quality maternity care and we are increasing funding for the NHS by £12.5 billion over the next four years, a sign of our commitment to protecting it for the future.

"We want to make sure that women have informed and safe choices about where they have their baby."

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