Home or home-like hospital birth for low-risk nulliparae : does it matter?

The organization of obstetrics has been under great pressure for a number of years. This dissertation gives insight in differences between women who are pregnant with their first child and their partners with regard to the location of the delivery (at home versus polyclinic) and the effectiveness and efficiency of the care. Both pregnant women and their partners find it important that they can influence the decision process. Women, on the other hand, value a home-like environment for the delivery and partners prefer the possibility of pain reduction. Women who wish to give birth at home have a lesser chance of being referred and an unplanned caesarian, without a difference in neonatal outcomes and total costs of the care.