Birth centre confinement at the Queen Victoria Medical Centre: four years' experience

A review of the first four years of the functioning of the birth centre at the Queen Victoria Medical Centre is presented. In that time, 1040 pregnant women were accepted for confinement there. Of these, 52 withdrew for non-obstetric reasons, while 470 were transferred to alternative obstetrical care--274 because of antepartum complications and 196 because of intrapartum problems. Therefore, 518 women were delivered in the birth centre. The care of the women is entrusted almost entirely to a team of midwives and this review demonstrates an enviable safety record.