Home births sky rocketing in Denmark

A record 1,128 gave birth at home last year

More Danish women are choosing to give birth in the comfortable surroundings of their own homes.

According to recent birth statistics in Denmark, 1,128 women gave birth at home last year, accounting for 2 percent of all births – twice as many as five years ago.

“Some families talk about not wanting their births to be associated with illness, which they believe is the case at hospitals,” Joan Dürr, the head midwife at Aarhus University Hospital, told Politiken newspaper.

“They feel the opportunity to give birth naturally is better achieved at home.”

READ MORE: Danish birthing app saving lives in developing countries

Becoming safer
At Aarhus University Hospital the increase in home births looks set to continue this year. About 250 are expected – well up from the around 50 they saw a few years ago.

According to home birth expert Karen Ingversen, there is increasing evidence to suggest, in terms of uncomplicated births, it is just as safe to give birth at home than in a hospital.

Births at home are less likely to require stimulation or caesarian sections, contended Ingversen, who is part of the research project Nordic Home Birth.





  • How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    Being part of a trade union is a long-established norm for Danes. But many internationals do not join unions – instead enduring workers’ rights violations. Find out how joining a union could benefit you, and how to go about it.

  • Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals are overrepresented in the lowest-paid fields of agriculture, transport, cleaning, hotels and restaurants, and construction – industries that classically lack collective agreements. A new analysis from the Workers’ Union’s Business Council suggests that internationals rarely join trade unions – but if they did, it would generate better industry standards.

  • Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    The numbers are especially striking amongst the 3,477 business and economics students polled, of whom 31 percent elected Novo Nordisk as their favorite, compared with 20 percent last year.