A British study will be replicated here to provide much needed statistical evidence for the continuing debate over midwives' duties. Mardi Chapman reports.

It's hard to find a more polarised debate than homebirths. Platitudes such as "a woman's right to choose" flow easily, but when it comes to choosing a place to give birth and who should attend, there are many limits on that choice. Lack of funding, clinical privileges and professional indemnity insurance continue to threaten homebirth practice and dissention doesn't only come from the medical profession. Only 0.03 per cent of women choose a homebirth in Australia but their right to do so continues to generate more discussion and emotion than issues around the vast majority of hospital births....