Medical teams planned for the births for months, even designating a special "Code 5" designation, handing out pagers to staff and developing a color-coded system to match each baby with his or her needed supplies.

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It compared the safety of 65, 000 "low risk" births throughout England planned in different settings - at home, in hospital and at midwife-led units.

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The costs for planned home and midwifery unit births take account of any hospital care a woman may receive if she is transferred into hospital during labour or after the birth.

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The death rate among babies whose mothers planned - and did - give birth at home was lower than the average for all births taken together - including those in a hospital, midwife-led unit, as well as at home.

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