3.1.1. Choice of birthplace
Organisations in both countries adjusted their advice for the choice of birthplace according to whether the woman giving birth was suspected of being positive for COVID-19 (Table 3). The most striking difference between the UK and the NL was the provision of home birth services. Although most guidance advised that the provision of home birth and midwifery-led choices should continue, a Royal College of Midwives (RCM) survey of the heads and directors of midwifery reported that 32% of services had stopped or restricted home births in the UK (RCM_33). Home birth services were discontinued in some UK regions, mainly due to (anticipated or actual) staff shortages in hospitals and ambulance services (RCOG_2a, _11). Conversely, in the NL, women who were considered to be low-risk were initially advised not to give birth at the hospital to reduce the potential impact on hospital capacity (KNOV_1, 22 March 2020). However, this advice was withdrawn within a month (24 April 2020), as it became clear that there were no actual capacity issues due to COVID-19.

Table 3 Choice of birthplace