"Pregnant women are urged to give birth in their own homes"

True or false: "Pregnant women are urged to give birth in their own homes" is a real, honest-to-goodness news story.

True!

This news article ran in the Scotsman last week. Here are some highlights:

"MOTHERS-to-be are to be encouraged to stay away from hospital in an effort to more than double the number of home births in the Lothians.

"It is thought that avoiding long trips to and from the maternity units – including the sometimes hectic dash to 'get there on time' -- – will make the experience of giving birth more relaxed for many women.

"There has been a gradual increase in the popularity of home births in recent years,... Health chiefs hope to see that number rise to closer to 400 in the coming years, or five per cent of all births.

"A maternity services management team dedicated to arranging support for home births already exists.

"Gillian Smith, director of the Royal College of Midwives in Scotland, said: 'The number of women who have home births in the Lothians is already much higher than the Scottish average, and it shows that NHS Lothian already does really well in showing women that they have a choice.

"'To get that up to five per cent would be really something, and it's all about letting women know that they have the option if they want to.'"

That's just so totally and completely from the "official" stance here in the States, I don't even know what to say.

On a completely different note, while poking around the Scotsman, I discovered that Alexander McCall-Smith's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency has been made into a BBC tv movie! I can't wait to see it!

~s~