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Home birth is becoming increasingly popular. Labour in the privacy and comfort of a familiar environment has clear appeal. Home birth is usually as safe for low-risk women with appropriate prenatal care. Yet events during delivery can be unpredictable and may be stressful for unprepared family members. Here we report a case of Tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy, also known as broken-heart syndrome, in a relative attending an impromptu home delivery. Thus, while home delivery is generally safe for the mother we ask: is it safe for everyone involved?

Original publication

DOI

10.1258/om.2011.110034

Type

Journal article

Journal

Obstet Med

Publication Date

12/2011

Volume

4

Pages

166 - 168

Keywords

Tako-tsubo, home birth, stress-induced cardiomyopathy