Objective: to investigate whether there are differences between the cost of intrapartum care for women at low obstetric risk in a midwife-managed labour and delivery unit and that in a consultant-led labour and delivery ward.
Design: cost analysis based on the findings of a randomised controlled trial comparing two alternative types of intrapartum care.
Setting: Aberdeen Maternity Hospital, Grampian.
Subjects: the number of women 'booked' for care in the Midwives' Unit in a standard year and a comparable group of women cared for in the consultant-led labour ward.
Primary outcome measure: the cost 'outcome' is the extra (or reduced) cost per woman resulting from the introduction of a midwife-managed delivery unit.
Findings: the baseline extra cost of the introduction of the Midwives' Unit was found to be 40.71 pounds per woman. Depending on the scenario used, this ranged from a cost saving of 9.74 pounds per woman to an additional cost of 44.23 pounds per woman.
Conclusions: this study has shown that, in terms of costs incurred during the intrapartum period, the marginal cost of caring for women at low obstetric risk alongside women at high obstetric risk in a standard labour ward is small. However, the impact of establishing a separate midwife-managed delivery unit, requiring an increase in midwifery staffing levels, can be significant.