BABY birds at Abbotsbury Swannery have inspired the name of a new hospital team helping mums nesting at home.

Dorset County Hospital has launched a dedicated home birth team supporting mothers who opt to have their babies in the comfort of their own home.

The team of five has taken the name Cygnets and chose Abbotsbury Swannery as the location to launch the new service. It is the only place in the world where visitors can walk through a colony of mute swans, see cygnets hatching and participate in mass feedings. Almost 100 nests were established by the Abbotsbury swans this year, with an average of five eggs to a nest.

New mums Stephanie Tipler from Weymouth and Rebecca Sitch from Pucknowle who both had home births attended the launch yesterday.

Home birth rates for women attending Dorset County Hospital have fallen by half in recent years, from 4 per cent to 2 per cent, and the midwives want to reverse this trend, as part of a national initiative to encourage more home births.

Head of Midwifery Jo Hartley said: "Our maternity service has always facilitated home birth, but this was with an on-call system whereby the woman and family did not always know the midwives attending them for the birth and may have met several different midwives. While they gave birth at home, they had to attend ante and postnatal clinics elsewhere.

"Recent research has shown that home birth is a safe option for low-risk women. Indeed the research shows that a low-risk woman is more likely to have a normal birth at home than if she comes into hospital."

She added: "We believe that labour and birth is a normal process that can be managed safely at home."

The Cygnet Home Birth Team provides all the care needed before the birth, during labour and afterwards for women in their own homes. The service is available for women living in the hospital’s catchment area who have been assessed as low risk.

The team was inspired by a similar scheme for women in the east of the county run by Poole. There are five midwives – Tara Putt, Ali Fuszard, Ali Salmon, Karen Myers and Andrea Chrustawczuk.

They will carry out routine appointments in family homes and give a 24/7 service of one-to-one care when women go into labour.

Women considering home birth will be able to refer themselves to the team, by calling 01305 253169 or be transferred to the team's care by other Dorset County Hospital midwives.