Mothers in Brighton and Hove are more likely to give birth at home than pregnant women almost anywhere else in England.
Figures announced yesterday show Brighton Health Care NHS Trust has the second highest rate of home births in England.
The city bucked the national trend, with a survey of hospitals nationwide revealing the proportion of women having normal births without intervention is lower than ever before.
Normal births - defined as births which do not involve induction, Caesarean section, assisted delivery or regional anaesthesia - fell by almost 15 per cent during the past decade to hit an all-time low of 44 per cent.
The figures were presented to Health Minister Jacqui Smith on the day she announced awards for maternity units which achieved the highest normal birth rates.
She revealed awards for high home birth rates would be presented to South Devon Healthcare NHS Trust with ten per cent of home births and to Brighton Health Care NHS Trust with eight per cent of home births on behalf of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Maternity.
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