The number of pregnant women who are rushed to hospital because of complications with a home birth has halved since 2011, Trouw says on Monday.

The paper bases its claim on calculations by national statistics office CBS which said that in 2014 and 2015, 6.4% of women planning a home birth ended up in hospital. In 2010 and 2013, the figure was 13%.

The CBS used the annual health inquiry, which is based on 10,000 women’s experiences, to draw up the figures.

Over the same period, however, the number of home births has dropped 30%, making it likely that better screening has reduced the last minute hospital rush by weeding out more risky pregnancies, doctors say.

Obstetricians and midwives have been working more closely together in an effort to cut the Dutch perinatal death rate, which was one of the highest in Europe.