Ministers are under pressure to ensure women are given the information and support they need to give birth at home if they wish to.

The overall number of babies delivered at home in England was just 2.18 per cent in 2003.

Health minister Stephen Ladyman said the new health service framework was designed to offer women choice in childbirth.

"I accept that there are unacceptable regional variations at the moment, [and] one of the drivers for producing the national service framework was to eliminate these variations," he said.