Babies born before arrival (BBA) at a hospital constitute a special group with regard to mortality and morbidity. Births at home in England and Wales have fallen significantly from 3.2% in 1975 to 0.95% in 1987,1 and some studies in the 1970s focused on mortality and morbidity rates and social factors associated with home births.1–6 However, there is a lack of clinical data on the prevalence of BBA in the Middle East. We therefore conducted this prospective study to estimate the rate of BBA and the mortality and morbidity rates associated with such deliveries.