Homebirth - views and experiences welcome!

Hi there,

I'm planning a homebirth for my second child, due end of November and would greatly welcome your advice and thourghts. I would have liked a homebirth with my son but went overdue and as he was my first and a big baby, thourght that it was probably for the best and the safest option to give birth in hospital. The staff there were lovely and I received great care, I just feel that as a woman this is what we're meant to do and want to give my body the chance to have a go at least! (Also have heard that episiotomies are rare with home births, I had one with my son)......I'm sure I'd feel more relaxed at home and hopefully that would take the edge of the contractions! Perhaps I'm just a wishful thinking, who know's!!? What do you think ladies and gents?

All the best,
Vanessa

Well, i haven't heard any really scary homebirth experiences. Nearly everything i know of has been positive even if they have had to be transfered to hospital. Personally i think the most important thing is to keep an open mind. Plan to have a homebirth, but as you know, things don't always go to plan, ie. you may be having another big baby and feel safer to change your mind? Or the labour may not go to plan? so you may have to transfer. However, as a general rule i also believe you are more relaxed in your own home and this helps to make labour go more quickly. The stress hormone can actually help to stall a labour and so the more stressed you are the slower you may progress? Have you spoken to your midwife about your plans? Is she supporting your decision? Xx

Hi. I really wanted a home birth with my second baby but he was laying in an awkward position for months and there was a risk of me needing a C-sec. i went for a late scan at 38 weeks and he had turned but it was then too late too really start organising a home birth. I came home 6 hours after having him and was abit narked that I didn't have him at home after all. I know someone who did give birth at home, and it was her first baby. She loved it, she said she couldn't have imagined being in hospital away from home and as soon as she had her little girl she got into her bed and snuggled up with her. I like the idea of that, plus I think you are right about less medical intervention when you're at home ( and no risks of MRSA!!).

i would love a homebirth for my second child but i live in such a small flat at the moment that its not really an option

im hoping to go to a home from home birth centre as i did not enjoy my 1st birth in a hospital

I had Jas in hospital but she was premature at 34 weeks and to be honest I hadn't thought of anything but a hospital birth - which was lovely.

I have considered a home birth this time but really am not 100% sure about it. I know, in this area, you cannot have one if you are less than 37 weeks anyway but you can book it in advance and are at liberty to change your mind on the day even.

One of the ladies at my NCT class had her 2nd at home - simply because the labour was ridiculously fast - less than an hour and she delivered the baby herself whilst the ambulance and MW were on their way to her Apparently instinct just kicked in she told us.

I like the idea of being in my own home, being more in control and being able to snuggle in my own bed afterwards. Also, we were told at the NCT, you have 2 MWs on hand to assist you (one to look after a panicking dad, LOL) and should they think anything isn't quite right, they arrange transportation to hospital immediately. As GTTKel said too, no MRSA to worry about!!

On the down side, I wonder if I needed medical intervention urgently, what impact would that have? I've heard people say that it takes 20 minutes to prep a theatre anyway and you'd be in hospital in that time so it's the same difference but I'm not convinced.

With my risk of premature again, I'm still looking at hospital birth at this point but may chat to MW next time to see about home birth options as I still have time for that.

I've had a homebirth

Unfortunately due to some complications (these would have happened in the hospital anyway, my little boy had a knot in his cord and became distressed) we was transferred into hospital, but only after I delivered, just mainly to check my son over and he spent a few hours on the special care ward.

It was a lovely, positive experience though, I got through the contractions with nothing but a TENs machine, i was able to walk about as i wished, not have to tell anyone i was going to the toilet or have to ask anyone for a drink (well besides the hubby lol ) I was familiar with my surroundings and my stress level was very low. I wasn't being examined every 5 minutes or had to be strapped to monitors all the time.

When we looked into a homebirth, where I live the mw's were very supportive of them. I was assessed and was allowed one on condition I was over 37 weeks when i went into labour, I was relatively low risk pregnancy, and my home was suitable i.e. enough access incase of emergency transfer in an ambulance etc. We asked what would happen if there was any reason to be transfered, and apparently the mw's liase with the delivery suite at the hospital and there's always an ambulance on standby for a woman labouring at home, just incase.

One thing I would recommend is to pack an emergency bag, I thought I would jinx myself by packing one...hence me actually needing it in the end and my husbnds terrible packing, meaning i had no soap, brush, suitable underwear and having the wrong absorbancy maternity pads

I hope I haven't put you off by mentioning that my homebirth didn't go to plan exactly I try to explain to people that it was something that would have happened wherever I would have been, but all the time there was someone on the end of the phone and it was literally 2 minutes and paramedics were there to give my son a thorough check over. I do have quick labours and the mw herself got there to literally catch him on the way out. It's still a standing joke that he came before the gas & air did, as I'd planned to use that for the pushing stage to take off the edge of the pain...but had to do it without in the end hehe

Thanks so much ladies for your replies. I feel good about the whole homebirth idea and it makes sense to me, for me. I appreciated what you said about keeping an open mind, I'm 29 weeks and still have a little way to go, fingers crossed things will continue as well as they have, besides what's meant to be will be! Also pleased always for your honestly, not put off at all with hearing that there was a need to go into hospital even though baby was born at home. Once again, cheers ma dears and have a lovely weekend,
VanessaX

Please think carefully about the time it can take to get to hospital if things go wrong (heaven forbid) during your labour. Twenty minutes is a long time for a baby in distress or a mother bleeding heavily.
Things can go wrong very quickly and unexpectedly, and with limited access to monitoring equipment outside hospital detecting trouble can be difficult even if a midwife is very experienced.
Is there a midwife birthing unit near you? They are supported by medical staff but the day to day running is by midwives and interventions kept to a minimum. At least then you are near help if it is needed.
Of course there is no reason to expect anything to go wrong but at the end of the day you have to live with the outcome if it does

SarahS said:
Please think carefully about the time it can take to get to hospital if things go wrong (heaven forbid) during your labour. Twenty minutes is a long time for a baby in distress or a mother bleeding heavily.
Things can go wrong very quickly and unexpectedly, and with limited access to monitoring equipment outside hospital detecting trouble can be difficult even if a midwife is very experienced.
Is there a midwife birthing unit near you? They are supported by medical staff but the day to day running is by midwives and interventions kept to a minimum. At least then you are near help if it is needed.
Of course there is no reason to expect anything to go wrong but at the end of the day you have to live with the outcome if it does

I don't mean to be rude, but why should someone have to 'live with the outcome' more in a homebirth than in a hospital birth where something went wrong?

I think you do have valid points which have to be considered in a descion to have a homebirth. I just feel that you are being a little too negative.

My mw had a portible doppler, which picked up that my sons heart rate was low and my waters went and were green with meconium. i'm sure if the mw had arrived earlier she would have realised this far sooner, but my labours are quick so I progressed quickly in the time it took her to arrive (which was the time it would have taken me to get to hospital in the first place). The ambulance arrived within minutes of him being born (which was on standby anyway). I had one to one care, which I didn't recieve in hospital with my first labour, i was left on the ward until I was fully dialted strapped to monitor. They're are pros and cons to everything, at the end of the day, homebirths wouldn't be allowed if it was dangerous, I had to be a low risk pregnancy and even my own home had to have a risk assement carried out on it before I was allowed to give birth at home, so medical professionals don't go into it lightly and just let anyone have one.

Hi there candysmum and sarahs,

Thanks for your post candysmum, I was just about to write one myself but left it a couple of days as was rather shocked and outraged at the general tone of your post Sarah and the last comment "live with the consequences"! What are you like woman!!???

I looked into birthing centres in the area - basically there is one but its too far away and have spoken to a midwife from the local team here and she assured me that I was an ideal candidate for a homebirth.

Sarah, judging by the negative tone and I don't want to appear rude either, did you have a bad experience?

All the best ladies,
VanessaXX

I personally don't feel comfortable giving birth in a bed in a house where my relatives and inlaws could just walk in on me while spread eagle.
But you would have more privacy and be more one on one with your nurses, doctors and midwife. It could make the labor go more smoothly and quicker cause they would be able to pin point when a problem arises alot faster. If your like me, and prefer to keep your body to private, I would definitly request the front door be locked if possible. That would keep curious, unwanted people from nosying in on you.
If you don't mind extra attention then you have the freedom to allow as many people as you want to witness the birth. And it's gauranteed that your man can stay with you during recovery and he can help out with baby.

Only hubby and the midwife will be there!! No well-meaning but very eager relatives for me thanks, I love them dearly but this will strickly be a private affair!!!!