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I would recommend one if you know you will be happy and confident doing one. Have had one and it was great but next time I will just see how my labour is going and then stay at home if I am still happy.
I think it is a difficult thing to just advise someone to do as everyones circumstances/pregnancies/births are different, but in my case the birth went well and it was lovely to cuddle up in my own bed afterwards. Would be equally happy to go into hospital next time though.
Not much mess - I have floorboards though so might be best to put some old towels on floor if your house is carpeted! I put plastic sheeting under some old sheets on bed whilst in labour - then whipped them off afterwards to reveal lovely clean sheets!
Can you tell your mw that you want a homebirth and then when it gets too painful go into hospital and get an epidural or is this frowned upon? Think I would like a homebirth as I didn't have a mw or bed for my last hospital birth but I'm not too good with pain.
Its not impossible to change from a planned-hospital birth to a home-birth while in labour, but it's a LOT easier to do it the other way round .
I had DD at home - 9lb 12 and no pain relief. One of my (independent - thoroughly recommend if you can) midwives commented that she always had gas and air with her, but it stayed in the car more often than not. Women then to be so much more relaxed at home that they often cope much better with the labour, so feel less pain and need less pain relief.
I don't remember much in the way of goo and yuk at all. My waters broke over the pool as I went into the 2nd stage, and we had a "nest" prepared of old towels and sheets over a cheap tarpaulin. It all got cleared away while I was gazing into DD's brand new eyes
Having had 3, totally recommended - despite having to transfer in after delivery on both 2 & 3. I was soooo chilled about it all I was in fact still MNing 42 mins before DD3 was born
I used a pool all 3 times, so any mess and goo was well contained there, and then just threw a tarpaulin over the sofa, covered with old sheets and then inco pads/towels for me to sit on once I clambered out the pool.
Makes me all nostalgic...shame DH doesn't want anymore!
The more I think about it, the more I realise that I am pretty keen on this homebirth idea now.
How on earth do you clean the pool out?? The phrase 'shark attack in a toilet' springs to mind and I'm wondering if it all hoses down the drain ok?! Do the pools come with a pump that pumps the water out or are they just to deflate the pool??
Did any of you feel wierd having midwives in your home while you were in pain etc - find them a bit out of context (as you would normally expect them to be in a hospital)?
wrt the pool, I had a birthpool-in-a-box with (and this is key) a liner. I'm told that most of the water siphoned out down the drain and anything remaining was bundled up in the liner and shoved in a binbag in the dustbin. It wasn't my job to clean anything up as I was busy with BabyDragon I'd done my bit! As far as I recal, there was no mess whatsoever
Nothing weird about MWs in my home - I was kind of preocupied!
My very favourite part of the homebirth is that BabyDragon has our home address on her birth certificate under "place of birth". An unexpected bonus!
You can, I think, buy a pump to empty the pool but mine was just left to siphon out by itself via a hose (I wouldn't recommend sucking on the end of the hose to get it going though!!)
no mess at all (except where the mw kicked the water over lol)
I didn't have a pool, didnt want ione but there wouldnt have been time
the mw seemed ok to have around, but she was outnumbered (also had a doula, 2nd mw was too late). it seemed she was there to fit around us iyswim, rather than in hospital where you fit their schedules
best bit for me was that i didnt have to leave the 3 ds's, and they got to meet their brother minutes later
I had a birthing pool. It filled up very quickly and there was a pump to empty it. The problem was that it emptied too fast, and water went everywhere! You really have to have a practise run before the real thing.
Had lovely homebirth 5 weeks ago. Midwives were great company-we chatted while I took the odd sip of gas & air. Had NHS mw's-just fantastic. Only time I felt slightly weird was bumping into MW in town couple of weeks after-while we chatted I was thinking "last time we met I was baying like a banshee and you had to clean up my poo!!!"(blush)
"My very favourite part of the homebirth is that BabyDragon has our home address on her birth certificate under "place of birth". An unexpected bonus!"
I would have loved to have had this but they told us we couldn't so our daughter ended up having the (hospital) town on her birth cerificate. I don't even live there! (We live in a village about 20 mins drive away). I didn't realise this could be done so I'm a bit annoyed with them - at the very least they could have put place of birth as our village.
I believe there was some degree of slime and detritus involved but as I'd just given birth I feel no guilt whatsoever about the fact Mr Inferior had to deal with it.
Just read about your tearing I had a bad second degree tear first time around, second time (the homebirth) baby was 3lbs heavier and I didn't have anything.
I have had 4 hb, and 1 (my first) in hospital. I was treated well in hospital, but nothing compares to your own bath, bed and food! espexially when you are feeling a bit tired and vulnerable.
Have never made much mess, bar a few old towels to wash.
have had 2 both in pools (pics on profile) would recommend it if you feel comfortable with it... It helped me feel incontrol of things.. I am a control freak! I liked the fact the midwives were on my turf. pool came with a disposable liner that got thrown away.
I definitely feel I have made a much better, quicker recovery after this homebirth compared to my first 2 hospital deliveries. This is also the first time I have had no breastfeeding problems-maybe just a coincidence but I put it all down to the homebirth!
Hello. I planned to have a home water birth with my DD. It didn't work out as I had a 49 hour labour and as my waters had broken at the start, I had to go in to hospital after 24hours to be monitored for infection.
i HATED the hospital, they were busy and there were no bed on delivery, so I had to stay on antinatal ward til the very last min. Had loads of needles (my biggest phobia and main reason why I wanted a homebirth), was pretty much forced into having pethadine, which again, I didnt want. Nobody listened to me as to what I wanted, how much pain I was in etc. It was also dirty and I was ignored for hours. Basically, had a really bad experience, which is still with me and litterally gives me nightmares. I know this isn't always the case, but I have heard far more of these stories about hospital births than home births.
I would still plan a home birth with any future children, even though this one didn't work out.
Oh poo I hadn't thought about that - having made the decision and then not to be able to have it and end up with the other extreme must be really really tough
Despite the issue discussed in an unnerving degree of intimate detail on another thread, I LOVED my home births. I had four and I couldn't possibly consider doing it any other way. It has also made me feel good about myself years later. It gave me confidence and was such a great start to motherhood. A truly amazing feeling.
I'll always remember all of my births so clearly too as I had no drugs (which I think is fairly standard with home births.)
Ah yes - perhaps that's why I started my last post with those words!
My first one was a birth centre water birth with no drugs and I'm just really keen to get / guarantee the same or better experience with this next one. I hadn't banked on the fact that things may not go according to plan.....
Yes, definitely recommended - marvellous. And there is nothing like taking your newborn upto your own bed, gazing at him / her with a nice cup of tea - a moment I can still picture right now.....fabulous.
No it was contained in the wipes as far as I can remember but one's never quite sure what's cleared up amongst the amniotic fluid and sundry birth detritus as one is in no fit state to do that particular bit of housework.
Waters broke on moppable bathroom floor (very neat me ), placenta fell out on carpet due to me not bothering to put down the plastic stuff we had bought Stain came out very quick
I had two very good births - one hospital, one home. Would def choose home again next time
Yes, I would. I've had two home births and one in hospital. If you're worried about mess, big sturdy plastic tablecloths (available from department stores, French markets etc) are good. And at least at home it's all your own mess, not other people's.
DS2 and DS3 both have our home address as their place of birth. I'm reliably informed that birth within the catchment area doesn't help with school admissions. Still, I'm sure the birth certificate information will prove useful one day to the Blue Plaque people .
I'd love to have a homebirth next time around as i had a horrible hospital birth with dd. Only problem is I had some weird hallucination type things (possibly due to lack of sleep prior to the birth) after dd was born. And then i went on to have PND quite severely, so i'm not sure if it's generally advised to have a homebirth if you've experienced these things before. Does anyone know?
I had a long labour at home and was transferred to hospital when baby got distressed but would still say go for it and would love to try at home again!
total mis - I know that extreme tiredness can do funny things to your brain. It's easy to say get as much sleep/rest as poss before birth, but sometimes hard in practice.
DP called MW when I was hanging off dining room chair going it's ok only a BH. She arrived 20 mins later and about 10 mins after that the second MW arrived. They knew I would be quick as they all knew me and had been in my home and met everyone beforehand which is lovely. Felt so lovely having 2 MWs there just for me not having them rushing between 6 other women, must be good for them just to be able to focus on one person too, the way it should be.
What was also nice was that they were the CMWs that came out to visit in the next few days and we were able to talk about the birth etc which is what you don't really get in hospital as I never saw the same MW twice.
My MW has recommended shower curtains to help prevent any mess. Hoping for a homebirth this time after DS was born in hospital. Now 39+3 so waiting for the signs labour is imminent!
Look at my pic on the profile (DD3's birth) - no blood.
Walked upstairs after and delived placenta into loo. No mess at all.
Bit of mess with DD2 but not much and was dealt with quickly as used those plastic decoraters sheets from homebase and old towels and sheets etc. By the time I was out the bath my room was back to normal.
I had ds1 at home, and ds2 started off at home but ended up transferring for failure to progress.
I vastly preferred giving birth at home to being in hospital and if I ever had another baby (god forbid) would book another hb, even though I transferred in with my third.
Re: mess. Yes - loads. But then I'm a messy person and the birth was hugely chaotic so I wouldn't expect any different. Nobody else I know had as much mess at their homebirth as me. Sigh....
I'm a homebirth contact for my local NCT so I talk to a lot of people who've had/want homebirths. I've not yet anyone who's told me they opt for it again, including those mums who ended up transferring.
DH also completely sold on homebirth. He was able to watch football and make bacon sandwiches throughout both labours so was very happy. He loved being able to get back into bed with me and ds2 after the birth and watch the sun come up....(shitty quilt safely esconced in black plastic bag in the downstairs hallway, awaiting embarrassing trip to the dry cleaners).
DH loved our hb too, even though it was so quick- it was first time he'd spent the first night with the baby, which he loved, and all 6 of us curling up on the bed before school the next day was a truly amazing experience, and i think contributed hugely to the lack of acceptance ssues- we thought ds3 would react really badyly, but not at all, and i think that's because i never left to go to hospital
I had a home birth with my first baby - my midwife initially thought I was mad (but enormously supportive). However, it went really smoothly and I wouldn't have it any other way. The best bit was getting into my own bed at the end of it.
I had a water birth - which I'd also recommend. A sieve is a sensible accessory and the pool I hired did come with a pump (left that to dh).
Plan to do the same again this time, but would prefer to avoid being stitched up on the sofa this time!
Had lovely home hypnobirth nearly 3 weeks ago, mymain reason was why have uncomfortable ride to hospital when you can stay at home ( that was worst bit of DD1s birth).
This time worst bit was constant worry that someone would say I couldn't have a homebirth because of slight complications and missing post natal notes from last time.
Home birth lovely, drunk husband (who was taking very literally that I was telling everyone else baby due 1 week later than she was, despite having serious day of brackston hicks, phoning him at work, and DH trying to find moses basket {in plain sight}!) not as helpful as he should have been, midwives never got their biscuits, but for me the FABULOUS bit was having bath in my own mucky bath, DH bringing me toast made from my own home made bread, and only walking across our tiny landing to go to my own bed.
Mess- 2 towels to wash and bath mat. More washing from bedclothes (well, towels I slept on to avoid constantly washing sheets) from sweaty first few days and odd pad leakage, and milk everywhere. Is it just me or is breast feeding rather messy as first?!
Regrets- only one, that DH is convinced our Victorian flag floor wouldn't hold a full birth pool and me. I'm not convinced, but he really wouldn't shift on that one, and I really missed the water this time. It was fab using hospital pool last time. Tried the bath (big corner bath) but couldn't get comfortable.Using the shower helped, but standing up,couldn't sit on the stool, and my legs were shaky so couldn't stay as long as I liked.
I know some people found it better with their children in the house, but I was glad DD1 happened to be having a sleep over at her grandparents ( a practice run!! turned into the real thing) as DH would have needed to concentrate on her, and when I was loud enough to wake her I NEEDED his support (drunken daft sod he was)- first time I was quiet, 2nd time more intense and I was much more vocal than I expected.....poor neighbours got an early wake up call!
I also had a wonderful experience of home birth and felt very much in control being in my own home. I just had TENS machine and pool for pain relief. The website www.homebirth.org.uk is a great resource for info on every aspect of home birth.
and no, there was no mess at all. i got plastic dust sheets from b&q and laid them under a sheet on the sofa for after the birth (i had a pool at home for the actual birth) and all the mess was rolled up and carried away before i knew it.
I am very keen to have a homebirth for my first, having read all the stories on here... am going to see midwife for first time on Sat so planning to mention it then. Am a bit worried that they will discourage it as it is my first though - anyone have this experience? Is it more risky for your first?
I have a slightly unplanned home birth. It was always at the back of my mine and when my midwife (an angel who gave me her home number as she wanted to deliver my baby as she had done my first but wasn't on call)called out local midwife led unit and there were no beds so it was stay at home or go to our general hospital which i didn't want at all.
Anyway, there was very little mess and what there was was quickly cleaned up while we gazzed as DS2 and it was no problem at all to decide to stay at home at the last minute.
The downside - I don;t think i'll ever beable to move house because it hold such special memories of DS2 coming into the world here
I had my first at home, badkitty and it was great. The midwives were very supportive of my decision, despite having your first at home being a very unusual choice. They do go through the risks with you and you have to sign a piece of paper to say you understand them.
They will only let you have a home birth if your pregnancy is very straightforward and your iron levels are good. Once you're in labour, if there was any sign of difficulty at all they would send you into hospital.
It is actually meant to be less risky to have your baby at home because you are less stressed in an environment you are comfortable in. Furthermore, you won't pick up any nasty bugs in your own home as you already have immunity to the germs in your own house! First time births tend to take the longest, so if there are any potential difficulties, they've actually got longer to get you to hospital too - they wouldn't wait until it had got to an emergency situation.
Of course, you can always change your mind at any time and go to hospital instead.
Talk to your midwife about it next time you see her. She should be very supportive - community midwives are the experts.
Thank you. I am actually quite excited at the idea and surprisingly even DH doesn't seem to be opposed to it (mostly I think as I explained he would be able to watch telly during the boring bits..!) I am not sure I would tell anyone (other than DH and midwives obviously!) I was planning it though - am sure people would try to put me off.
I had a home birth with my second having had a drug free water birth at the midwife unit with my first. i was so keen on a water birth again and knew I couldnt guarantee getting in a pool in hospital so thought a HB the best option.
In hindsight it probably wasnt for me. I had worked in an obstetric unit in the past and was acutely aware of all the emergencies that can happen when things go wrong. This was always in my mind which definitely created an underlying feeling of unease. All went v well until i got in the pool (looking back i got in at transition as the MW took an hour and a half to arrive and i was told not to get in until she did) and she then couldnt find babies heartbeat. She panicked as did I and I lept out the pool and again she couldnt find the heartbeat. I totally panicked. I blamed myself for being at home with no resuscitation facilities and thought due to my desire for a water birth my baby would be dead. I was screaming at DH to call 999 it was horrible. My baby was fine, I pushed him out a few minutes later and presume the heartbeat wasnt audible as he was so low down at that point. So all well but I was shaken by the experience for ages and to a degree still am.
Unless you are fully sold on the idea I think it can perversely create more anxiety than being in hosp. I shouldnt have been at home. It really is an each to their own situation. My friends have had HB and LOVED them.
In addition, DH left it too late to fill the pool so wasnt with me at all during the labour as he was running about faffing with the water! and then i didnt use it!
I jumped out onto a place with mo covers and we endd up having to replace the carpet! and my MWs did absolutely no clearing up, of me or the room. My mum had to mop me down with flannels and help me upstairs to have a shower.
I dont want to put you off, just ensure you think about it properly. Overall it can be a wonderful experience Im sure.
Hi Herecomesthesciencebint - that was one of my concerns actually as I am also aware of the clinical aspects. I was worried with the first birth that I would be consumed with worry over that too but when it came to it (hospital birth centre), I felt very relaxed in myself and wasn't concerned about anything at all. I guess that if it comes to it, I could always abort and go dashing in to the hospital - I must just listen to myself early on in the labour and quit if there is any anxiety at all. I did wonder if I would find the level of pain etc inappropriate for being at home but could somehow rationalise it if I was in hospital (i.e. it is more normal to feel pain in hospital than at home) - does that make any sense at all??
Hi Thankyouandgoodnight. Yes yes yes to a home birth. I had a planned home birth with ds4 and it was fab. Felt very relaxed at home. Was able to please myself with cups of tea and snackes etc. Didn't see any gunk as it was all cleared away while I had a shower in my own clean bathroom ds5 was born at home too though that was totaly unplanned and he was born in the bathroom delivered by my DH and what amazed me most was my DH didn't have a drop on him Our bathroom mat absorbed everything. So yes totaly go for it and good luck x
Agree with the comments above but just be aware that if you need stitches, in some UK regions they make you go to hospital for that anyway.
Most of the women in my antenatal group had an epeisiostomy (sorry for dodgy spelling) so that is just something to bear in mind and prepare for if it is in line with your local NHS policy.
Does anyone know which weeks of pregnancy you're 'allowed' to have a home birth? i.e. before 37 weeks is considered premature isn't it and so you would need to go to hospital etc?
Just trying to think logically about when to get the pool in by!
I had 2 and there was no mess! Tiny bit of blood but all the precautionary floor coverings - huge plastic sheets - weren't needed! Women who have had homebirths are buzzing about how great the experience is whereas a good hospital birth never sounds as empowering - more like a narrow escape from something scary.. Read home birth stories - there was a competition on the babyworld site last year for homebirth awards and hundreds of women related positive stories. All over the net you'll find thousands. Talk to community midwives or independent midwives to explore what your choices are. If you have an IM she won't lay down the law about how overdue you are 'allowed' to go - she'll monitor you closely and will know whether you need to be induced. My mw said any time from 37 weeks was fine and have known mothers have homebirths when they are over two weeks overdue with no complications. You can't beat being able to get into your own bed.
I heard a really interesting talk last year by Diane Wiessinger - on the question why women tend to give birth more easily at home, she talked about what she calls 'the sphincter law'. She related how she has trouble opening her bowels for the first few days when she goes to stay somewhere away from home - a common phenomenon judging from the response this got. You are able to relax your muscles and open up when you are on your own territory - it's as simple and true as that.
"Unless you are fully sold on the idea I think it can perversely create more anxiety than being in hosp. I shouldnt have been at home."
I was very anxious about my homebirth - very. Basically because I was categorised as high risk (gestional diabetes) and was carrying a large baby. I'd had A LOT of negativity from my consultant which had really upset and unsettled me. The only thing that kept me at home was that I was even MORE scared to go into hospital because of the lack of control I experienced there first time around.
Even though the homebirth was complicated by shoulder dystocia and an ambulance was called (was sent away as didn't need it by the time it arrived) I came away feeling thoroughly vindicated - I think I would have been much worse off in hospital with the shoulder dystocia. Everyone I know who's experienced a shoulder dystocia birth in hospital has been traumatised by the panic it engendered - staff rushing into the room.... plus they all got big episiotomies, which I didn't get at home.
The difference was for me that my midwife didn't panic - or if she did she didn't show it. Thank goodness. I think it's highly upsetting for mums when they pick up on a midwife's fear - as you did. Awful. You're so vulnerable to other people's fear in those final moments of the birth.
I wanted a home birth so much after spending a day in our local hospital! I never thought of anything negative and only focussed on the positives of having the baby at home. Friends said ...but what about no pain relief and I knew I would cope as all I was able to have was gas and air the first time and that made me want to puke!
My husband was more nervous but in the end said that he was SO glad we had the baby at home. It was all so low key and over and done with very quickly. It all worked out so well and I would recommend it to anyone. A very fast birth and luckily the midwife was down the road seeing someone else. I was all set up for a birth in the living room but had my son on the bed in the end as I couldn't move. It wasn't at all messy and yes I had a bath afterwards. A bit of blood came out but no bits in any real number.
If you want one then go for it. If I ever had another baby I would definitley go for a home birth and would recommend it to anyone.
I had my first baby in hospital and babies number 2 and 3 at home. The home birth experience was far nicer, despite being very nervous about it all beforehand. Yes, it is a bit messy but nothing you can't easily deal with if you plan in advance. All you need is a couple of cheep shower curtains and lots of special pad things which you can buy from Boots (I think the midwives call them 'inco pads'). I would say that if you are expecting a straightforward birth then go for the home experience.
I had a homebirth three weeks ago. I had chosen to have one because I had heard that the hospital was packed to the gills, not because I thought a homebirth would be fantastic (turns out the hospital was closed to admissions at the time DD was born).
But, having done it at home, I would highly recommend it. It was not messy - the pool was easily cleaned out and was supplied with a pump to remove water. The NHS midwife was fantastic, and it was so great lying in my own bed afterwards tucking into gorgonzola and pate on toast!!!
Thankyouandgoodnight, I also wasnt even vaguely worried about any of the clinical aspcts the first time round. I think just being in the birthing centre took that anxiety away. But at home it felt different. One suggestion is to read the 'when things go wrong' section on the home birth website. I read it and felt more anxious. My friend read it and felt more confirmed in her desire to be at home. Perhaps I should have taken my reaction as a warning that I wasnt 100% about it.
i'm probably going to be attacked here but anyone think that a homebirth might be a bit too risky for the baby - while it's great when everything goes to plan if baby is unexpectedly born flat there is very little time to maximise healthy brain in the baby - why are people happy to risk this?
fabsmum - perhaps the reason shoulder dystocia engenders anxiety in the health professionals is that it is a real emergency and if not treated as such may result in multiple complications in the baby!1
oh yes, have had 3 homebirths and had 3 happy experiences. Def. recommend for non-complicated pregnancies!
One advantage is that you have a midwife with you the whole time (once labour is established) instead of one just popping in every now and then until you need to push as happens in hospitals.
gosh, it took ages on this thread to get the doom mongers
there are risks both with hospital births and home births, garnettopaz, and statistics do not show planned home births to have more negative outcomes than hospital births, which I imagine is why many women are happy to 'take the risk' of a hb. I personally was quite happy to have a hb as I had complete confidence in my midwife team and my body, and the additional knowledge that by ambulance it would only take a few minutes to reach hospital. I also accepted that those few minutes might well have been crucial in case of emergency but the risk was tiny.
bit like the risk of having a car crash on the way home from the hospital. I am happy to take the small risk that my car might crash/be crashed into with my children in the back seat even though I could always walk to some places. I assess the chances of that happening to be low and a risk I am willing to take. sorry if analogy not v good, just trying to give you an idea of why I was happy to take the 'risk' you describe
morocco - except the only reason that i see for having a homebirth is for the mother's comfort so in that situation i don't think even a small risk to the baby is acceptable - can i please ask you how many midwives/doctors you know who have delivered at home willingly - especially how many of the midwives who now push for home births
"i'm probably going to be attacked here but anyone think that a homebirth might be a bit too risky for the baby - while it's great when everything goes to plan if baby is unexpectedly born flat there is very little time to maximise healthy brain in the baby - why are people happy to risk this?"
I don't think anyone should attack you for saying this - it's a perfectly reasonable assumption.
It's very true that there are situations where the choice to be at home may result in a poorer outcomes - two examples of this would be where a baby was born unexpectedly flat, a catastrophic placental abruption or a very difficult to resolve shoulder dystocia.
However - if we look at the research on the outcomes of planned homebirths in this country and in the Netherlands, where one third of babies are born at home, you see that overall perinatal mortality for babies born at home is roughly the same as for babies born in hospital to low risk mums, and perinatal morbidity (ie, the numbers of babies who need special care after birth) is signficantly lower). This must mean that the additional risk associated with being at home is somehow balanced out in some way by reducing the risks associated with birthing in hospital. If this wasn't the case you'd expect to see higher perinatal mortality rates associated with homebirth.
"is that it is a real emergency and if not treated as such may result in multiple complications in the baby!"
Errr, yes, and both I and my independent midwife had both discussed this issue AT LENGTH before the labour. Because I had a homebirth I was able to plan with her what we'd do in the event that it happened - we were extremely well prepared and therefore when it DID happen my midwife was able to handle it without panicking or losing the plot. It's perfectly understandable that midwives and doctors are anxious about SD, but it's not acceptable that they so often communicate this anxiety to mothers in the way that they do. That's the whole point of emergency drills - they enable staff to respond quickly and efficiently to emergency situations.
"morocco - except the only reason that i see for having a homebirth is for the mother's comfort so in that situation i don't think even a small risk to the baby is acceptable"
Actually it's in the NICE guidelines that opting for a homebirth HALVES YOUR RISK OF HAVING A C-SECTION, and so reducing your risk of all the very serious complications associated with having major abdominal surgery. Plus it reduces your babies risk of having low apgar scores at birth, so it's about MUCH more than the mother's comfort.
"can i please ask you how many midwives/doctors you know who have delivered at home willingly - especially how many of the midwives who now push for home births"
I know MANY midwives who have had homebirths myself, but few doctors. But that figures. Most doctors have almost no experience of normal birth and are disproportionately exposed to complicated maternities - this increases their anxiety levels about birth to a great extent and so they are less likely to opt for a homebirth. I do know a midwife married to a GP who had both her babies in a paddling pool (!) in their front room - and she had her first baby when she was over 40!
Garnettopaz - you say that 'even the tiniest risk to the baby' is unacceptable. Well, I ahte to be the one to break it to you but the only way to completely obliterate any risk from childbirth is to not have a baby in the first place. Nothing we do in life is risk-free. Nothing. Our society has become so ridiculously risk-averse that we are in danger of losing our commonsense. The sad fact is that some babies die (as do some mothers). Place of birth is very, very rarely a factor.
So, as others have said, if you actually read and consider the research (instead of making assumptions and generalisations), you will see that, in the vast majority of cases, home birth is atleastassafeifnotsafer than hospital birth.
Home birth halves your chance of section, halves your chance of instrumental delivery, decreases your chance of PPH, decreases your chance of getting a 3rd or fourth degree tear, improves breastfeeding rates, raises APGARs, actually reduces the need for resuscitation (which all midwives are well trained in should it be necessary anyway)...the list goes on. And from a physiological pov, the mther's comfort levels are actually extremely important in the progression of labour, reducing the likelihood of fetal distress and facilitating a safe delivery.
I find it so depressing (and actually a weeny bit insulting) when people go on and on about how unsafe homebirths must be. Midwives are highly-skilled professionals and experts in normal birth. They attend mandatory training every year in emergency scenarios and resucitation techniques. A colleague of mine was at a waterbirth just this week when the baby was indeed born rather 'flat' (very fast birth), and do you know what the midwives did? They did exactly the same as the doctors would have done had that baby been born in hospital, and all was well. He was gorgeous, by the way
And, fwiw, I am the nearest thing to a midwife on this thread and I'd have a homebirth tomorrow.
snaf - i'm not making any assumptions - i know all the research and been there live when babies come out flat and i know that a few minutes can make all the difference in the end - it seems bizarre that on threads such as this there are very few if any mums who mention their bad experiences - i know of at least three (and they're friends not just things i see at work) - the midwife concerned in all three occasions was not in a position to deal with the situation in the best way possible since in the home not all equipment is available - but please feel free to call me biased
i happen to be one of the very lucky mums who had an easy delivery second time round (first time was very long drawn) and we spent a total of six hours in hospital - my ds1 never even noticed we were gone - he just woke up to a new brother - but it was in hospital and my main reason for that was to make sure that should the unexpected happen then my ds would have the best possible medical care immediately without any unnecessary delay - the only downside of delivering in hospital was having to have a shower in a hospital shower rather than at home - however i would never have forgiven myself had something happened to ds2 just so i could be in the comfort of my home
i think the fact that so few doctors actually do choose homebirths should perhaps ring a few bells - because when things go wrong unexpectedly they can go very very wrong and sometimes being in hospital may make all the difference between a happy and a sad outcome - but it's just my opinion
i had one with the other 6 kids asleep and they only woke up once i was out of the bath and their little sister was sound asleep in her crib, and no mess
Thankyouandgoodnight, hell yes! I've had 3, and they were all wonderful and stress free. My first was a hospital birth, which was good, but that had more to do with having two excellent birthing partners and I got very lucky with my midwives. Had the doctors got involved it would have been a very different story with forceps and tearing.
I cannot speak highly enough of the whole HB experience. And if there is any doubt in your mind, I would most definately say prepare for a HB, you can always change your mind and go to hospital any time you like. You can't do it the other way round.
Garnettopaz, I've seen you share your concerns on other similar threads. I was wondering what your experience is - only because you seem quite passionate about it (I'm honestly not having a dig at you, please don't think I am). I thought perhaps you had medical experience, or is it personal? Its a genuine question - I do respect your opinion as much as the next poster.
hi foxy - lets just say i've been there when babies come out flat unexpectedly - in mothers who would have otherwise been deemed to be safe for hb - and had that happened at home the time to transfer to hospital would have been way too long however close to hospital the deliver was happening
i'm lucky to have two ds who are fine - i've had two low risk pregnancies and was offered hb both times - however in ds1 he got stuck!!!! despite being quite small (smaller than average) so thankgoodness we were in hospital so you can say i've got both the medical and the personal experience
foxy have a friend who's baby was delivered at home - came out very very flat - mw had left resuscitator in the car thinking she wouldn't need it - imagine the panic! and also the mw will have all basic equipment it's not the same as having all the expertise available in hospital - occasionally need more than one pair ofexperienced hands and more than just the basic equipment
also if there is meconium staining - aspiration is much more likely in the home setting especially since you're unlikely to switch to c-section quickly enough in the cases that need it
On the reverse, DS1 got stuck - but the MWs and my birthing partners checked us over continually. After the standard of 2 hours of pushing, the normal procedure would have been to intervene. I had two very experienced MWs and birthing partners, and knowing that I was capable and the baby wasn't distressed I was able to continue pushing for another hour, changing position, moving etc etc. Now, had the doctors intervened my first, and no doubt subsequent births would have been very different indeed.
When DC3 was born I was about to start pushing when my foot kicked something under the bed, when I asked what it was MW said 'its just the resusitator, don't worry'. She had discreetly stashed it so as not to worry me.
Equally, DC4 was almost two weeks late. We were warned that if there was meconium in the water we would be blue-lighted to hospital immediately.
I'm really not trying to contradict your experience, GT, honestly - I hate it when that happens on here, but I do want to reassure the OP that there are many, many ways and approaches. Our experiences may not be too dissimilar, but our approaches very different.
FWIW I think that it is good that you present a different view, because these threads are generally overwhelmingly pro. Very, very few people have negative things to say about homebirthing.
A student who qualifies in a couple of months I don't think there are proper mws on this thread but could be wrong!
What equipment wasn't available at the births you mention? Were all these babies so severely compromised that they required treatments of last resort such as adrenaline or sodium bicarb? Mws carry every other piece of equipment necessary for neonatal resuscitation.
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- despite having to transfer in after delivery on both 2 & 3. I was soooo chilled about it all I was in fact still MNing 42 mins before DD3 was born 
Stain came out very quick 
Our bathroom mat absorbed everything. So yes totaly go for it and good luck x 
