Would I be allowed a home birth?

[floppops]

Just started trying for DC 2.. In the middle of the two week wait.
I had my first DD at 36 and I am now 40. DD was a ventouse delivery resulting in borderline hemorrhaging. She was back to back with her arm up!
I am wondering whether I could have a home birth after an assisted birth and being over 40?.. A friend mentioned that having an episiotomy it was an issue also..
Really never never want to enter a postnatal ward again!!

[5madthings]

You may well be classed as higher risk due to age and depending on how much you bled, do you now much, did they class it as a pph?

But yes you can have a home birth as there is no 'allowed' to about it, its your choice.

An episiotomy is neither here nor there, if necessary they would do one at a home birth I think, but much less likely to need one.

[Salbertina]

Had one in similar circs tho was a bit younger than you. Agree, depends how much you bled. Was positively encouraged towards home birth! Ask and trust the mws, they will want to be supportive while realistic too.

[chocolatemartini]

Everyone has the right to a homebirth, and as long as there are no serious concerns and you are near enough a hospital for transfer if necessary you should be supported to do so.

[floppops]

All I know was it was classified as borderline pph, didn't need a transfusion. I am 5 minutes away from the hospital so I'm thinking worst comes to worst I can transfer fairly easily/quickly..

[5madthings]

Well borderline is not quite a pph, you are close to the hospital.


You may have to stand your ground a bit, look at the aims website.

But yes you can have a home birth. Speak to your midwife, maybe look into a doula if you feel the need for support.

[wombatcheese]

If the 'worst comes to the worst' 5 mins away could be too far. Another option would be to plan to be home 4 hours after birth and avoid the post-natal ward. I did this with DC2 after an unpleasant post-natal ward time with DC1, it was great.
All the best, fingers crossed for those two blue lines for you.

[floppops]

Wombat how did you plan getting home so quickly? I thought you had to wait for the new baby checks and that can be quite a wait? And it you're in at night or the evening you have to wait till the morning? Last time I gave birth at 3.40pm and was discharged the next afternoon..not a moment too soon. The postnatal ward was worse than actually giving birth!

[5madthings]

wombat that relys on them.being able to discharge you quickly ie they are not busy, got it with ds3 n
ot with any of my others and when i threatened to leave anyway without duscharge they said they would call social servicez...which is hilarious as dp works in that area!


And wuth a homebirth you will have one to one care, they spot potential problems and transfer you before it gets to the 'worst' hence why outcomes for home births show that for second time mums its as safe if not safer than hospital.

[5madthings]

Relies

[carlyvita]

Everyone has the right to a home birth, no matter what, if this is what you decide is best for you.

Check AIMS website for further info and support if needed.

Everyone has the right to discharge self and baby whenever they so wish from hospital. It is not a prison. You are there at your convenience not theirs.

I discharged myself after I'd showered and dressed. They were slightly taken aback, but I didn't feel the need to hang about. It was most pleasant to be home within a couple of hours and in my own bed, surrounded by family.

Had heel prick test at home and did the hearing test myself. Midwives and Health Visitors all can help with these things if you want, from comfort of own home.

All the best in making whatever choice is best for you.

[ClipClap]

I had a very similar childbirth experience (after labouring at home, planning for a home birth) and was encouraged by the midwifes to have a home birth next time, should I want another baby.

[ClipClap]

I meant to add, the midwifes (midwives?) said that the transfer to hospital and into theatre (by ambulance) took the same time as from labour ward/room to theatre as they can call ahead to get everything prepared.

[nannyl]

the only time you are not allowed a homebirth is if you are not mentally sound (ie have been sectioned for mental health reasons)

so long as you havent been sectioned every woman has the right to choose a homebirth, and midwives have a duty to attend a woman who calls them in labour.

So yes, you are "allowed" a homebirth...

wether hospital etc advise it is another matter, but regardless of their advice the choice is yours and only yours

[wombatcheese]

Floppops- I made it clear to my midwives that I wanted to escape ASAP after the birth, so long as all had gone well. They just have to get the paediatrician to do a quick new baby check before you do. As MWs are usually feeling overworked and short of beds they're usually v happy to accommodate leaving after 4 hrs, if all well.
No one can stop u having a home birth, but it is not as safe as being in hosp if things go wrong.
The quickest ambulance to a prepared theatre will never be as quick as an obstetrician and anaesthetist immediately being in your labour room.

[Schumann]

I had DC2 at 10:30pm and left the hospital 4 hrs later. This was given to me as an option. I jumped at the chance as had hated the post natal ward with DC1 and didn't relish the thought of going back there and DH being chucked out in the middle of the night.
Was bliss to wake up in our own bed the next morning

[nannyl]

wombat cheese....

being at home (if you are low risk) is actually safer than being in a hospital.

You are less likely to die / heamorrage / need intervention / tear etc etc.

In hospital you are in the right place if you break... but by being there in the first place you are more likely to break.

For a low risk pregnancy (especially 2nd or subsequent) the safest place to be is at home.

If you are birthing at home a real blue light emergancy transfer is unusual... you are normally advised to transfer before you get to that point.... most things can be picked up before they get to life threatening emergancy.

to say you are not as safe at home is positively incorrect, you are in fact safer and more likely to be alive as a result of your choice.

[wombatcheese]

Nannyl, I stand by my comments and have first hand experience and read the statistics to back them up. Having potential medical intervention right on tap is safer.
However, this thread wasn't started to discuss home vs hosp birth, so I'm just going to wish the OP all the best with her baby.

[brettgirl2]

wombat I think you are probably right on one way. But women who have homebirths get much better care and earlier in labour. I also have first hand experience of both

[nannyl]

we will agree to disagree than wombat.

I believe the safest place to be is the place where both me and baby are most likely to be alive as a direct result of their choice.

being alive with less drugs, a healthier baby and my body more likely to still be in tact is just another bonus, though the one that over rides everything in my mind is us both being alive at the end.... which is more likely by planning to be at home.

[workingtitle]

Sorry to hijack. wombat, the latest stats (the birthplace study) say at home or MLU is safest for subsequent babies. This study is the most comprehensive and methodologically sound out there.
www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/birthplace/results
But I understand if your first hand experience has made you wary.

[wombatcheese]

The birthplace study was published in the BMJ in 2011, so it's not the latest research on the matter.
Two important points to be aware of are:
Most high risk pregnancies will be in hospital, which skews the data unfavourably towards hospital births.
A home birth 'gone wrong' and transfered to hospital will be counted in statistics as a hospital birth, so the data is again skewed.

Nannyl- The study does not state home births are safer for either mother or baby, merely that intervention is less likely. This could be due to my above point. You may be interested in this study, published this month in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23791692

[nannyl]

thank you

yes i have already read it....

while that study doesnt say that, other studies have concluded that.

and most studies are not actually scewed because they only analyse low risk people in the first place.... so people who tick the boxes to be "allowed" a homebirth in the first place....
high risk people (whether they choose to birth at home or hospital) are not included in the analysis

One of the largest studies was performed by the NHS itself.... quite a while ago now actually.... the comissioned it because they wanted to show homebirth as less safe, so they could not offer homebirth at all.... but then the results did not show that....

[LaVolcan]

Wombat
To add to nannyl's posting:

A home birth 'gone wrong' and transfered to hospital will be counted in statistics as a hospital birth, so the data is again skewed.

No, as far as the Place of Birth study was concerned transferred cases were counted by the place where labour started. Which is how you get statistics showing a CS rate for home births.

American studies aren't fully indicative of the UK situation because of their differences in maternity care and qualifications of attendants.

[Minifingers]

Wombat - the place of birth study 2011 is the latest piece of large scale research done in the UK.

These are the figures for admission to high dependency care for women in the study:

Women who planned to give birth in an obstetric unit: 0.8%
Women who planned to give birth at home : 0.5%
Women who planned to give birth in a FMU : 0.2%

Free standing midwifery led units (FMU's) have no doctors or operating facilities on site. Women whose births become complicated need transfer by ambulance to the nearest hospital. In fact the only thing they offer that is not available at home is easier access to senior midwives in the event of difficulties (as there will be at least one midwife manager on each shift).

And then there was this report a couple of weeks ago:
"Planned home births are less risky than planned hospital births, particularly for second-time mothers, says research in the British Medical Journal." This comment was made in response to a study from Holland, which of course is much more relevant to the UK than any research into place of birth coming from the US, as in Holland most women have midwife-led care in labour, unlike in the US.

[nannyl]

minifingers i read that too...

though i believe the statement "planned hospital births are 2.5 times more risky than planned homebirths for second time mothers" would have been a better way to get the message across..... as thats what the data showed