Homebirth questions

[mumtoone]

I'm seriously considering a home birth for my second child and I've lots of questions rolling around my head! It would be interested to know the answer to the following questions from those who've had a homebirth already.

What special things did you get in for your homebirth?

What did the midwife supply?

What room did you give birth in?

Did you move around your house much during labour?

Did you have other children at home at the time?

Apologies if this looks like an exam paper!

[aravinda]

Hi !


What special things did you get in

Blankets and plastic sheeting & cake for the midwife and doula!

What did the midwife supply?

All the medical equipment (not much needed!) was in a red box, gas and air.

What room did you give birth in?

1st was born in living room, second child born in bedroom

Did you move around your house much

Yes, lots of back and forth to the bathroom and also hanging off mantlepeice, using kitchen worktops to lean on etc - you will start to see your house in a whole new way!

Did you have other children at home at the time?

2nd time I had a 2 yr old who my doula bathed and put to bed before she helped me get through my labour.

Have a look at homebirth.org.uk for loads of really great info and stories!

[Indith]

What special things did you get in for your homebirth? A waterproof sheet and cheap/old bottom sheet for the bed. Duvet cover also good idea...I got really cold in labour and Dp didn't think to put the old one on! Plus you need to have towels etc for the baby ready then anthing else you want, music, massage oils etc.

What did the midwife supply? everything she needs is delvered to you at 37 weeks including gas and air etc. If you want pethidine you get givn a prescription and you pick it up yourself.

What room did you give birth in? Bedroom

Did you move around your house much during labour? Had a bit of a spell in the bath, living room and then my bed....aftr that moving seemed like far too much effort!

Did you have other children at home at the time? This was number one so no!

[carol3]

have had 2 home births, they were fantastic. In answer to your questions

The only special things I got in were a couple of value shower curtains one for bed and one for the floor, and some old towles.
Oh and a birth pool for my second hb.

The midwife supplied everything else, gas and air, medical stuff ect.

What room did you give birth in? In the bedroom, stood up, and second in a birth pool in the kitchen !

Did you move around your house much during labour?
Only at first but once things got going stayed in the same place.

Did you have other children at home at the time?
with my first home birth, ds1 was 2 so he stayed around for the first bit and then went to a friends for a couple of hours.
With the second hb, Had my friends kids round as well as ds1 and dd1 so she came and picked them all up to go to her house for a couple of hours.
Both were daytime, I think I would have kept them at home if it had been in the night.
Hope this helps
Good luck

[Indith]

Oh and lots of tea and biscuits!

[Goodasgold]

We had a shower curtain covered with blankets and pillows like a bedouins tent in the living room where I gave birth to dd2. Also had cheap buckets and pampers bed mats for 'the mess'.
Midwives had everything they needed, they appreciate tea/coffee toast and biscuits.
I moved around the place a lot, but did not leave a trail or anything.
My dd1 was 7 and slept through the whole thing, then got up in th emorning and came to see her sister. The whole experience was good, but that bit was magical.
Beware, it makes you think twice about moving house, for me it consecrated our home and made it feel like a part of our family. Hate the idea of moving now, even though too small, inconvenient etc.

[girlies2]

Hi

I tried for HB with DD1 but got whizzed into hosp at last min for bloody epesiotomy!,Had lovely HB with DD2- only 4hrs.

I had shower curtain, sheets, towels and spare duvet for me- moved about at beginning but then on the bed. Midwife bought everything including Gas and Air!!, My mum came and collected DD1 for a few hours for us so i didnt have to wory about her getting upset.

Highly recommend Home Birth!!

[squidette]

I had my second son at home and it was lovely

I had a special pregnancy/birth homeopathy set with different types of remedies that was a GREAT distraction/focuser as well as 'feeling' natural too (not sure of the effectiveness though..) I also had a essential oil burner with some yummy smells, loads of towels and ice, ice and more ice to crush up and suck on. Beanbag that was invaluable - i rolled about a lot and ended up with my head buried in the beans and my nether regions smiling at the moon, and actually gave birth that way too. Bucket, teabags and comfy clothes.

Midwife brought gas and air, plastic sheeting, and all 'baby bits'. And herself - which was the most important part as she was the one that encouraged and supported me right from when i mentioned that i thought it would be 'nice'.

I moved a lot - but mostly on all fours. The freedom of not being strapped to a bed or a monitor was bliss.

Gave birth in the living room as it was next to the kitchen. And lovely and warm and space to move, but small enough to feel 'nested' if you see what i mean.

I had my eldest son asleep upstairs - i had called my mum when my waters broke so she had come to babysit/sleep in the spare room with my eldest son, rather than to be a support for me. We chose this way together and she later said how wonderful it was to hear all the goings-on and when he was born, she heard us all laughing and talking to the new fella with our cups of tea and chocy biscuits.

I wish i had known of a resource like mumsnet when i was pregnant, i would have been asking the same questions as you!

[LAtyke]

Nicest thing is getting into your own bath after the birth - then snuggling up with baby in your own bed. Bliss!

Ds (age2 at the time) slept though the whole thing

[Beauregard]

I gave birth to dd2 at home but it wasn't planned so we had nothing ready or organised and not even a midwife but i thoroughly recommend it ,lol.Especially the giving birth lying in the doorway of a small bathroom even though you are 6ft 2 part

[TeeCee]

What special things did you get in for your homebirth? SOME OF THAT PLASTIC SHEETING YOU USE WHEN YOU DECORATE TO STOP PAINT ON THE CARPET ON IN THIS CASE BLOOD.

What did the midwife supply? NO IDEA. SHE WAS JUST THERE AND SHE CLEARED EVERYTHIGN UP WHILE I WAS IN BATH WITH MY NEW BABY

What room did you give birth in?
SPENT MOST OF THE LABOUR IN MY BATH THEN GOT OUT AND HAD HER IN MY BEDROOM.

Did you move around your house much during labour? NOPE. WENT FROM BEDROOM TO BATHROOM TO BEDROOM, BACK TO BATH WITH BYBS AND THEN BACK TO BED WITH HER. BLISS.

Did you have other children at home at the time? YES, SHE'S 4 AND SHE WAS IN BED WITH MY BEST MATE. THEN AS THE HEAD STARTED TO CROWN AND I KNEW SHE WAS AWAKE HAVING STORIES READ TO HER I GOT MY NEST MATE TO BRING HER IN AND EVERYONE SAT ON THE END OF THE BED AS DD2 SLIPPED INTO THE WORLD [SMILE]

[LAtyke]

Oh, forgot to say midwife was very organised and gave me a list of things I might need.

[2boysmacca]

I had a homebirth with ds2 and it was an amazing experience.

We bought a few shower curtaind for the floor, an old duvet for the sofa and midwife provided lots of absorbant disposable mats. Everything she needed was left in the house in a big box a couple of weeks before due date.

I gave birth in the living room, with the help of the sofa to hold my upper body. Everyone wants to know where you gave birth and looks in horror when you tell them 'where you are sitting'

I used the stairs a lot whislt in labour and my birthing ball.

My son (2.2 at the time) was nicely tucked up in bed with my mum in case he was disturbed.

Ds2 was born at 5.30am. ds1 came down at 6.02 to see his new brother, and mummy sitting on the floor. A truly wonderful experience and I would recommend to anyone.

[Flumpytina]

I had dd2 at home and like all the rest of the posters its was a very positive and happy experience...I would thoroughly recommend it if your pregnancy is fine.

We used the plastic decorating sheets with old towels on top, suprisingly there was very little mess and half an hour after the birth my sitting room was back to 'entertaining the vicar' standards!!

I just moved between sitting room and the loo and used the birthing ball alot.

The midwife brings everything...our PCT won't allow pethedine at home births so I just got by with Gas & Air.

Best tip I got was to have lots of flat full fat lemonade to sip throughout....(with straw)keeps sugar levels high without making you feel puky.

The BEST bit is having a shower in your own bathroom, and then getting into your own bed with new baby...so peaceful and quiet and relaxed....and no other babies crying, or noisy ward sounds. Heaven!!

[Flumpytina]

Oh and we sent dd1 to stay with friends, she was only 15 months old so didn't really understand and I didn't want to freak her out with all my yelling!!

[tortoiseSHELL]

Only read OP

SPecial things to get in - plastic sheeting! I think it was like a tarpaulin thing to stand on. We also got some new towels for afterwards, so we could throw away our cacky old ones.

Midwife - supplied everything medical, including gas and air, although we didn't use it.

Room - my bedroom both times

Move around - dd - not at all, ds2 - more, made cups of tea, did a bit of MNetting(!)

Children - no

[mygirllolipop]

Message withdrawn

[mumtoone]

Thanks for all these responses I've found them very useful. There are certainly some good adverts for homebirth here. I'm only 18 weeks pg now so I will have to wait and see if everything goes smoothly with pregnancy. If it does, I'm going to push for a homebirth. I think the main attraction is being able to get in your own bed afterwards. I hated the postnatal ward when I had my ds and I plan to avoid it this time if at all possible.

[MarsLady]

You can request a homebirth and if you want to (though why would you) you can change your mind. You can't sadly do it the other way round ie book hospital and change to homebirth (at least not very easily).

[Lio]

mumtoone, my best advice is to borrow this book from your library: Your Birth Rights by Pat THomas. So useful to know your rights and proper information. IN answer to your questions:

1. I got a birth pool (and related stuff e.g. torch, small stool, thermometer), TENS machine, plastic sheeting, old sheets/curtains.

1. Gas and air and loads of clearing up - they were brilliant.

1. Living room

1. No, but only because when it happened I didn't want to/couldn't (it was v quick).

1. Yes, ds slept through it. If it had been daytime we would haved called my parents.

Also you might want to consider hiring a doula if you can afford one.

[NorksBride]

What special things did you get in for your homebirth?
A plastic builders sheet for the bedroom floor. (Didn't use it)!! Absorbent bed pads - Pampers Dry Nights will do - for blood (and later milk) loss.

What did the midwife supply?
Nothing for the house, just the things she needed for the birth.

What room did you give birth in?
Bathroom - in the bath.

Did you move around your house much during labour?
Not really, it was less than an hour from 1st contraction to birth.

Did you have other children at home at the time?
Yes, DD1 not quite 3yo and DS1 aged 15mths. It was 7.30pm so they were both in bed. And neither woke up.

Apologies if this looks like an exam paper!
Your welcome!

[NorksBride]

Definitely with Flumpytina on the bliss of being in your own shower and your own bed. And DH provided excellent room service! It was lovely. I so want to do it all again!!!

[cheritongirl]

i would just second everything that everyone else has said - HB is great and I would really recommend a birthing pool if you like being in the water. Only other thing you might want is a nice bottle of chilled champagne at the ready - one of my happiest ever memories is lying in my bed with my baby and husband, surrounded by our families drinking champagne to welcome our first child! All the best
p.s. not to scare you but maybe just check with the midwife to have enough g&a - they ran out half way through stitching me up which wasn't so fun- but you do get an anaesthetic!

[Flumpytina]

mumtoone, you have plenty of time to decide what you want to do. I changed my mind at 38 weeks and requested a Home Birth rather than in the hospital. My midwife was just fine about it (they are really pro home births in our PCT), she came round a few days later and we had a chat about what it would involve. The next day the box of kit plus G&A arrived. It was suprisingly uncomplicated once I made the decision although I imagine not all PCT's are as pro-active as mine!!! Probably tell your midwife now that you might be interested but I doubt you have to make a firm decision yet!