Talk

Flip

Get updates on how your baby develops, your body changes, and what you can expect during each week of your pregnancy by signing up to the Mumsnet Pregnancy Newsletters.

Childbirth

home birth with midwife who delivered only 2 babies in 15 years???

8 replies

mumofjakub · 25/01/2007 12:57

We are away from the UK for 2 years. Our second baby will be born in Poland. I really want a home birth and have 2 midwifes to choose from: one is from the town we life, delivered only 2 babies (home births) during last 15 years (she is a community midwife, visits the mother and child after the birth, but started doing hb last year). She worked in a hospital before she became a community midwife.
The second midwife still works in a hospital, but she lives in another town, 3 hours away. (as you can see home birth is not very popular here , my gynaecologist thinks I'm insane )
I don't know if I should consider the first midwife at all, I'm not sure if she has enough "fresh" experience to do home birth. What do you think?

OP posts:

Report

belgo · 25/01/2007 13:04

Two births in 15 years is very little experience. I had a home birth with two midwives with more then 30 years of delivering babies betwwen them!

Usually a midwife has to attend a mimimum number of births to qualify as a midwife (someone correct me if I'm wrong) and two births in 15 years is very very little.

It is absolutely vital that you have complete faith in your midwife, like I did.

Report

bossykate · 25/01/2007 13:07

sorry, i think this is far too little experience... i doubt it would be enough to maintain registration as a mw in this country. i think it would be too risky for you and the baby.

Report

bossykate · 25/01/2007 13:09

oh sorry forget my point re registration...! she is a community mw.

how many actual deliveries has she done in total? is it only 2 in 15 years or is that just the number of home births?

Report

mears · 25/01/2007 14:06

Well this is not as straight forward as you possibly might think. I know many midwives who have not delivered a baby for 15 years or more! I know community midwives who have not attended homebirths for years either, however it would be expected that they would update their experience by going into the labour ward prior to undertaking homebirth.

In our area (and in most of UK) there are 2 midwives present at homebirths. Often one is more experienced than the other. Do these midwives ever work together? If not, are they on their own or do they have a support worker?

In your post you said she has done only 2 homebirths in 15 years. Has she been a CMW for 15 years or was she working in the hospital doing deliveries within that time?

The only thing about these midwives is that they must be pretty committed to normality to want to undertake homebirths when it is so uncommon. You need to have a full discussion with them to decide how confident they are and also to ask how they keep updated.