For DH to insist on vaginal birth not ceasarean

I’d suggest epidurals are pretty common because of how common inductions are. I wouldn’t advise the drip without an epidural tbh after being in slow labour for days with little sleep. Cue replies saying they had a Syntocinon drip without an epidural. So did I and I didn’t sleep for days before my baby was born so I was absolutely wrecked before the Labour even really kicked off. They are recommended -forcefully in my experience - with inductions so women can sleep so they’re rested for the pushing.

@WithACatLikeTread Much more evidence is mounting to suggest that actually it does. What we do know is that with subsequent babies with a "normal" pregnancy history, there is certainly no greater risk with a homebirth than in a hospital delivery.
If you think about midwife ratios, for example... hospital births are often incredibly stretched re midwives and often you are given (for some of your labour) a midwife you've never met before.
Home birth: 1-1 midwife who knows you at all times, and two 1-1 midwives in established labour.

He shouldn't insist on anything, it should be what the mother feels most comfortable with in the first instance and what's best for the baby at the time of the birth. Romantic or not, he could put his dw and dc life at risk by insisting on something like this.

Bollocks to being noble and suffering to ‘reduce risks to the unborn baby’. I had a 19 hour back to back labour ending in an emergency section. No bloody way was I doing that with a bit of whale music and chanting. An epidural at the earliest opportunity thanks.

Because if an emergency happens, I’d much rather be at the hospital already than need a transfer.

But also because you can only get epidurals at hospitals.

I don't think a home birth reduces risks to baby. Give me a hospital any day!

Ewwww, how positively fucking creepy of you. Can't have them getting notions about what they're allowed to do with their vaginas!

@Vod I don't personally agree with elective section purely on the basis of convenience, no.

@CheeseSandwichRiskAssessment It's nothing to do with being "noble"; it's about reducing risk to the unborn baby.

No, the right to choose elective section, attempting VB even if higher risk, epidural etc.

@Vod Just to clarify, do you mean abortion rights?

About 10% of epidurals will lead to a drop in the woman's BP which in turn will usually cause a drop in baby's heartbeat - this generally corrects with IV fluids. The rare time it doesn't correct - an EMCS will be performed. The odds of this causing a bad outcome to baby are literally miniscule as the team are ready for this - you will only ever get an epidural in an environment that is prepared for a a fast emergency birth.

Needs.

While we're here, could you clarify whether you do indeed support women's right to choose?

@Vod Needs or wants?

It doesn't need to sit right with you.

But while you're deciding whether it does anyway, you also need to factor in the risks of the woman not having the pain relief she needs. If you're failing to do that, you don't have the full picture to base any conclusion on.

@SouthLondonMum22 Why not re homebirth?

@Vod We all have to do things in life we'd rather not do?
We can't hide from the fact that any intervention carries risk. So for me, a mother saying "It's my right and choice to have an epidural purely for the fact I don't want to feel any pain" doesn't sit right when this could potentially result in serious consequences to both mother and baby.
As I say, however, I wasn't fully informed and had I known an epidurlal would result in my baby's heart rate dropping critically low then I would have refused.

Exactly.

I can’t understand wanting a homebirth but it would be ridiculous to want to take that choice away from other women.

I simply just won’t have one myself.

Well said 🤩

Sorry but your views are absolutely ridiculous. Sounds like you think women should suffer because it's more noble or something.

The thing to take from this thread is that it doesn't matter whether one finds oneself unable to understand the birth choices of another woman. All that matters is that you support her right to make them, be that elective section, homebuilt or epidural. And you either understand that or you're a piece of shit.

Because the risk is small.

Because as a person, I matter too and I wanted as less pain as possible.

Because it is my body.

So I had polyhydramnios and if anything drs tried to force a vaginal birth on me. I already had contributing mental health factors which had made me decide to have a c-section before the poly diagnosis. But the poly diagnosis and the complications that came along with that only solidified it for me that a c-section was the right thing. I distinctly remember arguing with a registrar at my birth choices appointment that I’d already decided on a c-section and told my consultant who’s agreed to it (he’d left the hospital so they were revisiting me). They did not want me to have a c-section whatsoever. But I stood my ground. I actually went into labour the morning of my planned section and thank goodness no cord prolapse. Got to hospital and they asked me if I wanted to try vaginally and I said absolutely not. I think I’d got it into my head that I was having him at X time on X date and was not willing to introduce any uncertainty and unnecessary pain into it. I had a genuinely lovely c section and very easy, relatively pain-free recovery. There was never any real pain as I would liken my early contractions to (I was 3cm when I got to hospital after waters broke and was contracting for 1min every 4 mins, couldn’t talk or concentrate through them, and that was just early labour so I’m very aware it would have got a lot worse). So everyone is different and certainly in my experience having a medical issue such as poly does not guarantee a c-section. I had to push for mine and if it wasn’t for perinatal mental health team backing me I’m not so sure I’d have got it for poly alone.

What relevance does your toddler have? You can have an epidural, well we're supposed to be able to anyway. I couldn't, because I was unfortunate enough to fall into the hands of the sort of arsehole who didn't think it should be allowed. But in general.

And as I said, we don't have good data on outcomes for the appropriate group to compare with. This means claims about the risks of epidurals need to be caveated.

@SouthLondonMum22 So why increase risk unecessarily?