Would you consider a homebirth if the hospital was a 2 minute drive / half a mile away?

[Prickled]

First baby, in my 20s and low risk. Hate hospitals. I either want a total no intervention vaginal birth, or an elective section.

Very worried about induction, interventions and instrumental delivery as friends and family have had horrific births with these.
I only know one relative with a straightforward birth in hospital and hers was 10 years ago. I know so many maternity units are in a dire state with poor CQC ratings.

I am wondering about a home birth but don’t know if the risk of that is huge given that I’m a FTM.

Your thoughts please :)

I was a very low risk, early twenties, first time Mum. I had my child in hospital and there were unexpected complications. My daughter is physically disabled due to the complications and if I’d had a home birth, she’d have died. Why would you risk this?

I had both of mine at home, so first and second baby. Never really considered the distance to hospital, but it was probably about 15 ish minutes. Actually where we lived at the time, the highest rate of home births was on a peninsula that was about a 45 minute drive to the nearest hospital with maternity unit. Women tend to chose to birth at home there more than anywhere else in the county because it's such a long drive to hospital.

I think absolutely if you'd like to have a home birth and you have good home birth care and support in your area, absolutely consider it if you are otherwise healthy and well with a straightforward pregnancy. I know lots of people who have very happily had home births with first babies, myself included. It's not for everyone and everyone will have some doom mongering scary story, but lots of people birth at home quite happily and experienced home birth midwives are very good at making decisions about when to transfer, such that your time to intervention if you need it can be similar to what it would be in hospital. Look and see if your hospital has a specialist home birth team or can direct you to a home birth group in your area.

MN is generally very opposed to home births so I think you’ll get lots of people telling you to go to the hospital!

I think it really depends on your attitude to risk. The risk of something going very badly wrong and you needing immediate medical attention (more immediate than the time it would take to transfer you to hospital) is very small, but the consequences could be extremely serious so you have to weigh it up.

I don’t blame you for wanting to avoid the hospital though as I didn’t feel very comfortable with the options near me. Are there any decent midwife-led units based in hospitals near you? I gave birth at one and I needed very little medical intervention so it was actually not that different from being at home (and less messy 🤣).

Yes I would, without a doubt

Just your midwife can awnser that tbh. In the meantime I'd recommend reading the positive birth book and stories of positive births.

I did this with my 2nd, hospital same distance.
It all went well.
Not sure I would have done it with my first one, you have no idea of what it's going to be like

Absolutely not. Anything could go wrong. You’re just increasing the risk for you and baby.

Assuming the hospital you're near has a consultant led unit, you're probably closer than I was when transferred between midwife led unit and consultant led unit on the same hospital campus...

Certainly closer than most MLUs that aren't at the main hospital!

With that short a journey it would be a lot more tempting, and tbh I'd go in a lot later in the process than I did with a 30-40 minute drive between home and hospital.

Normally I'm like why would you not because of the risks that stuff can go wrong out of nowhere but in your location it's a different story to rural areas!

Nope. I wouldn’t want to hog resources like that. My two were both emergency c sections too so a delay in medical attention could have seen one of us die. At the very least we would have used an ambulance that could have been avoided.

I think homebirths should be banned unless you are prepared to go private. No other medical procedure happens at home, I really don’t know why birth is different 🤷‍♀️

No other medical procedure happens at home, I really don’t know why birth is different

No other medical treatment expects you to nurse and care for a newborn you've only just met straight after though!

You go in for a simple local anasthetic procedure they make you have someone around at home, can't be left alone, can't be in charge of a small child. Yet they chop you in half to get out a whole human, sew you back up and expect you to crack on.

I had a similar question with DD1. She was diagnosed with an issue at the 20 week scan. So I choose a hospital birth. The transfer did massively slow my labour. It was all fine in the end (no intervention etc with an epidural). But being in hospital afterwards was just rubbish.

DD2 unmedicated home birth was much more relaxing/less stressful. It was super fast because I was relaxed in my own environment. That made me realise how much my stress around going to/being in a medical setting had slowed everything down (and increased risk) the first time round.

DD1 birth cost the NHS far far more then DD2 birth. Lots of people have their own views about risk around childbirth that are nothing to do with the data we actually have available. I would strongly recommend you read up on NICE guidelines to understand those for yourself.

For the first time though, you need to accept the high risk of hospital transfer from home. Childbirth is unpredictable. While relaxing at home might give you the best chance of a smooth labour, lots is unpredictable. The midwives will want you to transfer at even the smallest chance of increased risk.

I had four home births including with my first baby. I'd recommend it assuming there are no obvious issues before hand. In my case the hospital was two bus rides away and we didn't have a car at the time. Taxi would have been extortionate.

I had two midwives attend - one for me, one for baby - they help you get cleaned up and establish breast feeding before they go and then do a check visit a few hours later. I loved the freedom of being at home and being able to rest properly after.

I had a home birth with my first at 35, no problems. I felt the best place to give birth was where I felt safest, like you I don’t like hospital.

Have a chat with your midwife. If there's no medical reason why you should have baby in a hospital and there's the option for a home birth then go for it. It was never something I considered because I always wondered about the clean up afterwards!

I wouldn't but then I wouldn't a homebirth for any reason. Midwives tried to talk me into it for my second. No way I want all that mess in my home.

There is a small heightened risk to the baby as a first time birth.

https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/labour-and-birth/preparing-for-the-birth/where-to-give-birth-the-options/#:~:text=But%20if%20you're%20having,1%2C000%20for%20a%20home%20birth.

Is there an MLU option? I had both DC in one and it was simply wonderful. I would've chosen a home birth if we had had a third.

I had my first in hospital, second at home. The homebirth was a lot safer... I had midwives with me at all times, compared with the first birth where I was left to get some rest, as apparently still in early labour .. and gave birth alone 10mins later while DH tried to find help. The homebirth was advised 2nd time as we were quite a distance from the hospital and they were concerned I'd have another quick labour

Feeling safe is very important in childbirth. If you feel safer at home, talk to the midwife about it. (And similarly if hospital is whete you feel safe go there)

I had first in MW led unit - some areas have that as an option for low risk births. Could have had it at home but felt personally better in MW unit.

Next two at home -second in same area with first baby they had a very good community MW care and very supportive of HB. Very quick straight forward birth.

Next area it was a fight - we thought it best as had two rapid births already. We thought it was sorted but they put phone down on us second call asking where they were as DH said he could see the head and they were past estimated arrival time by fair but told him he was talking rubbish she was born shortly after. They ambled in post birth nearly an hour later and were upset we hadn't called an ambulance and tried to bully us into hospital - also lied on notes about being there. Lucky it was a straight forward birth as it was DH and me then one MW had gall to say we'd got what we wanted - no we'd expected MW to be there.

So I'd talk to MW but also consider how supportive they actually are.

Also was told with second pethidine was a pain relief option and did order in only to be told MW we had wouldn't ever use it at home. They also order gas and air late arrived well after birth of second and was told not allowed for third at all.

If there are complications or any concerns like none progression they'd do hospital transfer anyway - so a hospital birth and labour would be possibility.

I like the idea in theory (except I knew I wanted an ELCS) but the vast majority of my friends have had or needed varying degrees of intervention, some quite urgently. I don't know anyone who has had a textbook birth (other than those who, like me, had an ELCS. I may be unlucky but it would definitely put me off. I should also say that my SIL gave birth last week (she was induced) and she had an excellent experience and couldn't fault her care.

I was not very keen on a hospital birth but having now been through labour I wouldn't personally want to give birth at home. The majority of people I know have not had easy births though.

I did resist induction. I was very afraid of forceps but in the end they were necessary and were absolutely fine.

If you were principally concerned about hogging resources you wouldn’t be having a child in the first place.

And presumably you’ll be signing yourself up for dignitas when you retire.

Do it at home, hospitals are dangerous places.

With my first baby I started in the midwifery led unit attached to the hospital. When my waters broke there meconium, which can mean the baby is distressed. So I was rushed upstairs to labour ward. That was stressful enough.

Second baby all went well until he was about to be born and his shoulder got stuck. Midwives and doctors ran into the room, got him out and then sorted him out.

A few miles drive to the hospital wouldn’t have really helped me.

Personally no, because I work primarily with children with HIE and I only ever see the side where things have gone wrong, so my opinion is skewed and impacted by my job.

I can see the merits, and I know the majority of those births are good and I can see how a mum would be way more relaxed and comfortable in her own home- which must make it an easier and nicer experience.
So if thats what is right for a family then most likely everything will go well.

It's just many of the children I work with are born to young healthy couples with no reason to expect complications. So even though I was fit and healthy with textbook pregnancies, I didn't feel safe giving birth at home. Which for someone with a different experience may well be how they feel about hospital births so its really only a choice for an individual to make with their care team.

I had a home birth with my second. I got blue lighted in after the birth due to a PPH (about a 15-20 min drive) and I don't regret my home birth at all. The MLU I would have gone to was about a 35 mins drive anyway!

Speak to your midwife and get the ok, but a home birth is a great experience. I felt so much more in control, I could do what I wanted. The midwives didn't interfere at all and I basically just gave birth with them watching, they let me just get on with it naturally. My eldest daughter was there (an adult) and it was such a special experience for us all. My eldest is so close to the youngest after seeing her being born. She held her within minutes of her being born.