I had a home birth and can try to answer your questions if you have any

[Blueballoon90]

I’ll do my best :)

Did everything go to plan? How far away was the hospital in an emergency?

I would have liked a home birth for our second but we didn't have enough space really.

Hi, yes very fortunately it all went to plan. Our hospital is ten minutes away from home. This was a big factor in my decision to have a home birth

How many births have you done before, and did those experiences inform your decision?

Did you use a pool/bath?

My home birth was with my second baby. Yes absolutely my first birth informed your decision. Firstly because I felt confident after my first birth that my body was likely to be able to birth a second baby similarly to my first and secondly because I knew I didn’t want to give birth in a hospital environment again.

I had a birth pool but I didn’t use it

Can you give an outline of how both births went (sorry huge question!) and what the pros and cons were of home birth x

Ha yes, first birth: I went into labour at about 2am and stayed at home until 2pm the following day. I had contractions every 4 minutes or so from 3am. When I got to hospital I was only 4cm and had a little cry - I was expecting to be nearly ready to push! I found my first birth very painful and I was tired by the end. It was very busy and I felt as though I barely saw a midwife. I got in the pool but hated it. I think I possibly got in too late as I had to wait to be able to access one. I gave birth on my back with gas and air and pushed for about 20 minutes. I had a second degree tear. As soon as I gave birth I immediately felt a longing to be at home.

second birth: this started off slower with contractions every half an hour or so from about 9 o’clock in the morning. By 2 o’clock they were more regular and a midwife arrived closely followed by a second midwife. I had a pool but didn’t use it. I felt very calm and very in control. I felt much more supported at home than I did in hospital and as though my standard of care was much higher. I gave birth on my knees a few hours later and didn’t tear. Then I had the best shower of my entire life!

@m00ngirl sorry I’m answer to the second part of your question

pros: I felt calmer, my partner felt more at ease, I loved being in my own space, I had everything I needed around me, my standard of care felt better, being at home straight after having my baby felt surreal but in an incredible way

cons: I had a niggling feeling until the very end that I was potentially putting us both at risk if anything was to go wrong

This is amazing, thank you!

What did you do for pain relief in both births?

Why didn't you like the pool?

What did you give birth on at home (floor?) and how did you sort of clean up for want of better words!?

What did you do with the older child during labour? Was (s)he present? I also had my first in hospital and second home but we were lucky older one was asleep throughout!

We did a hypnobirthing course before my first birth and I’d really recommend this. I used essential oils at home and then had gas and air from about 6/7cms first time. At the end I begged my midwife for something more but she told me that he was literally being born 😂 a few moments later I was pushing

Second time I didn’t use anything but again as I was about to push felt as though I needed something. I had a couple of puffs of gas and air and then was pushing.

I really don’t know why I didn’t like the pool. I just felt hot and claustrophobic? As soon as I was in I wanted to get out. I didn’t even try getting in for my home birth but was glad it was there.

At home my body started pushing whilst still stood up. My midwife told me to lean against the sofa so I ended up kneeling on the floor. I think I had a towel underneath my knees.

My lovely midwives cleaned up so quickly, I didn’t even realise it was happening around me. I was too busy looking at my baby! We were really well prepared though with waterproof sheets covering our sofas underneath lovely soft blankets. I had loads of towels on hand but they had everything else that was needed

Aw that’s lovely, so your eldest woke up to a new sibling? My mother in law came to collect our eldest and took him for a sleepover when we knew I was on established labour

Thank you OP this is so helpful. I'm considering a home birth this time round

@lastgreat ah congratulations! I’d do it all again if I could (but we don’t want three children!) it was an incredible experience for us, good luck. Let me know if I can answer any more questions!

Ah I did the same - 31 years ago 😁. It was lovely!

I don’t have a question, but I had both of mine at home. It was lovely and I feel very grateful that I had such positive experiences.

You sound like a superwoman @Blueballoon90 congrats on your beautiful birth and thank you for sharing! ♥️