if I employ an independent midwife to give me the best possible chance of a homebirth?

[twinkle5]

I am 32 week pg with my first baby. Quite early on DH and I decided that a homebirth was the most appealing option for us. Our NHS midwife was very positive and cemented our descision with her backing. We live in a high homebirth rate area.
However, at the 28wk appointment our midwife told us that if lots of women go into labour at the same time as me, then it is likely that we would be asked to go in to hospital as they are understaffed. We decided that to avoid this situation, we would employ an independent midwife for the birth. I have just had a 32wk appointment with the NHS midwife and told her this- she appologised for the state of the NHS and asked us to write a letter to the head of midwifery explaining our reasoning. Anyway, I feel terrible- I have been more than happy with the care so far, and part of me thinks that I should just take my chances with the NHS. Equally, I really want to be at home.
What would you do?

If you can afford it-do it.
You have a chance to build a relationship with her (assuming you pick one you like) and you know she will be there for you-there is a lot to be said for some kind of certainty where birth is concerned-especially your first.

I think its unlikely that there wouldn't be an NHS midwife available. But if they were busy they may be unable to provide a midwife - its all very well saying they HAVE to provide a midwife, but if there isn't one then there isn't.

They can't always get a midwife from a neighbouring trust. They can try ringing round the midwives at home but if they don't want to come in when they're not on call they don't have to.

You could always try ringing the independent midwife at the last minute if no NHS ones are available.

The other thing to consider is that if the hospital is too busy to send a midwife to you at home, they may well be too busy to attend to you properly if you do go into hospital. I gave birth on a busy day and had 5 changes of midwife and was left alone for almost all of the second stage (well, I had DH but ykwim). If you hire an independent midwife she will usually accompany you to the hospital if you have to go in for any reason, she won't be allowed to deliver the baby but she can do everything but actually catch it as it falls out, iyswim.

Twinkel, a freind of mine had this debacle, and her own community m/w's kicked up such a fuss and she was almost ready to just go to Hospital just for the piece....but when it came to it it turned out that that was all absolute tosh, because she didn't , in the end, had her own community m/w's anyway, and the ones she had were from a nearby area, and they told her, that if your own m/w's on duty aren't available then they automatically call out some other on duty m/ws!
In the end it is your right to have a Homebirth, but can understand why you would want an Independent m/w...if you cna afford it, than go for it!

I too had this dilemna first time round (and again now I suppose).
I wanted to get an independent MW but no one covered Norfolk then.
I did write to the Head of Midwifery at local hospital and though they still wouldn't guarantee me MW cover, I think writing the letter helped.
Had a community MW plus hospital MW when I gave birth (another MW came intially but left when they arrived as she'd done her shift but she had been willing to stay if nec).

This time I got straight in there and contacted an indie MW who does cover Norfolk, but she quoted me £3000 on the phone and when she came to see me it was suddently £3700, or sth silly. I think this is way too much so am chancing it with the NHS again and going to book a doula if not too late.

If you can afford it and like the Indie MW then why not go for it.
If not then a doula may well be an idea and may help you to push for MW cover if needed once you're in labour. I get the feeling hospitals are keen not to push women to go in if they are booked for home birth but nothing is set in stone...

Even if you do go down the indy route, you may end up with a transfer to hospital so please please plan for that just in case. and then the hospital may insist on using their staff once you get there (the famous mary cronk, down in chichester, has an arrangement with her local hospital and they "let" her in, but she reckons that she's lucky). btw she charges about £2,700 in case you wanted to know about cost.

thanks for all the replies!
I am now thinking that a doula is a good idea- at least they could be assertive on my behalf! We are lucky to be able to afford an IM at this point in time- we wouldn't usually be able to, however obviously the money could be spent on lots of other things!
decisions, decisions!

Bundle,
I realise that I could end up in hospital anyway- I just want to give myself the best chance! We have agreed a 'birth only' option so it is not as expensive as that.

Twinkle, if the MW has agreed a birth only option then that's great, some indie MWs won't do this (the one I contacted wouldn't even consider it).
Am sure it is far nicer to give birth with a MW you have met and like rather than one you don't know, or an assortment of them, as in my case!
You can then brief her on your birth plan (if you have one), what sort of support etc you think you'd prefer in labour, etc, etc.
I hadn't met any of the three MWs who were at my home birth which is not the most relaxing/reassuring state of affairs. Appreciate for most women in hospital it is like this, but again its not ideal and if you can afford the choice then why not...

Before hiring a IM, ask to speak to the Supervisor of Midwives at the hospital and failing that the LSAMO (Local Supervisory Area Midwifery Officer)

Google it and you will find the LSA for your area.

The SOM is there to help facilitate your choices and to ensure safe midwifery practice to protect the public.

By doing that they may well facilitate more midwives to be on call when you are due to give birth.

What area of the country are you in?

Here is a link to LSA

A = authority not area!

mears, I'm in Brighton.

Message withdrawn

I wanted a homebirth with DS2. I had a very straight forward birth with DS1 and my NHS midwife was very supportive and hoped she would be the able to come out herself, apparently all the midwives in this area love HBs but don't get the chance very often.

I went into labour on Easter Sunday and phoned for the midwife only to be told there was only one community midwife on duty and there had to be two present at a HB. I was really gutted and despite being no shrinking violet, I had to agree to go into hospital. The community midwife came to the hospital to deliver me. The thing I was a bit annoyed about was that there were no free midwives in hospital either and she ended up delivering DS on her own anyway. I was in and out within an hour but still, it wasn't the HB I wanted. To make matters worse all the people at the hospital kept referring to me as "the homebirth lady" Ermm...does it look like I'm at home!

If you can afford it, go for an independent midwife, I think that it is the only way to guarantee a HB. Good Luck.

You'll find your LSA midwifery officer on the link Twinkle

Like you I wanted a homebirth and was told that there may not be the staff to cover it. I took the gamble and when the time came a midwife was available and I had a lovely birth at home. I would have been very disappointed to end up in hospital so if you feel strongly about it you should do what you can to have it the way you choose.