To think that homebirths should not be permitted unless you're willing to pay for it all yourself

[sparkleymummy]

Its appalling that there are not enough midwives to go around and yet women still insist on having babies at home. Why on earth would you think you have the "right to decide" where to have a baby when that service is being paid for by taxpayers. You wouldn't think you had the right to have a hip replacement at home or any other medical procedures. What on earth gives these women "the right"

(Sparkleymummy is a bit bored as a result of teething baby having been asleep on her ALL day - She sits back and waits for the uproar )

And I hear tell you can get babies for free if you look under large cabbages. Though, granted, they're not exactly pretty.

someone mention cake?

Does the mw keep hold of the baby until you get your chequebook?

where do you want my payment then?

I'm sure it must be cheaper. The hospital dont have to pay to wash/incenerate sheets etc, clean up bathrooms, pay for anethatists(cant spell that word to save my life) to be on stand by incase something goes wrong. They dont have to pay your heating bill, water bill if you are at home.

It makes perfect sense to me even though the thought of a home birth scares me witless.

Home births ARE cheaper. Where I live the midwives try to persuade everyone to have a homebirth where possible - not just the earth mothers. Does not take more resources. One midwife while labouring, another arrives for the birth, they both leave. In hospital had far more staff involved, far more drugs and equipment and a bed for several nights.

Where are you getting this from, i've never heard this argument.

Princess I had no drugs, no epidural and virtually no midwife either time - as a result of the fact that there are not enough midwives to go around. I saw the midwife twice during labour with DS2 for about two minutes each time. As DS2 came out my mother shouted out "this baby is coming out now" and someone dashed in JUST in time to shove DH out of the way and catch him.(DS2 not DH)

Come on ladies I think I'm making valid points here. OK I might be taking it a little far in an attempt to get some debate going but is it really reasonable that resources should be used in this way??

If it REALLY is cheaper then I'll start a "lets all have homebirths campaign"

errrm homebirthing earthmother is actually contributing hugely to the economy as she is producing the next generation of workers and consumers. I think we can spare her a few quid for a midwife!

I am meant to be eating healthily Squonk!

on a more serious note:

To me, it is logical and obvious that a homebirth would be cheaper than a hospital birth.

You're not ill when you're having a baby so comparing it to a hip op is not very a valuable way of looking at it.

Plus I can decide exactly where I want to have my babies, thank you very much because I am the one giving birth and I am the one who decides where I would feel most comfortable and safe. Unless of course problems emerge.

Vive the NHS and the home birth option!

This is the dimmest argument I've ever seen on mn actually [amazed]

Do you think that you didn't have enough midwife time because they were all seeing to the homebirthers? Seriously?

Weird.

sorry sparkleymummy I don't see your point - you laboured with what sounds to me like a criminal lack of professional care - and therefore you think nobody should be entitled to the one to one care they get with a homebirth?

OK I didn't factor in the cleaning up afterwards. But we don't really do that anyway in our hospitals do we?

And if you get a bed for several nights you're very lucky. I was shoved out of the door as quickly as possible.

Maybe they had heard about my controversial views.

Bored of this thread now.

what about those people who live 100 miles from the nearest hospital? are they allowed homebirths, Sparkly?

The cleaning up thing is bollocks too. Contrary to the view of the Daily mail etc a huge amount of work goes into cleaning hospitals and keeping them safe. You generally only get to hear about the bad examples - so to redress the balance - I've given birth in hospital three times and it was perfectly clean on all those occasions.

Hi there,
I had a home birth the first time round and both the MW's that attended were off duty! They were my original MW's and the on-call MW just phoned them both to let them know that I'd started labour and they said "Don't send anyone else over, we want to deliver!" How nice is that!

One of them had literally just come off shift at the hospital after over 20 hours of work, in the labour ward no less!

Personally, I think they're both crazy but would've loved to have them both as my MW's this 2nd time round but we've moved into the next catchment area (by less than half a mile too!! ) ho-hum

So, I can safely say that my home birth cost no-one a single penny

So, how's your afternoon sparkleymummy hope your LO's teething eases up a bit, it sucks dunnit?!
Am expecting my LO's teething to kick in any day now (her first tooth has just started to shoot through, I reckon the next one's going to kick me in the nuts! )

Maybe you were in the wrong place.

When you looked around you, did you see aisles and aisles of food? Or was there gym equipment and people running on the spot at all? Was there muzak and fountains and a branch of Clintons Cards?

Ok, some UK info

Actually we probably can't count that as I've heard that mostly don't.

MRSA anyone?

OK before I have to change my MN name I confess I'm just really bored and trying to take the pressure off "leave your babies on their own in the bath" lady

go and petition your MP and the governmenr for more midwives instead of demanding other mothers have to justify their wishes to give birth at home, in a place where they are more likely to give birth in clean surroundings.

why shouldn;t women have babies at home?

having a baby is a normal part of a woman's life, and a lot of the time, intervention happens and things escalate because she is in hospital, where labour on someone elses's terms, under a time limit . we think it has to be medicalised in hospital

if the woman in teh next room to me had an epidural, ventouse and a doctor deliver her baby, she owes me a few hundred quid i reckon.as my birth was straightforward and intervention free

also, everyone who has an epidural should be charged more as they are tkaing an aneasthatist';s time up

and if you need stitches in theatre, then you should definitely leave a really big tip!

god, what an insane OP!

YABU - homebirths are usually attended by community midwives WHO WOULD NOT BE ATTENDING HOSPITAL BIRTHS ANYWAY!! (this is the case where i live and i believe it to be so elsewhere, i am ready to be corrected though). So women who choose a HB are not "taking away" midwives who would be in hospital, rather they are relieving the pressure on those hospital mw's.

OP you're going totally on your own experience of being in hospital, where you didn't get much mw time and you went home quickly.

However - even in your case, you had a bed which needed changing after you left, you presumably ate some food while you were there and maybe had a shower? All that costs.