to lie knowingly and deliberately to get my own way?

[HorsechestnutBlossom]

I had booked in a homebirth for months only to be told on the day there isn't a midwife available so you'll have to come in!

As an experienced homebirther (3 previously!) I was not going to be fobbed off so I told them the contractions were coming every minute! (lies lies lies)

I told them I could not come in and see you soon!

Heard them muttering to each other on the phone in the background she's too far gone we need to get a midwife to her she refuses to come in, then I did some extra yelp-in-labour for good measure and hung up.

A midwife rang me 2 minutes later saying I'm on my way.

And so I got the homebirth I wanted.

Thats not to you dilemma btw it was in response to the rather odd post from Iris.

Dilemma that is awful but according to my midwife she is from a separate pool of mws to hospital mws (so my having one would not mean one less at your hospital iyswim) where they have to handover care to a hospital based midwife.

I agree that would have been awful otherwise.

But what a system if it was! I doubt a single woman in England would EVER request a hb if they knew women would be suffering more in hospital!

But I've been told by my authority that is never the case.

oh ffs!

For the last time (I hope):

Community midwives do home births.

Hospital-based midwives do hospital births.

Having a home birth is not depriving a labouring woman or three of a midwife.

All midwives are trained in how to handle shoulder dystocia. One of the best ways to avoid it is to be upright, mobile and active when giving birth, all of which are more likely to be curtailed in hospital; arguably therefore SD can be less of a problem in a home-based unmedicated birth (epidurals lead to more immobility and more chance of immobility-induced complications).

Frankly OP, I would not have lied about how far along I was, but I would have very tempted to tell the midwife at the end of the phone that I was going to stay at home anyway, and let them organise themselves accordingly.

dilemma sorry about your stillbirth but you're completely WRONG about op taking a midwife away from a hospital. If you're worried about that you would be better off being livid about a woman demanding a c section for non medical reasons ie the too posh to push brigade who are in hospital taking away midwives.Midwives are NOT taken away from hospitals.

Although arguably Jammy, you're only monopolising an obstetrician by demanding a C section (not that I believe that they are granted quite so easily as "on demand" any more...). By not having a vaginal birth, you might actually be liberating a midwife. Obviously though you'll be costing a lot more money by having a C section...

True! ULtimately the women who are least likely to cause cost to the NHS ie the ones who actually want to have hbs and therefore free up beds, don't ask for hospital meals, don't give hospital a laundry bill etc should definitely be able to get a midwife without any stress whatsoever especially as it was already preplanned and prebooked.

Frankly it's disgusting what the op suffered and the opinions saying she was selfish shheesh!