What do mumsnetters think of freebirthing?

[withorwithoutyou]

Just wondered what people on here think of freebirthing as I've never seen it discussed on here before.

My gut feeling is that it's dangerous and an unnecessary risk but I've never really heard the positives - does anyone know much about it, or have experience of it?

If a woman is in labour and she is refusing to go to hospital, I should think the midwife would not have to contact a HV anyway. The mother and baby are under the midwife's care until 10 days so she would be able to contact SS directly. Refusing to see SS is a different kettle of fish than refusing to see a HV.

I would not like to be the woman who a midwife has phoned and ambulance to take her to hospital at all.

I gave email support to a woman who was having midwives essentially bullying her by saying stuff such as this. They told her that if she rang for a home birth that they would just send an ambulance for her instead.

That and a lot of other inappropriate things were said and done to her when she was asking for a home birth for similar reasons as mine.

With encouragement from yours truly, she contacted AIMS who contacted the RCM on her behalf. The Trust was forced by the RCM to pay for an IM for the rest of her pregnancy and to also provide an IM for every woman who requested a home birth after this till they had a home birth team set up. They were told to have a home birth team in 3 months.

This hospital now has an MLU which opened a few months ago. So, complaining does work. Unfortunately too many women are being cheated out of their choices because they have been unable to do so effectively.

I think you can have a safe "freebirth" which means to me "giving birth on your own" - including catching your baby. I just happened to be in the birth centre of a hospital with the midwifes as observers.

I use the analogy that they are like lifguards at the pool ready to step in in case of emergency..... you can have a "freebirth" birth plan in a hospital setting (although agree this is easier in a MLU).

I refused all VEs etc, and only had occasional doppler checks just by handheld doppler. Midwifes and DH were observers only.

With my last baby I was having a lovely, controlled, exciting labour (quiet, dim lighting, night-time, sat on ball at side of the bed 'reading') and it was only when I wanted to push that I got over-excited and buzzed for the midwife. Cue one m/w realising the situation and seemingly panicking because I was in a room on the antenatal floor and not on the delivery floor. Full lights on, coerced onto a bed (on my back after stressing all day that's not what I wanted), more staff called to push me on the bed into the lift), pain levels through the roof(due to being on my back) and control lost.

How I wish I'd phoned my dh rather than buzzed the m/w.

balloon-the midwives confused the natural and managed versions of the 3rd satage of labour. They tried tugging on the cord when I handn't had the injection. This could have caused a massive pph- the number one cause of maternal mortality.

While they were argueing with me about this they completly ignored DD, who was left lying on a wet bed. An hour after the birth she was still covered in vernix and hadn't been wiped or wrapped up or anything. They hadn't even weighed her or checked her. I wanted her to get wrapped up but they told me (and slightly pushed me) back to lying down. I noticed she was starting to go blue and tried to tell them this 3 times but they had their backs to me. When they at last turned round they went into a complete panic over her colour. She had stopped breathing and had to be resusitated. She was fine again after a minute.

An ambulance had already been called so when it arrived they wrapped her in a bathroom matt(!) (even though we had plenty of warm towels), left her head uncovered (!) and took her outside to the ambulance at 6am in the middle of winter.

The paediatricians at the NICU found nothing wrong with her, she had just got cold from not being wrapped up and then being taken out.

I know that they know they were in the wrong because 2 days later in the SCBU the superviser of midwives came to see me and said one of the midwives had accused either me or my partner (she wouldnt say who) of hitting her . Obviously there is not an ounce of truth in this. They must have been trying to make up a story as some kind of explanation as to why things went wrong. We spent the next couple of weeks thinking the police might knock at our door and arrest one of us but we never heard anything else about it.

I now have a huge fear of getting pregnant again (even though I'm really broody) because I never want to see any of these people again.

Forever, a case to take legal action if ever I saw one. Then they wouldn't dare come near you ever again.

Idiots. They assaulted you, pulling on the placenta like that.

I have thought about legal action but firstly neither of us suffered any actual physical harm and secondly I'm still a strong advocate of HB and wouldn't want a legal case to put midwives/mums/hospitals off it.

Forever that's shocking.

I think what this thread highlights, time and time again, is just the need for flexibility and awareness for both health professionals and women.

If I'd known that I might have been able to negotiate for less monitoring and intervention in hospital, I might have been more willing to consider a hospital birth...

I had a planned home birth (my 2nd, although 4th child) 11 days ago and the midwives simply refused to beleive i was in labour and didn't come! they were called by the hosp when it was evident i was actually pushing the baby out (gasped instructions to dh) and arrived 5 mins after ds was born. she had asked me on the phone an hour earlier whether i "could hold on for another 45 minutes I've got an early shift tomorrow" to which i said i didn't know...she knew i cdnt talk thru contrx, they were lasting longer than a minute...it's totally doing my head in, AIBU/hormonal/tired? i feel all the what ifs terribly and can't beleive she let me down like that. she's coming tomorrow shd i tell her how i feel or just get on with life?

sussexmum! I'd love a homebirth when I have dc2 but this is what puts me off, the thought of giving birth unassisted terrifies me. I gave birth within 30 mins of arriving at hospital because I kept being told I wasn't in labour and to stay at home. As much as I really don't want to give birth in that hospital again (forced to lay on back in stirrups - ugh!) at least if they don't believe me I can go in anyway. If I'm booked for a homebirth and they don't believe me they might not come! Theres a new mlu opening at our local hospital soon so I'm praying its up and running by the time I'm pg. I suspect I live near you btw .

I personally would never choose to freebirth, I found that during labour I was really frightened and looking for reassurance from mws. Having said that some women are treated so badly at a time when they are so vulnerable I can totally understand why they would consider doing something so extreme to avoid being in that situation again.

Sorry sussexmum, in answer to your question I would definitely say something to her and consider making a complaint.

My ds is 9mo and I still feel really upset when I think about the phone calls I made to the hospital when I was crying and begging to be allowed to go in and being fobbed off. They are supposed to assess you on the phone but they obviously didn't do it properly in either of our cases. Yanbu for feeling the way you do, she let you down and that is unacceptable. I regret not making a complaint.

Bump. Sussexmum how are you doing?

Great idea with knowledge, a pragmatic disposition, planning, confidence and the right support.
As a scientist who is married to an engineer ? I find free birth empowering and heroic rather than its opposite, which is passive and dependent. ?Ninedragons? ? do you have a degree? My husband and I have five of them between us. I wouldn?t? call that ignorant, nor the risk ?self indulgent? ? odd adjectives indeed. Restrict your observations to analysis and experience and not emotive opinion in future.
Don?t worry about legal action ? it was ?unexpected? wasn?t it?

As for being forced into an ambulance? Yeah right...just TRY me.

Any of those degrees medical, though?

Do you/DH know how to resuscitate a newborn? What would you do if the cord prolapsed in labour? How would you recognise a dystocia, and what would you do? What would you do about a PPH?

OP IS A YEAR OLD

(I've gone to capitals now, I'm so cross)

Yes - I've spotted there is a poster with an agenda to revive a number of threads on the same theme (someone who oddly thinks an engineering degree is relevant during childbirth).

But the questions in titles/OPs aren't time-limited and haven't become irrelevant through the passage of time. And newer arrivals on MN may not have seen them before, and may want to talk about this.

Yep, zombie thread but I'll bite.

I do have degrees - three of them. But none of them is in obstetrics or midwifery, so like your "science" degrees, they're useless in the circumstances. Nobody sane picks up the phone to request urgent help from an astronomer or a geologist when they're in labour.

Oh, I know, Edith, it's just the sheer number of them. And it's not just freebirth threads, but threads about choosing a female practitioner (which is apparently the right thing to do, unless your husband is an engineer in which case that's the right thing to do).

Ninedragons, that made me laugh, because my husband is a geologist. Lovely man, very supportive in labour, not sure his degrees helped a lot, though!

I think freebirthing is a reaction against women feeling out of control. Hence more of it in the states.

I'm convinced that a woman's experience of labour is at it's best when she feels supported. I get so upset when I hear those stories of being made to do something or have something done to them. It's disgusting and we should complain to avoid it happenin again.

I'm due DC2 and am wary of having a homebirth (had one with DS) because we can't afford an IM and I just don't trust someone who might disappear as her shift ends or try and force me into various positions. I'm not going to freebirthing but certainly don't want to give birth in hospital under a floodlight and am unsure about a MLU. what to do?!

Ah just spotted this is old. Doesn't make it irrelevant though - why so people get so annoyed about it?

Lol. My husband is a highly qualified and respected engineer so I'll be fine won't I?! Thank goodness I read this old, bumped post. I might have been a bit nervous giving birth for the first time had I not known about my secret advantage.

Iggly, you don't think there is anything annoying about someone bumping twenty threads about the same thing, which span a seven year period, in order to give her opinion on each one?

I can't imagine thinking that my viewpoint was so important, personally.

The get annoyed about it because the original poster will have had all the answers and may not even be around any more. TheRealDeal obviously has a real 'bee in her bonnet' and should stop using others to express it and start her own. I hate getting drawn in and then find it is ancient-this is a year old-the baby is probably walking!

Iggly - is there a hospital near to you with a "home from home" unit?

exotic: agree - definitely atypical (especially from someone with no previous posting history).

I understand why people do it. I know three mums who've done it and have considered doing it myself. The urge to do it arises from a deep, deep distrust of medical professionals.

The mums know who've done it are all loving, responsible people in every other aspect of their lives, and are fantastic mothers.

And all three had fantastically straightforward births with no birth injuries to them or their babies. And that included the mum I know who freebirthed after a previous c/s.

Not encouraging it or ignoring the risks btw. I just think that mothers who do it - rightly - believe it increases their chance of an uncomplicated delivery.

Of course if they do have a problem at the birth.....