Home Birth instead of Hospital - allowed? and Waterbirth Advice Please

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When I had first Midwife appointment I was unsure of which Hospital I wanted to go to and was told that if I didn't know they couldn't continue with the appointment so I chose one there and then with no research (I wasn't advised I'd need to decide at first appointment).

I'm happy with Hospital (chosen as the nearest) have had 12 and 20wk scans there.

However, I'm now thinking I'd like a homebirth, am 26weeks. Am I 'allowed' to change my mind. I see a Midwife at Drs Surgery and haven't met any of the Midwives at the Hospital.

With homebirths and a waterbirth I'd like, do you have to have a pool for giving birth at home? It would need to be upstairs and I'm worried about it spilling, even tipping over! and really don't want house repairs to ceiling with a newborn! Can you give birth in the bath? this would be my preference as secure! small bathroom though but enough room for a Midwife and DH.

TIA

you can change your mind whenever you like as to where to have a baby right up to when you are in labour.

I had a home water birth and it was fabulous. Why can't you have a pool downstairs? Spilling or tipping over is a small concern. You can lay down plastic sheets from B&Q or cheap shower curtains to protect flooring from spillage and tipping over isn't a concern, really. They wouldn't past testing stage if this was a likely occurrence.

Thank you for your reply, it's reassuring to know I don't have to stick with Hospital and can have a homebirth seeing Midwife next week so will discuss then as haven't written birth plan which should help.

I can't have a pool downstairs as we have just one reception room and Dogs that would be distressed with me giving birth infront of them! and bless them, would get in the way. They're also older so couldn't stay upstairs as need easy access to the garden.

The main thing with a pool upstairs is to put near an external wall (or 2) if possible. That will be the strongest part of the flooring. Rather, if you think the floor of our house can hold 10 adults in the same room then the floor is strong enough for a birthing pool.

BTW a pool is far more comfortable than a bath tub will be. The water depth is deeper so it covers your bump when you kneel on the floor and kneeling on the floor of a bath could be painful after a short while anyway. The pool I had had sturdy rubber sides and a sturdy rubber floor which also inflated so was v comfy on the knees.

The smallest pool out there is the La Bassine / Made in Water pool. I had one and would again if I were to ever have another baby.

I understand you're happy with the hospital you've chosen, but its worth knowing that you can change your planned place of birth at any point during your pregnancy - whether that's hospital to home, home to hospital or changing hospital.

From my experience, NHS MWs "can't" book you in until you pick a hospital as they need to fill in the appropriate set of notes for whatever hospital you choose. They're quite capable of filling in an additional set of notes should you decide at some point that, actually, the hospital you selected randomly at booking on the basis of zero information isn't where you actually want to give birth...

You only need a pool if you want a water birth. A bath is possible, but (from my experience) wouldn't be comfortable - most women, if left to their own intuition, will adopt a forward leaning posture during labour and most bath tubs aren't of a shape/depth to accommodate that.

(And, in the words of Mary Cronk, '"Allow" is not a word to use to a mentally competent adult.' :o)

I had two water homebirths. Both were in our tiny bathroom in our own bath. I'd recommend it but make sure you ask your MW if its ok with them as it might be an awkward postition for them to work in.

Your bath may also not be deep enough, especially if you want to get on hands & knees or kneel as the baby has to be completely submerged when it comes out.

Everyone I've known to have a Hb has had it in their living room. You need room for all the stuff and unless your bedroom's huge it probably wont fit. Can you do something with the dogs,like put them in the kitchen, or stay with friends?

Dont worry about it tipping over, they are vv heavy when filled.

I changed my mind and booked a homebirth at 34 weeks, I've since had 2. The one with the water pool was much better, the bath/shower didn't cover the bump enough. With the pool I was there for hours and could float into whatever position I wanted. I would check the size of the room and what weight the ceiling will support, as midwives will have to check Health and Safety for a home birth and will want proof upstairs is safe and there is room for them to manouvre in an emergency. A blow up pool is usually small/light enough , however.

I have a v small house which is open plan so its hard to keep my dogs out the way as well. Midwives will insist on it as another Health and safety ( they can't be sure you dogs won't be protective and attack). They can be trained over a few weeks to be used to a restricted area using dog gates across doorways, or even a dog cage ( recommend frozen filled kongs or big bones that take ages to chew). Make sure your partner is taking them for long, tiring walks and they will be happy to stay quiet for a few hours. Best if someone can look after them for you , though.

Had home birth in our kitchen! Birth pool in a box worked really well, but takes a long time to blow up (you might want to warn your dh!) but does really well to contain the mess.

I'd think it better if your dogs were taken out of your home once you start labour. Friend? Neighbour? Much better if you're unsure about their behaviour, so you and midwife can concentrate on what you're doing!