What do I need to do to prepare for a home birth?

[Thomcat]

I'm due 22 December, 2nd child. Ist born in an active birth centre. Had a little girl with Down's syndrome who needed to go into intensive and then specail care. Laboured at home until last second. When I got to the borth centre I was fully dilated and ready to push straight away. Waters never broke, came out whole with baby. From 1st mild contraction to babe in arms was 6 hours, no complications, no pain relief and had her standing up.

This time, I have a one to one midwife who will come to me when i go into labour. If things go as well as they did last time, and things are moving as quick, probably quicker than last time, and as the hospital is about half an hour away, withput traffic, i', happy to deliver at home.

If things are slow and labourious I might like to go into the birth centre and have the water birth I thought I'd have last time.

i'm leaving it open basically.

but if it does happen at home what might I need to do, have ready?

I don't really have the space to get in a hired pool to have a water birth at home.

Did you all have yours in your bed?

Tips, stories etc would be hugely welcome.

Many thanks.

TC x

Hi - this is the first time I've visited the site, read all your comments and am really pleased to hear such lovely stories. I've got 11 weeks to go and am still working on my partner re: home birth. He has a child already and there were major complications at the birth so I understand his nervousness but every delivery is different so I'm determined.
Thanks for such positive examples to give 'him' I plan on getting my plastic sheet this weekend!

Hi, I have had 5 homebirths, first 3 girls in The Netherlands, where it is normal to deliver at home unless you have got a problem. The 2 youngest boys are born here. It is fantastic for the children to be able to see the new baby straight after it is born. The last one was born in the middle of the night. We lived in a two bedroom house at the time , all the children where asleep in the nextdoor room and didn't wake up......it doesn't need to be loud. When they woke up next morning they came trough to our bedroom and saw the new baby. It was a wonderful experience. One of the main advantages is to sleep in your own bed afterwards with your husband there. We did have someone on stand by just in case the children would wake up, I didn't want them to be there with the birth.
Good luck for anyone who is planning a homebirth. It is so fantastic to be in your own enviroment, you will feel much more in control and will be more relaxed.

Hi, I've had 2 hospital births first back to back ouch!! 2nd normal but unable to sit or lay down, i was pushed into an epidural that didn't work but had to stay on bed. which baby didn't like finally after 20 mins of trying to sort out her heart rate they believed me and sat me up at which point she came out of distress. That was only 9 months ago. i'm due again on the 9th Jan and there is no way i'm going into hospital again. Your stories have been very reassuring and luckily my midwife pushes for natural home births and has promised not to disappear to Australia on me this time and my other 2dd's love her to bits.

hi there

I've had 2 home births - both really wonderful. My first without a water pool, second with (brilliant).

I was in the bath on my first and this really helped with labour, and then in my lounge walking around, and finally on all fours to give birth.

Useful things:birth ball (but buy a GYM ball as its the same thing but much cheaper, TENS machine I found to work well, lots of old towells and sheets and some plastic sheets from B and Q, snacks for during labour eg chocs and grape juice is good too

I had our first (DD) at home. My DH wasn't too happy initially but became a convert and by the time she was due, you'd have thought it was all his idea!! For the main event, I had candles, music & a pool sorted out, but I found the pool uncomfy and completely forgot about the rest. I was becoming pre-occupied with gloopy bits on the lounge floor ((blush)- too much info!) and the mid-wives' bare feet kept sticking to the plastic sheeting. I ended up giving birth on the kitchen floor, up against the fridge (bad location - I had to try to carefully move myself so my DH could make a cup of tea afterwards & the mid wives had put the drugs for bringing on delivery of the placenta in there). My sister has never seen our kitchen in the same way again!
Anyway, definately recommend home birth. It's lovely to be amongst your own things. Make sure you're clear about visiting times. We had phone calls and door knocking (even at mid-night!) throughout labour and then a constant stream of visitors for several days afterwards. Lots of luck.

I had my first baby at home as planned and it was fantastic. I was 15 days over due but stuck it out, to all those women out there who are being made to be induced hold on.
We had the spare bedroom with a foton bed and used an old duvet with a shower curtain in the cover for protection. Lots of big pillows on a coffee table behind the bed gave my husband somewere to sit and support me during pushing. I had frozen pureed fruit cubes to suck on on sticks which were great.
I could not of done it without my birthing ball for 22 hours, and if you want showers put a big towel in the bath to kneel on, contractions may hurt during the shower but so does your wrists and knees.
Make sure you have lots of tea bags and milk in for the midifes!!
A huge help to me was the homeopathy birthing kit from Helios.co.uk they practitioners will answer any questions about using it as well.
We also got intouch with the local home birthing group with the NCT and they hold monthly groups with women who have had home births, they are a wealth of information and tips.
Most important dont worry just relax and enjoy being in the comfort of your own home and bed after. (we opened champage for all the midwifes who were there all that time after nice to celebrate with them)
Good luck.

Tesco were doing gym balls inc pump for less than £4 before I had DS. TC, you're welcome to borrow mine for December, if you like?

well I started out thinkimg I might go fpr one and now i'm well up for it! So excited. just have to think about where. Might start off in front roomand then go upstairs and finish in bedroom. just reckon i'll want to be standing up, leaning over again. Had an active birth yoga class tonight and am getting all psyched up and really looking forward to it. Great to read your stories & tips and lol at having yr babay up against your fridge!

i fancy buying one actually babes, it's on my long list of things i want/need.

Brilliant! I saw the midwife today and she was v supportive of a homebirth and her only concern was that I might mind I'd not met the midwives who delivered me - but I hadn't with DS, so I don't mind that!

How was the class?

Then I def recommend Tesco as a starting place for exactly the same thing they sell on homebirth websites for £30

HM-you might fall through the dodgy floorboards though?

LOL! Yes, that's DH's concern... He has developed a twitch since I told him of my plans to hire a birthing pool

Not too much thrashing about allowed then!

Class was fab mate, really really fab. Felt great, had a laugh, enjoyed some quality me and mole time. There's a place for you as soon as the next expectant mother drops! I've told her you want to come. I prayed she wouldn't ask me yr name as I couldn't remember, until on the way home, what yr RL name is and was terrified I'd say hunkermunker to her!

PMSL! But, TC, that is my real name

Just say when - the class sounds great. Know what you mean re having time just with this baby - I have only just started remembering I'm pregnant

I posted on the thread I started re the class about logistics - not sure I know what I'm talking about though (no change there then!)

Ladies - how much better is a hired home birthing pool comared to yr own bath do you reckon. I want a home birth but always wanted a water birth too. But last time I got in my bath and lay back I hated it and had to get out and preferred to pace and then get on all 4's to get through contaction. Then once at the birth centre I didn't want the bath , and it was too late as I was fully dilated on arrival and just wanted to stand, bear down and push and knew how i needed to be - stood up. But i love the idea of water birth, but ne room at home for a pool tbh, so will my bath be as good if i fancy it?

TC, I got in the bath when I was on the antenatal ward waiting to go down to labour ward.

The bath was no good at all - I got in and got straight back out. It was like sitting in a shallow puddle - and there was no space to move around. The water didn't even cover my bump (which was HUGE, btw!).

When I went onto the labour ward, I got in the pool there and it was amazing - I could move around, change position, I was buoyant, supported, warm - it felt private because I was in the water and nobody else was.

I would say it depends how big your bath is, how deep you can make it and how easy it is to change position in it heavily pregnant. At least you can try that out now!

I know some women find labouring in the bath and delivering "on land" absolutely fine - for me, I really liked being in the water for the whole thing (except placenta delivery - got out to do that bit!).

And position-wise - I was on hands and knees in the water for a lot of my labour too - can't really do that properly in the bath!

hmmmmmm, what to do?????????????????
Not sure i want a pool in my kitchen waiting for me to go into labour. Wish we had a spare room.

Get an inflatable one, maybe?

That way, you don't need to start to fill it until you're in labour - and you won't care where it is when you're in labour

Hmmmmmmm, can u hire inflatable ones then, ohhhhh that might work, i have ab ig kitchen diner and could have it there.
Midwife appt tomorrow, she might know.

There's this company - Birth Pool In A Box

And there's also La Bassine from Made In Water

Still debating which kind would be best for this house and it's dopey hot water supply!

And you don't hire them, you buy them - they're about £50.

cheers chick a dee. xx