Consultant advising against homebirth - need some cheering up!

[wewishyouamerryKITTYmas]

Had antenatal appt this morning (am 36 weeks) all along midwives have known and supported my decision to have a homebirth. Seen Consultant this morning and he basically was really against a homebirth said I would be much safer in hospital etc etc. He said that most consultants in Scotland were strongly against homebirths. He also said that since my first labour was 4h 20 mins I was not low risk for a homebirth as I could be even faster this time. He said baby could have foetal distress, I could have a bad tear and if anything were to happen with traffic etc it would not be a good idea. He said that because I had a straightforward labout with DD doens't mean that something couldn't go wrong with this one.

Feel a bit right now MW said he was only advising me that I can change my mind at any time and come into hospital as they have a labour-delivery-postnatal-discharge in the one room and I would be home in less than 6 hours.

I just feel a bit weepy about it all now, if I were to tell all this to DP he would insist I go into hospital. But surely it's just as risky as I woould have to call DP back from work if he's there, get a babysitter for DD, DP drive me to hospital etc rather that just call the MWs and them come out to me.

Any homebirthers or the lovely Mears out there to give me a few words of support.

Good luck! Definitely want home birth myself next time. Look forward to your birth announcement

hercules - there isn't a shred of evidence to support that statement about cp

thanks mears!

my 3rd child was delivered at home, not planned. my first two labours were text book, 7 hours 1st child and 5 hours 2nd child. with the 3rd i went into full blown labour at 9pm new i wasn't going to make hospital so called an ambulance two minutes after they arrived dd was born. 20 minutes from start to finish. i would say that is was a bit frightning,not knowing if everyone was going to get here in time, my midwife didn't make it in time but luckily the ambulance did, it was definatly more relaxing afterwards than a hospital birth and a lot less hassle. would really recommend a home birth, just make sure you have everything planned so you know exactly what to do when it all happens. just go with what you want if your m w is happy and you are then i can't see it being a problem. good luck

Wewishyouamerrykittymas,sorry i havent read all thread just your open lines.

Really hope you can choose what you want,here in Wales where many people live isolated i know a number of people who have had home births.These consultants just want to be in complete control and have you on your back blah blah blah.

My dear friend at 49yrs had a baby on New Years Eve at home-a water birth before the midwife even arrived!!!!! Friend lives 16 miles from Maternity hospital.

I wish you good luck, its not impossible,its certainly popular in Wales!

Hello
I am 35 weeks pregnant and live in Norfolk I am hopefully going to have a homebirth and my midwife is all for it, I am 20 minutes from the hospital with no traffic. I had such a horrible experience in hospital giving birth to my little boy Sept 2004 I had pre-eclampsia (which they diagnosed afterwards - I had all the indicators and they didnt notice until afterwards!)
He was in distress and it was a really long labour - made worse by them making me lay down. I want an active birth, I want to be relaxed and because I dont really have anybody who can look after my little boy I want to know he is safe. If you want a homebirth it is your right! You should not have to be scared into going into hospital - try getting some books out of the library about home births (that is what I did) so you know where you stand and what to expect - They say because you are more relaxed and can move around and do what you want you are more likely to have a trouble free labour.
Finally at least you know your home is clean - I was left in a room alone last time from 9am to 5pm and the blood from the labour was still on the floor under the bed - they made me stay overnight and the toilets were really dirty. Last year a newborn baby died in Ipswich hospital from MRSA and my local hospital has an outbreak of the vomiting virus at the moment. I am not willing to take the risk!
Do some research and do what you feel is right for you and your baby!
Good luck

I had a planned homebirth with my DD at 39 weeks, aftyer delivering my DS at 34 weeks. Once I got past 34 weeks I saw the consultant who wanted to do some swabs to make sure I did not have an infection causing preterm labour and then once that came back clear I was given the green light.

My midwife came round and did birth plan and warned me of potential issues (baby in distress/complications) and what would happen (any sniff of a problem, ambulance called) and potential problems with that (delay with ambulance, traffic etc). I did have second thoughts and considered all the issues raised but I still wanted my baby at home.

If there are no medical contraindications then I would ask to be referred to another consultant for second opinion and/or speak to head honcho community midwife.

What is it that you really want ?

A healthy baby and healthy mother, or the 'experience' of vaginal home birth ?

'They' DO have your best interests at heart. 'They' ARE trying to reduce your risk of a crap labour, flat baby or worse. 'They' have experience and knowledge that, with the best will in the world cannot be replicated here . Statistics mean nothing unless you are the one with a poorly child.

Childbirth 100 year ago resulted in a LOT of dead babies and mothers. Modern obsetrics does not. There is a reason for that

But you are right its your choice.

COI I am one of 'them'

Dammit, I posted on this this afternoon.

I said - in brief - that Mears (a midwife) probably has more experience and knowledge of childbirth than any number of consultants put together. A vaginal birth is my idea of a total nightmare, but I think crazy talk of dead babies when we are talking about an entirely healthy woman with no risk factors at all and a history of fast labours is sheer scaremongering.

Choosing a hospital birth :

• doubles the risk of having a caesarean section,

• doubles the risks of forceps or ventouse birth,

• increases the risk of post-partum haemorrhage, episiotomy and serious tears.

Babies born in hospital are :

• more likely to be in poor condition at birth

• more likely to have birth injuries and to need resuscitation

Finally women who choose home birth are more likely to breastfeed and to continue breastfeeding giving their babies long-term health benefits.

These facts emerged from a major study of nearly 6000 women who planned home birth in the UK. Each woman was matched for risk with a woman planning hospital birth. (Chamberlain G., Wrought A., Crowley P., Homebirths. The Report of the 1994 Confidential Enquiry. National Birthday Trust Fund. Parthenon Publishing, 1997)

Arc2005, in what capacity do you make your comments?

Arc2005, statistically planned home birth is AS SAFE as hospital birth. Sorry, but that's a fact.

Aloha

" but I think crazy talk of dead babies when we are talking about an entirely healthy woman with no risk factors at all and a history of fast labours is sheer scaremongering. ""

Until its you.

Sorry. But I know people who have been the 'one' for whom it goes wrong - and I wouldnt wish that on anyone. (not saying It cant 'go wrong ' in hospital because it can - big time)

There is no such thing as NO RISK.

Sorry. I have stayed off this for a long time but that is what I think,.

So, given that it is statistically safer to have a planned home birth in a normal pregnancy, you must surely advise people to opt for one rather than a more high risk hospital birth?

Of course things go wrong in the hospital! At home, at least you have a midwife who is only monitoring you. In hospital, from what I know, you can have a midwife handling several women in labour at a time! (I say from what i know, because I had two sections. Wanted a homebirth with an independent midwife each time.)

I was left entirely alone, terrified, bleeding and in agony, overnight with nobody to help me even though I begged and pleaded with the bitch on the desk. I didn't even have my dh with me.

All the labour disasters that I personally know of have been as a result of mismanaged hospital births. specifically seriously overmedicalised labours - attempts to induce for days on end followed by colossal haemorrages because of non-contracting uteruses (because of the excessive attempts to induce); horrible hospital aquired infections in caesarian scars; dead babies because of colossal mismanagement and failure to monitor/act on increased blood pressures and foetal distress. I know of no homebirth disasters. Several homebirths where there has been transfer to hospital because of failure to progress etc (with no subsequent catastrophes), but no disasters at home.

If you are not aware of the study that aloha quoted, then you should be - it is well known, well quoted, and had the affect of changing NICE guidelines - shame on you.

And no-one is talking about "NO risk". We are talking about planned homebirth being statistically safer than hospital births. ie: BETTER risk.

I can't take credit for the survey PPH, although I do know about it.

Have you got your team in place for no4 then?

oh sorry it was soupdragon! sorry soupy!

yup, birthing pool and independant midwife booked and ready, same as last time...

hello, I have been reading some of the comments and I will say have the home birth, I wanted one for both of mine but had to go in and be induced, first time was ok but second was awful. They kept telling me I wasn't in labour cause the machine wasn't picking up the contractions and to stop moaning, they even sent my hubby home! I was told to go and have a bath and ended up giving birth in the bath. I was too far gone to get out so they just pulled out the plug! My sister had a home birth and said it was wonderful. Go for it!

I'm a community midwife, and considering your history of a fast labour and straightforward birth, i would say you are an excellent candidate for a homebirth. unfortunately, because obstetricians only deal with 'abnormal' cases, they tend to have a rather 'jaded' view, of childbirth.
It's quite simple- if your labour does 'deviate' from the norm, your midwife will arrange an immediate transfer to hospital via ambulance.
Good luck, I'm sure everything will go well!!

I'm a community midwife, and considering your history of a fast labour and straightforward birth, i would say you are an excellent candidate for a homebirth. unfortunately, because obstetricians only deal with 'abnormal' cases, they tend to have a rather 'jaded' view, of childbirth.
It's quite simple- if your labour does 'deviate' from the norm, your midwife will arrange an immediate transfer to hospital via ambulance.
Good luck, I'm sure everything will go well!!

Arc. I think it's a terrible shame that you feel the need to post such scaremongering comments. (And not just on this thread either - I notice an identical post on another similar thread, but that's by the by.)

I can only reiterate what Mears, Soupy et al have said - that for low-risk, healthy women, a planned homebirth is statistically as safe or safer than a hospital birth. If you are in anyway involved in maternity services (your post implies you are an obstetrician?), you should be well aware of this. And, fyi, there is a wealth of 'experience and knowledge' on this board, both professional and personal.

I'd be interested to know what you mean by 'a crap labour', too. Because, as I'm sure you know, all the evidence suggests that women labour far, far more effectively in their home environment. Even women who have planned hospital births are advised not to enter the hospital until labour is well-established to minimise the risk of their labour slowing down or stalling completely.

There is nothing in the history Kitty gave that contra-indicates a home birth - quite the opoosite in fact. Your comments are little short of bullying, imho, and a very sad indictment of the mess we have got ourselves into with our utterly unsubstantiated fear of normal birth.

Have a lovely birth Kitty xx