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.

hooray

I have found a lovely midwife who is very supportive of me having a home birth and I am looking forward to giving it a go!

whoop whoop enid! well done, you won't regret it. is dh onside? let me know if you need any info....

hurrah

I wouldn't judge all consultants by Arc. She doesn't sound much like a consultant to me - about as much as judgeflounce sounded like a barrister

I wouldn't judge all consultants by Arc. She doesn't sound much like a consultant to me - about as much as judgeflounce sounded like a barrister

I also have a history of fast labours - first was 7 1/2 hours, second 2 1/2 hours. My husband (who is a cardiologist) has finally agreed that if we have a third I can have a homebirth. The second baby was born half an hour after we reached hospital, the midwife was awful and the whole experience was pretty dreadful as it was a bank holiday weekend and the whole place was understaffed. I would much rather have stayed at home. I did tear because it was so quick but if you've got a good midwife they help you into a position that will minimise your risk of tearing. You will, I think, also get a better calibre of midwife with a homebirth who quite likely has a lot more experience. I say go for it.

Enid! Go for it!

Hi there, new on here with little boy due in Feb! I am choosing to have my baby in hospital but it is a very personal thing and I know of people who have been very happy with their experiences both in hospital and at home (thankfully noone i know has had a horrendous time doing either....fingers crossed!). Obviously there are risks associated with both home and hospital births and which you choose is a very personal thing. I don't think anyone should be giving (or getting!) grief for making a decision one way or the other. If you are advised to follow an option that is not to your choosing it will usually be for a good reason (docs and hospital midwifes are not all out to medicalise your experience and chain you to a bed flat on your back) and you should take note. However it is your right to ask for a second opinion if you are not happy with what you are told. If you end up going for a hospital birth and are worried it will be over medicalised it is important that your birthing partner knows what you want so they can speak up on your behalf if things don't seem to be going your way. Again you can always ask for the opinion of another midwife or the consultant on call if you're not happy. Be careful of interpreting studies that show higher incidence of interventions and problems in hospital though - clearly this is likely to be biased by the fact that women who are not likely to have straightforward labours and deliveries will almost always be advised to give birth in hospital. Like I said I have chosen to be in hospital because for me I will be more comfortable knowing that if there are any problems I am in the best place, and for me being at home would increase my anxiety. But I hope to have an active labour with the minimum possible interventions. Having said all this I have nothing at all against home births if that is right for you and good luck to you all whatever you choose!

I really feel bad about not being very positive about it when everybody has been so optimistic about it. I really did NOT enjoy the experience of having DS at a hospital, but I wouldn't take the consultant's opinions lightly.

I experienced some problems with DS's birth and I can tell you that after 27 hours of labour, DS hearts beat became worringly slow. At some point the room got full with midwives (around 4-5) screaming to each other about what my midwife should have done and didn't. A consultant was called immediatly and after she delivered DS she told me that there was no way on Earth DS could have been born without medical intervention (said a huge episiotomy as he was stuck in the channel). DS scored badly in the scale but for the second test he was OK. I lost enough blood as to faint but out of a very painful coccis for a month I was fine.

In other conditions I would tell you to trust your midwife, but I told mine through out pregnancy about the potential problem at birth (apparently being tall but with little "space" available for baby delivery is a characteristic of my family) but they always said it was going to be OK because I was tall... it wasn't, thankfully I was at the hospital and something could be done, I have not yet talked to a doctor about the birth who has not told me that the baby could have died because they waited until the situation was really critical to call a consultant. I don't know if I, or better said DS, would have had time to get to the hospital.