first child home birth

[fultime]

Hi
I am pregnant with my first child and I am seriously thinking of having a home birth, can anyone tell me there experiences of first child home births please?

Thanks in anticipation

Kelly

Your local NCT may have people you can chat to about their home birth experiences

Yes, Cristina, you could certainly say that, and in fact we could go round and round in circles all night trading tales of good/bad birth stories. We could scare the pants off her with tales of undiagnosed breeches and fatal PPHs, or fill her with happy thoughts of a safe and satisfying homebirth.

Or we could just say, if you're healthy and the pregnancy has been uncomplicated, there's no evidence to suggest you need to be having this baby in hospital, if you'd rather not. Of course you should be keeping an open mind, and there is a chance you may need to be transferred either during labour or after the birth. But if you have confidence in your midwife and it's what you want to do, then by all means, do it.

But that would be boring, wouldn't it?

fultime, I had my first child at home, and my second. Very easy labours, now having seen many women give birth in hospital I am not sure that I could have laboured as effectively in a hospital environment. There are risks involved in having your baby in hospital thst nobody will ever tell you about.

My first child was almost 10lb but was born in 6 hours as I was comfortable, relaxed, free to move around as I wished and had complete peace to let labour take over and do its work. It was really lovely not to have to make the journey to hospital at any point and to use my own bath and curl up in my own bed afterwards.

NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence)guidelines state that if you are healthy and there are no complications having your baby at home reduces the chance of you needing a c section.

Best of luck, it is lovely.....and safe!

Look here for info and first birth at home stories : health.groups.yahoo.com/group/homebirthUK

Sometimes babies die in hospital too. Sometimes "just because" and sometimes through hospital negligence - childbirth has it's risks wherever it occurs. Women in hospital are frequently left to their own devices and not monitored properly, having to "share" a midwife with 1 or 2 other labouring women. At home, it is one on one care. I felt much more "cared for" at home - just me, my husband and the midwife discreetly monitoring me the whole time. At hospital, I felt very alone.

I had my first in hospital, it did not occur to me to have a homebirth, and to be honest if I had, I would have transferred to hospital in the end anyway - posterior baby, very prolonged labour. What I would have done differently, however, is stay at home for as long as possible. I had my second at home, very straighforwardly, and am due today with my 3rd ( another homebirth ). With hindsight, if I was having my first again, I would go ahead and plan a homebirth, but take into consideration that often first births are longer and more complicated, and that the chances of me transferring would be higher than with subsequent births, but not set in stone.

I had my first baby at home and did get rushed to hospital, but I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. I had a birth pool errected in my front room (which was fab at 5cm dilation until delivery) with gas and air, no intervention, just relaxing music, joss sticks and candles. My midwives checked on me all day, and from 5cm onwards, I had 2 midwives posted in the house, but I hardly knew they were there till I needed them and it was perfect. I haemhorrhaged, and was rushed to hospital for 4 pints of blood. With hindsight, I wouldn't change any of it. I wasn't allowed a home birth with DD2, and although straightforward, it was a million miles away from my first experience.

Had first baby at home unplanned and wouldn't have had it any other way looking back now. Will go for a home birth with the next one

It was a very positive experience, even though labour took a bit longer than orginally expected

Was just reading \link{http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk?topicid=1370&threadid=150978\this thread}. First baby, home birth.

I have talked to 3 mothers locally who planned a first homebirth, one had to transfer during labour, one had her baby at home, one had to be induced and ended up with a c-section. All felt their birth experience was positive, all were glad that they'd started out planning what they wanted to do and got good medical/midwife support to do it. I hope you get the same, whatever happens.

I haven't read all the comments, because I know that same of them will just irritate me.

I think you need to be sure it's what you want and that whatever level of risk there may be, you are comfortable with that. There is a lot of good information on the Homebirth website, which I notice that someone else has referenced. Contrary to many peoples' opinions, the risk is not what they think.

The only thing I would suggest is having a midwife with whom you are comfortable and who you trust. I, personally, wouldn't want to end up with some jobsworth who wasn't confident in her practice outside a hospital and would transfer me in at the first sign of it not being a textbook labour.

I also developed a siege mentality at the end of my pregnancy when various people with no informed knowledge on the subject started trying to scare me into hospital.

I was going for a homebirth against medical advice and with an independent midwife. However, the foolish child turned during labour and, from a good position, ended up in a bad one and wasn't going anywhere - and I ended up transferring in, where she was delivered by c-section. This notwithstanding, I wouldn't change anything about the labour itself (although slightly shorter would have been nice!) and would make the same decision again. I could move where I wanted, pace the garden, eat my own food, play my own music, deploy ice packs and hot water bottles when required and use my own bath / inflatable birthing pool knowing they were clean.

It wasn't just that I was indulging myself by having a touchy-feely birth experience, I just wasn't going to be set up for a fall by birthing on the main labour ward, having been denied the birthing centre. I tried to give myself the best opportunity to avoid a Caesarian. Didn't quite happen like that, but I'm happy with the course of the labour and felt in control.

The reasons my consultant gave for not liking the home birth plan were reasonable enough - they were his professional opinion - but the post-partum monitoring that was supposed to be so important for myself and the child seemed to fall by the wayside, even when we did go to hospital. So not that important in the event. Also a red herring was the transfer time - it's not like I live in the Outer Hebrides.

I think that some people fail to appreciate that not everyone is reassured by hospitals and a medical environment. And stress affects the course of your labour. On a previous thread similar to this, someone remarked that they couldn't even have a bowel movement in a public toilet - how could they be expected to give birth in a hospital.

Good luck.

Sorry - that was a long one...

Here here, RZ.

I had my first and subsequent baby at home and had two very positive experiences. I think RZ sums the situation up very well. If your pregnancy is progressing well and you are confident in the person you choose to deliver your child, a home birth sounds a great idea.

Whatever your decision - make your own choice and do not be swayed by others. There is plenty of research around to look at re: the real (as opposed to perceived) risks of home birth.

fultime - haven't had time to read thread.

I had my son in a birth centre here in London. If you are worried about a home birth (which you shouldn't be if you have done your research), then try and get into a birth centre.

It will be like a home birth experience (no doctors running about in uniform, no high tech. medical stuff on display, etc), very comfortable, you can play your own music, shut curtains, dim light, have DH and other close family or friends with you, etc

Difference being there are alot more mw's to look after you and if anything starts going pear-shaped a hospital is always very close.

Good luck, have faith in your body !

Homebirths are fantastic and if all is normal with pregnancy etc I think definately the way to go!!

I had my first at home, disregard all the neg stuff said about it, trust your instinct, midwives and the info that you can research - all the www that you have already been given.

We ended up with a birthpool, my dh was in it with me and he 'delivered' (well brought her to the surface) our dd under the NHS midwife's instruction, might add there I never met the 2 midwives that turned up, but they were fab - it was amazing NOONE touched our dd except us for the first few minutes and she was so calm and happy that she went to sleep!

The bliss is also after - to have a bath, get into my own bed have dinner cooked for me (and have it in bed!!) and just relax after was wonderful and we are currently waiting for no 2 to turn up (2 days late!) and though not really looking forward to the labour I am so much happier and calmer that I am having it at home.

I know that I had a very good experience, but no reason why you can't the midwife said that by the time they have prepped you and the theartre for an emergency C-section I would be the same time it takes to transfer to the hospital (we are about 15mins away)

I would also add that my active stage was 3 hours which is an hour over the so called allowance in hospital - and some dr would have tried to influenc & interfer and used intervention, the midwives were fine about it - just said each woman is different, but as it was longer I had no stitches & though tired completely fine after.

My active stage was four hours - two hours longer than a hospital would 'allow'. Obviously this did end with a Caesarean, but there was no harm to the child in this time: her Apgars and everything were very good when she was delivered, no SCBU needed. We transferred when it was clear there would be no vaginal descent. And I'm very clear that I had a Caesarean because there was no other alternative - not because, for example, interventions led to foetal distress - or because a 'two hospital-allowed hours' second stage was timed from full dilation, rather than when I got strong pushing contractions.

Haven't read thread yet, but had my 1st at home. It had been a normal pregnancy and delivery was totally normal and fantastic! Wouldn't have done it any other way.

I tried to have my first at home, but his heart rate went right down towards the end and had to go to hospital and have ventouse delivery. But they reassured me that when things go wrong with first births they go wrong slowly - and it did. He had the cord round his neck, but even after we got to the hospital I still laboured for a while b4 his heart rate went down again and they did the ventouse. My DH swears by home delivery now as he says its more comfy and they we have easy access to everything we need like tissues which he couldn't find in hospital!

Also my labour took 17hrs and the midwife said if I'd been in hospital for the whole thing they probably would have given me syntocin to speed it up, but being at home they didn't. Which I was very glad of, as I might have needed an epidural then.

"My DH swears by home delivery now as he says its more comfy and they we have easy access to everything we need like tissues which he couldn't find in hospital!"

Ho ho. My DH would love me to have an elective section next time. He could get enough sleep and wouldn't be working through the night with hot water bottles and buckets to top up the birthing pool...

Yeah mine would prob. say the same if he had to do that!

Here I am literaly seconds after my last ds was born, I had just picked him out of the water.

\link{http://www.stephenparkinson.com\photo}
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I has all 4 at home in a pool, wonderful, wonderful , wonderful.

The day after my first home birth I was telling my mw and her student how well it had gone, all the details etc etc .

Later my mw told me that after they had left the student said

" I have NEVER heard anyone speak about a birth like that before "

and my mw replied

" You have never heard about a home birth before"

There are risks with birth, any birth any where, but home birth is safe, and just magical.

If you want and would feel safe with a home birth then ignore the negative comments, your attitude is a big factor in how your birth will go.

If you are calm and relaxed , whether that is in hospital or home, then your birth will be better.

truly beautiful picture kitty

Thanks treacle, If there was one moment I could just LIVE in , it's that one !