Home birth

[Skippy]

I'm seriously thinking about having a home birth for my second child who is due in August. However, my midwife has pretty much dismissed the idea as my first child weighed 9lb 4oz and she feels that it's almost certain that my second will be even bigger. First time round I was induced two weeks late but otherwise had a quick and relatively easy birth using only gas and air - the worst part about the whole thing was being in hospital - awful! I'm currently 27 weeks pregnant and really cannot decide what to do for the best. Any mum's out there who had their big babies at home with advice?

Skippy, don't know why a big baby should prevent you from having a home birth, ask another midwife for their opinion. Also the NCT run home birth support groups and you may be able to get some more advice/help/support from them.

I had my second child at home and it was pre-booked. I was very lucky as I had 2 great midwives and an excellent student. My first child was 7lb 6oz and I didn't realise that weight was a criteria for deciding on home birth. Anna was 8lb 6oz and took 10 hours to deliver as she was posterior. The whole experience was great.Although still as painful as the first I felt more relaxed and more consulted on the labour and where I wanted to be, definately to be recommended. I would really try to go for it and read up about it too. "Home Birth" by Nicky Wesson is an excellent book.Good Luck!

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i think all you home-birthers are really lucky - i had 4 caesarians! 6 days in hospital - ugh.

I dont think size should be an issue if you had no problems last time, and since I was told I was having big babies every time and never did, they could be wrong! I had a homebirth with my 3rd and it was brilliant. My husband wasnt sure about it but now agrees that it was the right way to go. You get your own tea and toast after and get into your own bath, what could be better! Just make sure you dont underestimate how long you need the other child to be away for! I had mine back a bit early I think, and felt very overwhelmed. Good luck!!

I would have loved to have a home birth with my 2nd (my 1st was a straightforward delivery in hospital), but my husband just couldn't face it. He wanted to be in easy reach of all the medical backup should I or the baby need it. I could have insisted and he would have gone along with me, but in the end I decided that a relaxed and in control husband in hospital was more use to me than a nervous and panicking one at home! In the end we compromised - I agreed to go to hospital provided I could do the 6 hour turnaround and come straight home after the birth. It all worked very well - I did most of my labour at home, then went in, had my daughter 2.5 hours later and was home within a few hours. The main advantages to me were that I didn't have to worry about my son seeing me in pain and asking difficult questions, and my husband and I had a little time on our own with the baby to get to know her before my son was introduced. I was lucky though - the labour was straightforward, I felt very much in control of everything all the way through, and had the luxury of knowing that my husband knew exactly what I wanted and wasn't about to let anyone do anything we didn't fully understand or that was against my wishes. About as perfect an experience as anything so painful and messy can be!