Homebirth with UCLH midwives?

[CityDweller]

Anyone had an NHS homebirth in London with the UCLH midwives? I'm considering this and would love to hear any experiences.

Bump for you. I would love a homebirth for my next (would be my third child) but after severe complications with my first I doubt I would be allowed :-(

2nd birth was just gas and air and it was amazing - would do it again tomorrow! :-)

A friend of mine had a home birth with UCLH midwives. I don't know the full story, but one of them didn't turn up! It wasn't a particularly short labour either. The one midwife there panicked when the ambulance she's called for a transfer took its time getting to the house which would have unsettled me in a big way. My friend was made of sterner stuff and took it all in her stride though.

Disclaimer: sample of one, etc.

You only have one mw in attendance until the delivery stage anyway. So if she was being transferred to hospital for delivery then surely it was no odds the 2nd mw didn't arrive in time?? Although being panicky doesn't sound too good.

Would love to hear some 1st-hand experiences - anyone?

IIRC, my friend was pushing and delivered with only one midwife there - ambulance was too late. I don't know why the second midwife didn't arrive though.

I did a search for you and a poster called TwinkleToes76 had a UCLH homebirth last year. You could try PMing her.

A quick bump, in case anyone didn't see it first time.

My SIL might have - she definitely went to UCLH for her scans & she definitely had a homebith but I suppose they might have been community midwives or something... Anyway she had a great experience & had her DC1 very happily at home.

PS I assume this is the wrong side of London for you but I can personally recommend the Brierly midwives at KCH.

Oh sorry for the thread crash OP but tell me about the brierly Rilla. I'm with them for my home birth planned for Jan

yes, me: 3!

1. slowish labour. 1 midwife and student came maybe 6 hours before baby, the other rather later. baby didn't come out that easily, and in hindsight they didn't handle the last bit all that well - encouraged me to push through crowning and baby came out with a great bang (and damage to me). huge head. baby fine, i took a lot longer (and another birth) to feel right. laboured happily in water most of the time, but baby born on dry land.

1. didn't realise 2nd labour could be SO much faster than the last. only called the midwives when I was, with hindsight, very dilated. they came quickly - less than an hour, and both at once, by which point baby was almost out. bit shocking, but great.

1. called them early, they came very quickly, baby born very easily and finally got a water birth! was just left to do my own thing.

Community midwives with UCH are almost all great - have met a LOT of them now! UCH is insanely overbooked for in-patient births, and folk I know have had a bad time lately there, not getting rooms until far too late etc. etc. Homebirth is definitely the way to go!

Thanks forgot that all sounds reassuring. I guess my concern is something like you experienced in your 1st birth - do you think that was just down to the midwives? And I suppose the same could have happened if you we're in the MLU?

Either that, or them just not showing up!

no don't think it was anything to do with it being at home - more to do with the end of a shift coming up. and there was loads of meconium suddenly - baby did need to be born.

i think things are just as likely to go wrong in hosp, prob much more so (specially at uch which is ridiculously overbooked)