Has anyone had a home birth with first child?

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I've only just had my booking in appt this week, and midwife was lovely and told me there was no rush, but just to start thinking about what I'd like...

My biggest issue is that if I can do absolutely anything to prevent it, I don't want to stay overnight in hospital. Whenever I have, I have had terrible experiences, I become stressed as I'm out of control (I am quite a control freak but like to think I hide it well), and my body reacts negatively as a result.

We do have a birthing centre near us, which is actually closer than the nearest hospital with a maternity unit, but I want to be comfortable, and while I can, be the one to call the shots, or have my OH be able to do so on my behalf.

I'm concerned that as it's my first, I'll be told no right away. I don't know why I have that thought, maybe because it always seems to be the done thing, but I do really like the idea of a home birth, being able to wander around the house, pace and watch telly in the early stages, and climb into bed with little one at the end of it all.

Has anyone here had a home birth with their first? Good or bad, I'd like to hear it - I'm only 8+5, so I have time to weigh up my options, but I want to be as informed as possible!

Well, the first thing to say is that a hospital birth doesn't necessarily mean staying overnight. I had forceps at 4am and still left by 7.30pm. They had assumed I would stay in, but were perfectly happy for me to go if I could demonstrate that I could walk and pee unaided!

In terms of the MLU, if you are low risk there is no problem with it being your first. It's about risk profile, and number of children isn't part of that (though obviously history of previous births might be).

I've had two homebirths, but for dc2 and dc3. However, my area were very supportive for first babies too. And they can't 'tell' you no. They can only advise. Do bear in mind that, if you are at the 'watch telly, bake cakes, etc' stage of labour, a hospital or MLU would probably send you home anyway. So (bar induction) you get to do that whatever you decide!

I did. It was fine, would have been a lot harder had I been in hospital as I would have felt much more uncomfortable. Check out the homebirth uk website for inspirational birth stories.

The issue if I go to hospital is that it's in the nearest city to us - just the travel and traffic is bad enough that you might as well stay! We're in a small town with no maternity facilities, so I would have to go out of town if I don't stay at home, but thank you for that - reassuring to know that going home within a few hours is still a possibility!

Thank you for the homebirth uk website recommendation - stupidly I didn't even think to search for a specific site that might help! Heading there now...

I had my first baby at home and would wholeheartedly recommend it.

I knew from the moment I found out I was pregnant that I didn't want to give birth in a hospital. Like you, I knew that it would negatively affect my body and how I laboured. I wanted as natural and drug free a birth as possible (We live 5 minutes drive from the hospital so I would have transferred in if a genuine need had arisen.)

I didn't ask for permission but merely informed my midwife when asked that I would be having a HB. I didn't meet with any resistance. That may have been partly down to my 'Don't mess with me' attitude though .

It was long and hard but bloody brilliant. I had two fabulous and very experienced midwives who took brilliant care of both me and DD. Getting into my own bed with brand new DD was the most lovely feeling.

I'm 4 weeks away from delivering DC2 and unfortunately this pregnancy has been affected by health problems of mine which mean the baby will need some monitoring so I'm having him in hospital. Even though it's the right choice for me this time, I'm not happy about it and really wish I was having another HB.

I found these books hugely inspirational.

Nicky Wesson

Ina May Gaskin

I did, and had plenty of support from my mws. It all worked very well for me/my family.

If you are a little way from your nearest hospital, you may want to consider how you feel about the transfer time if you had to transfer in. The HB transfer rate is quite high for first time mums. These are generally not emergency situations - perhaps for lack of progress, or the woman wants more pain relief than can be given at home. Nevertheless, it's something you may want to think about.

I did have my first at home, but if I knew then what I know now, based on the BMJ birth study, that the home birth risks were much higher in first deliveries then I don't think I would have.

(0.9% risk of stillbirth after start of care in labour, early neonatal death, neonatal encephalopathy, meconium aspiration syndrome, brachial plexus injury, fractured humerus, or fractured clavicle compared to 0.4-0.5% at an obstetric unit/MW unit - it comes down to what risk you are comfortable with.)

I am considering a home birth this time round with DC4 (not been an option due to problems with DC2 or DC3), I certainly wouldn't consider it if I lived away from a hospital. I live a mile away by a straight road so my transfer time really would be quick.

I think, whatever you decide, you need to keep an open mind right up to the day of delivery. Events might conspire that mean that a home delivery isn't a good idea for you or the baby. It was lovely having DC1 at home but so have my hospital births. Sometimes I see people here becoming very fixated on their birth plans, when a lot of will just happen and we have to go along with what our babies and our bodies are doing about it!

I had my first at home, with a doula. It went very well and we both felt in control of the whole process. Was lucky with a straightforward labour. Tucked up in bed 2hrs after birth.

I had my first child at home without interventions but tore badly then hemorraged and failed to deliver the placenta so had to transfer in after the birth and go into theatre. This was all a big shock as i did not realise how likely that was to happen and it meant that i felt i suffered through a "natural" birth at home and ended up on a drip in hospital anyway.

The other thing is do check what their rules are if you transfer in after the birth as i was told I could not take my baby in the ambulance with me. I just ignored them and walked on to the ambulance clutching DS but the midwives were saying he should have stayed with DH who could have followed later with DS.

Thank you for all of these, it's really interesting. I'm sure that should it be needed I'd be ok with transferring to a hospital, but I'm currently thinking the "stay at home for as long as possible and see how it goes" approach may be best for me. There's still plenty of time to talk to others and make my decision. It's really lovely hearing your stories and experiences though!

I later had my daughter in the midwife led unit and it was very good, the full aromatherapy and birthing pool experience, so dont worry if you do decide to go to hospital :)

I had my first baby at home and it was long and tough and painful but I think the outcome would have been not as good in hospital, I think they would have tried to speed me up. It probably would have been ok in the end, but I'm very happy that me and my baby were looked after by two older, experienced, calm and skilful midwives who had nowhere else to be.

Being at home afterwards was actual bliss. I can't think of a single bad thing about my first week as a mum. Compared to my friends' postnatal ward/breastfeeding/midwife experiences this is really saying something...

My midwives were very supportive of me having a home birth from day one but it's worth bearing in mind that 50% of first time home birth mums do have to transfer in.

I live very close to the hospital which was also a decision factor for me.

I had my ds (1st baby) at home 3 months ago. My mw was very supportive of me having a hb - in fact, she suggested it.

Like you, I hated the idea of staying overnight in hospital and giving birth in an unfamiliar place. I ended up having a really lovely, chilled out labour and birth and have a great post birth memory of being happily snuggled up with newborn ds under a pile of blankets on the sofa while dh handed out cups of tea to everyone .

Otoh I live 5mins from the hospital so possible transfer wasn't an issue for me.