Homebirth, am I crazy?

[rubberducky87]

Just that really. I'm a first time mum and I really want a homebirth but scared because I've never done it before. Only a few more days until I'm due! My midwife is very supportive but I'm still nervous. Any stories to share??

I spoke to many during and after the birth of my daughter Bees and all said the same thing. My baby would have died at home regardless of how lovely the midwives were there. Sometimes the care a baby and mum needs goes beyond what is available at home and to argue otherwise is utterly naive.

I think you've made your opinions clear flowers

And of course backed those opinions up with statistics

Rosey- with a crash section as a result of a cord prolspse, the operation happens within 3 minutes. That fast because any slower and the baby will not survive.

I can tell you that everything happens incredibly quickly. The usual pre-op questions happen on the way to theatre, the general anaesthetic is given in theatre (you go in there awake). There are lots and lots of staff involved and it is fast. Crazily, scarily fast. My husband said after that the room went from chaos to silent in seconds.

Clearly flowers I was talking about general emergency sections!!!! We KNOW about your experience but yours isn't the onLy experience.

Also, there is no guarantee you could get into a theatre in ' 3 minutes'. All theatres might be full.

Indeed they might. A thought that's crossed my mind lots of times. There is of course an absolute guarantee that you won't make it if you start from home.

Perhaps you're collectively arguing now then that so long as you're not having a cord prolapse then home birth is ok? Crystal ball anyone??

And my friends son died of placental abruption with the outcome directly contributed to by hospital models of care.

Another friend had a shoulder dystopia with bad outcome caused by a panicked junior doctor.

No one has a crystal ball. Hospital is safe. But so is home. There are awful outcomes in both locations contributed to by those locations.

I am uninterested in contrinuing a discussion with flowers, for those that are planning a home birth there is more information on cord prolapse on the homebirth.org website xx

I have done all my giving birth Bees, but thanks. Good luck if you haven't!!

One homebirth done now planning the next! Due dc2 in sept

And of course backed those opinions up with statistics

And by being insulting and also by being incredibly naive about hospital births.

Penguin- those circumstances would have likely had the same outcome at home. In fact, the likelihood is that the odds were far better in hospital.
Bees- ears shut, eyes closed.

Flowers you need to back off.
You are ridiculous and patronising.
Both my community mws had had homebirths themselves, again you think you know better than medical professions.
I'm educated beyond degree level, title dr and could never ever be accused of being 'eyes shut', yabvu and rude!

No. The stillbirth was seriously contributed to by over reliance on periods of continuous monitoring and use of inexperienced staff plus long periods without being checked. The enquiry said close one on one monitoring could potentially have picked up warning signs. As hospitals are currently staffed, she would have been safer at home.

The shoulder dystocia would not have been delivered by a panicked junior but an experienced mw.

What is it that you're advocating then? That we ignore the stats and plough ahead with home birth? You have advised the op to go ahead despite that fact that for first births the statistics clearly show an increase.
As I have said, I speak from a position of knowledge because when things happen to you you get educated about them very quickly.

Is that to me? I haven't advised the OP anything and she has most likely had the baby.

The NHS advice is that homebirth is a safe and valid choice.

flowergirlmum

Can I ask why you were having continuous fetal/electronic monitoring even before you'd had your first contraction?

If the hospital isn't far away I'd go for it! Believe in yourself!

What we are arguing is that there are no guarantees in any situation. There are risks for everything and you have to weigh up how likely a risk is. After doing research and taking extra precautions, I made the decision that the likelihood of cord prolapse was a small enough risk that it was outweighed by the benefits of birthing at home for me.

It's ab individual choice and you need to stop sitting up on your high horse and judging people. I would never tell someone to have a home birth if it wasn't what they wanted but I won't sit back and let someone else scaremonger with anecdotal 'evidence' rather than hard facts.
I had the same snash from my brother in law when we decided to have a home birth and he too purely went on the belief that hospital 'must be safer' without having done any real research.

When people talk about "prioritising the birth experience" it sounds as though they mean that birth should be like a trip to the cinema. This ignores the reality of the many who experience PTSD as the result of their experience of giving birth. With suicide being the biggest cause of death of women in the first year of motherhood, this is actually a major health issue.

I'm also quite confused by the number of women who tell me that they would have died had they given birth at home versus the number of women who actually do die.

what a horrible way to be on a thread started by a woman just about to give birth, flowergirlmum. one post reminding her of the increased risk in case of cord prolapse, if you absolutely had to, but no need to go on and on. find a more general 'pros and cons' thread for that! you have to talk through the risks of home birth versus hospital delivery (there are risks with both) before signing up for a homebirth, so op would be aware in any case. poor op, i hope she isnt scared to death of giving birth at all now

Sanfairy - I've only continued to comment because the OP was due at the end of February and hasn't been back to the thread since then. It's pretty unlikely she hasn't already given birth.

To be fair, the OP asked "am I crazy". From that I assume she was after honest answers not just pro home birth vitriol. My response is simply yes- you are and this is why. An opinion I then backed up with statistical info from a well respected and recent report.

But hey. I give up. I think I've more than made my point. Good luck to all- whatever your choice.

You are happy to spout on about your statistics and completely ignored all other evidence/statistics presented that don't fit your view. I don't think you've convinced anyone.

Bees- no one has presented any statistics.

You're right though. I'm sure no one's mind has been changed which actually I find quite sad. I don't get it I'll be honest. I simply don't understand the benefits of home birth over hospital birth. I felt this way prior to my experience with my youngest daughter but that confirmed it for me and I will, as a result, always advise people to go to hospital. I would be crazy to have any other opinion really given my experience.