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??

it is a bit tedious sometimes having these kinds of conversations. the risks are pretty equal for homebirth/hospital birth, very slightly skewed towards hospital for first time birth. and thats just how it is, regardless of any feeling that one or the other is better or safer.

Why do we need to hold anyone 'responsible' though?
Why can't we just accept that these things do happen and sometimes not for any reason.
As a society we are obsessed with blame. It's not healthy.

I agree with you both.

Just to be clear, when I was talking about moral responsibility I was talking about my extreme example of free birthing in a dangerous situation.

When I told my dad I was pregnant after saying congratulations he said 'please don't have a home birth' he is legal counsel for midwives when things go wrong and he's seen too many bad situations.
I wouldn't have done anyway as I'm awful with pain and had an EMCS anyway. I can see how it can be a wonderful experience though. I think most important is that you can get to a hospital v quickly if needed.

Penguins- I wouldn't comment about your friend as I know nothing about the situation and wouldn't want to offer an opinion.

Actually the statistics against first time mums having home births are pretty significant (I've posted them further down on the thread). The likelihood of a transfer to hospital, for instance, with a first time mum is high. Given that the OP is a first time mum I find the "go for it" attitude quite surprising.
I've said much about my experience but I'll say again- whatever the odds critical situations do happen and when they happen to you, you don't give a stuff how rare they are.

I personally don't much go for the woman's right to choose. I know that's pretty unusual but it's my view. I don't think women should have absolute autonomy over their body once their body is also someone else's. I don't think pregnant women should be able to do things that risk their child's life on the grounds that it is their body. I understand that many disagree with me and that's fine.

Whenwillwe- that's both interesting and terrifying although I'm sure some on this thread won't believe it for a minute!
I dare say if a home birth goes smoothly it's probably great- but then a birth that goes smoothly would be great anywhere. Bizarrely, my ordeal was great because the outcome was fantastic, and really that's all that matters.

But many women weigh up the risks and decide that for them and their baby, a home birth will be safer. Maybe if the ideal hospital, properly staffed existed, they might make a different decision?

BTW there is now a school of thought that it's not necessarily a difficult birth which causes cerebral palsy - the brain injury involved may occur before birth cerebral palsy. It is apparently more common with multiple births.

(So possibly in some cases the CP causes the difficult birth rather than the other way round?)

Our local health trust would be interested to know that as in recent years they've been sued for £squillions following several issues that led to several babies being born with CP in a midwife led unit (my friend's baby being one of them).
That research sounds very new- I haven't come across it and my husband's job (about which I won't say more for fear of being outed) would mean that I would.

I should justify my last comment- I know that CP isn't always caused by birth issues. However birth issues can be a cause of CP.

Flowergirl - if you are worried about being outed I would speak to MNHQ. You have described a very rare complication, a very rare set of circumstnaces and a time frame. There is a fair chance people who know you would already have recognised you.

Total transfer to hospital rates tell you very little about safety by the way. Most are for more pain relief or slow progress. Both are relevant reasons why you might choose a hospital for a first birth. Personally I'd have wanted to be near the pain relief first time. Did me jack all good, but that's another story.

the transfer to hospital part is just what it says, no particularly big deal about it. its like everyone else does, labour at home then go in nearer the time. often its for pain relief like epidurals.

From my research, cord prolapse happens in about 1 in 200 births. It's not common but it's not rare either! I am not unique .

Sanfairy- have you experienced it?

Personally, I think transferring in from a home birth with a midwife in attendance is a lot safer option than that dished out to those poor women who are shunted back and forwards because they are deemed not to be in established labour. Who is keeping an eye on them and their baby when they are busily to-ing and fro-ing? No -one.

You only get sent home from hospital in the very earliest stages though. A transfer from home birth to hospital would be highly unlikely to happen at such an early stage surely?

If a woman wants a home birth then I would imagine that they would only request a transfer if things got pretty arduous. I would assume that most transfers would be as a result of potential risk to the baby- hardly a "no stress" situation

I was one of those women.

I was sent home after going into hospital after 36 hours of contractions as not in established labour. Thank fuck I'd held out as long as I had or I'd have been sent home again earlier. No one was watching me or my baby.

No, most transfers aren't the result of stress to the baby.

which part? the transfer to hospital part? i arrived at hospital with about 30 mins to go, but that was a planned hospital birth i'd have been fucked if there had been a last minute complication, but you know, thats just like a lot of women in labour. my friend phoned her hospital and they were closed so she ended up giving birth on the way to the next hospital she'd have done better with a home birth thats for sure! another friend's baby died cos noone could be arsed reading the monitor. she'd have been better off at home too but you know, anecdote isnt data
i've had all kinds of births c section (baby almost died afterwards from complications due to c section), superfast hospital vbac, hbac (cord round neck, all fine)
its all risk. all birth is risky. but overall the stats are either equal, slightly in favour of hb for multiparous, slightly in favour of hospital for first time mums. i have to say though, that knowing what i know about understaffing at hospitals at the moment, i would not happily give birth there

Flowergirl - whilst a prolapse isn't that rare (though I've never seen as high as 1/200), the circumstnaces you have described are. No risk factors. No high head. Large baby (you've given the weight). No unusual position. You've given the age of your child. And how many children you have.

Seriously, if you are worried about outing, speak to MNHQ.

flowergirlmum, are you by any chance a first time mum without many other friends yet who have had babies?
they send you home all the time just before you give birth, or refuse to see/examine you (well, so it seems going by people i know anyway)

Sanfairy- I am so sorry to hear about your friend's baby .

I wasn't one of those women, but a friend's daughter was: 48 hours of being pushed from pillar to post, back home, up the motorway to the next hospital, back home again. After that she finally got the support she needed but should have got about 40 hours sooner.

Sanfairy- I meant have you been transferred to a hospital during a planned home birth? I ask because of how you described it as a walk in the park. I know of several women who had to be transferred to hospital during labour who found it quite the opposite.

Flowergirl - sorry to hear you had a hard and scary time with your second birth...I am also sorry to see your getting a hard time on this thread. Given what happened to you, I think your view on this matter is quiet understandable...and undoubtedly your are/were very grateful to be in hospital when you needed surgery to save your babies life.

I personally love the idea of a home birth, I was in fact offered a home birth for my second DD as my first birth was complication free and I was low risk. I am not a fan of hospitals and indeed only spent 1 awful night in hospital with my first baby.

Despite being offered home birth for my second and being low risk and even though I loved the idea of being comfy in my own home while giving birth I decided on a hospital birth instead. The reason being that if for any unforeseen reason things went wrong and the worst happened I knew I would always have questioned 'would things have been different if I had been in hospital'....that alone was enough for me to know that a hospital birth was what was right for me.

I would never judge anybody else for making the choice of a home birth....I would love a home birth. For me though I felt hospital was the best place to be, and in fact I ended up have a rather wonderful water birth with DD2. I was only in hospital for a matter of hours and was home just after lunch time .

thanks penguin, i didnt want to mention it earlier but it looks like op has well and truly gone. it was pretty shit, people got fired over it, but it made me really cynical about the power of the machines - you need people watching them too!

In the two months before I had DD2, two local women I knew had to be blue lighted back to hospital because they'd been packed off home as not in established labour and then things were close to delivery.

Someone else I knew gave birth in the foyer after been sent home and told that, when she came back she had to go to the next hospital along.

It's pretty damn common.