Homebirth questions

[mumtoone]

I'm seriously considering a home birth for my second child and I've lots of questions rolling around my head! It would be interested to know the answer to the following questions from those who've had a homebirth already.

What special things did you get in for your homebirth?

What did the midwife supply?

What room did you give birth in?

Did you move around your house much during labour?

Did you have other children at home at the time?

Apologies if this looks like an exam paper!

mumtoone - I had a home birth for ds2 after a c-section with ds1 and a ventouse vbac with dd. Homebirth def the best experience!

What special things did you get in for your homebirth? We bought a birthpoolinabox (google it, they're great) and also the extras kits that went with it, although we could probably have assembled all that ourselves as there is a list on the website. We also got out all our old duvets and towels and bought a heavy duty tarpaulin - duvet for under the base of birth pool to make kneeling more comfy. I also had a birth ball and tens machine from previous births - really great.

What did the midwife supply? She bought all the meds she was allowed (gas and air, the shot they give you to deliver the placenta just in case, although I didn't use either). She didn't bring any special equipment, but did provide loads of inco pads and that kind of thing.

What room did you give birth in? In our playroom as it is on the ground floor and I didn't need to worry about weigh of birth pool.

Did you move around your house much during labour? Not much, used birth ball and then got into pool, but birth was v fast - 1st twinge to placenta out in less than 4 hours.

Did you have other children at home at the time? Other two were asleep upstairs, but we had an au pair at the time who had been primed with a drill about what to do when baby was on its way - she went and slept in dd's room with her so she was there when dd woke and was able to make sure they kids were not worried. As it happened they didn't hear anything, or maybe au pair was just being kind as I made a huge amount of noise .

Good luck - I truly felt it was the most amazing experience - still painful as hell, but so much calmer and dh was much happier too (he was a bit of a wreck the two times before), even though he had been worried about home birth.

Will the midwife be able to help if you need a episiotomy or stitching afterwards? I'm only 22 weeks so have plenty of time, but my DH needs some convincing

i had a second degree tear after my HB(which was a waterbirth - forgot to mention that before - really recommend it!!) and my midwife actually called in another mw to stitch me up because she was very tired after being up all day and night with me. I think if it had been even only a bit worse they would have taken me to hospital. But the mw who came and did the stitching was the one who visited me in the days afterwards and was great - she checked my stitches everytime and took out some that were uncomfortable. If you do end up having stitches then just make sure you get them checked often if you're at all uncomfortable. All the best

p.s. for obvious reasons you can't have an episiotomy if you are in the water - although that hadn't occurred to me before i gave birth (d'oh) so just thought i'd point that out...!

Had unplanned homebirth with my first in mw-led area:
So - we had nothing special "in".
The Midwives supplied waterproof mat, we supplied old bedsheets and 2 cheapo cushions were sacrificed once I decided my knees were getting sore onthe tiled kitchen floor. Midwives also supplied local anaesthetic & embroidery service for 2nd degree tear. Had no time for pain relief, but I think they had G&A in the car. They also had drugs for 3rd stage, but at that point I said everything else had gone so smoothly, I'd wait for my body to do the job (longest part in the end)
I had been pacing tigress-like round our ground floor - bathroom to kitchen to dining room and back. The steps up fromthe kitchen to dining room seemed like teh right height to curl up on so ds was born there.
We were all done in 3 hrs from 1st twinge, the cup of tea sat on the dinig room floor was fab, and going to bed in my own bed was JUST BLISS. We never went to hospital and were watching the Lions Tour on the sofa as a family at 7 the next morning.
Planning! a hb in 8 weeks time. Hoping that ds will be picked up if we have enough warning as don't want to scare him.

As with everyone else, I think if you can it is worth holding out for a HB. After a battle with my blood pressure I managed it with DS (though was told first-timers shouldn't by one scary MW).
BPIAB pool was great. Had it in our dining room which has tiled floor. Blood pressure went right down in water. Did get hauled out and made to walk up and down stairs though, and sit on loo! It was more messy than I was led to expect, but had bought lots of 2nd hand pillow cases and sheets - had to spend a night in hospital before with BP thing and there is NOTHING worse than pillows with plastic cases on them!
The one thing that no one above has mentioned is that you have to be careful about the temperature of the room for the LO when they arrive - our is an old, cold house and even though it was June we had heaters blasting out. If you are in a modern centrally heated house you'll probably be okay, but could invest in a room thermometer.
Do check your gas & air bottles are full when MW brings them - I didn't need it but a friend had to send her husband off on a 50 mile round trip to the hospital because hers were almost out.
Finally, get lots of nice food in for the MWs - they do like that AND generally deserve it!

I got: a plastic sheet, old towels, TENS machine and a prescription of pethidine (just in case, although did not use).

MW supplied everything else - gas and air arrived by taxi once I'd gone into labour.

Started and finished in my bedroom - moved to the toilet a few times and had a bath but mostly laboured at the foot of my bed with dh and 2xMW sitting on bed.

Didn't have other children as it was my first but I will next time!

HTH. I know it's not guaranteed but I had a fabulous experience and being at home was really special. Good luck if you decide to go for it... and if you don't, of course!

floraflora I'm interested by the comment that your house needed heating in June. I live in a drafty Victorian house but I'm due in June and didn't think we'd have a problem with it being cold. If anything I'm praying we don't have a heatwave! How warm does the room you give birth in need to be?

i gave birth at home in november in a drafty old victorian house too but we just had the heating on and an extra little oil-filled radiator - and lots of blankets ready for me and baby when we came out of the water (it was a waterbirth!) - i guess if you're not in water and its warm outside then having your heating on might be extreme - you will get very hot with the pushing! - but i just wanted to say that our baby was fine and warm enough with all that.all the best

p.s. think the mw was very conscious of the room being warm enough and was instructing my dh about the heating etc.. so i should think your mw will make sure that the room is the right temp. for the baby.

They gave me a list of what to buy which included things like a plastic bucket. Nothing very onerous. (They were private midwives).

What did the midwife supply? - plastic sheets, gas air, TENS, some homeopathic things to quicken things up for twins 2 which didn't seem to work

What room did you give birth in? - the spare room which became the twins' room

Did you move around your house much during labour?
No stayed in that one room - didn't feel like moving. I did move a few times to the en suite bathroom in that room

Did you have other children at home at the time?
I wanted them present but they didn't want to be - 12 year olds etc regarded it as ugh.... they went to school as usual. I had thought they might have wanted to be there but left it up to them.

Can't remember about heating - I assume we had the central heating on. I was quite warm. For twin 2 I chose to move to hospital as he completely slowed up, silly boy. But both were very nice good births.

I think you should just take advice from the mws when they arrive about the heating. I had dd at home in late spring. We just put the radiator in the 'birth room' on and it was fine. My regular mw who didn't attend the birth said that microwaved towels to wrap baby in right after birth might be a good idea but we didn't do that in the end - don't know why - I was otherwise occupied to ask.

What special things did you get in for your homebirth? Champagne! And bacon for bacon sandwiches afterwards. An inflatable pool. Lots of candles. (Didn't light them, she was born in broad daylight). Film for the camera.

What did the midwife supply? Nothing, but I gave birth in Singapore so different system. I rented a birth kit from the OB and hired an oxygen tank.

What room did you give birth in? The bedroom, in an inflatable paddling pool.

Did you move around your house much during labour? Wandered around the lounge in early labour, moved to the pool when things got serious.

Did you have other children at home at the time? Not for the actual birth, I found it too stressful, she went to a neighbours house to play.

Good luck!! Don't stress too much about having the right "stuff" - found it all a breeze and much less messy than people feared! Enjoy - it's lovely having a baby at home.

Had homebirth with my first last July (in middle of heatwave, so no worries about heating, was able to have my own fan going full blast before DS arrived in fact).

What special things did you get in for your homebirth? Plastic sheets as others described, TENS machine, birth ball. Got loads of old cushions, duvet, etc and covered the living room floor. Also an air matress. Oh, and cereal bars & fruit juice and a hugely expensive box of chocs.

What did the midwife supply? G&A, incontinence pads, placenta jab (which I didn't need in the end)

What room did you give birth in? Living room, squatting/hanging off DH (who was sat on the sofa)

Did you move around your house much during labour? Loads - paced up and down living room, leaned up against walls, used the bath a few times, and mw got me to climb stairs at one point to get things moving (the longest climb of my life!). Couldn't have stayed still if I tried.

Great experience, as others have said so wonderful to use your own bath and get into your own bed.

What special things did you get in for your homebirth? A pool plastic dust sheets from B&Q

What did the midwife supply? A large scarey bag of medical stuff

What room did you give birth in? The playroom (technically a dining room)

Did you move around your house much during labour? Didn't really have time TBH, at least not once it really got going. The point is, with a HB, you can do whatever you want. You're not restricted really.

Did you have other children at home at the time? 2 DSs (5 & 7)

I had a homebirth last september for my second child.
1 I got in shower curtains and asked relatives for old towels and sheets for the floor and the bed. I also bought a tens machine.
2 All the necessary medical stuff and a fab bedside manner!!
3 In my bedroom
4 I got in the bath for a bit and then returned to my bedroom, but I guess you can please yourself it's your house!
5 My 19mo dd was downsatirs with her grandmothers watching Barney DVDs

It was fantastic, I would do it again in a heartbeat.

What special things did you get in for your homebirth?
Builders/decorators polythene sheeting + + + to cover all soft furnishings.
Washable throws to put over the polythene sheeting.
Halva or other sugary snack for instant energey which is easy to eat.
Stuff for the mws to eat and drink as it's a good idea to keep them in a good mood if they're in for a long haul.
An anglepoise lamp for the mws.
A mirror if you want to see the head emerging.

First time round I had music and scented candles etc ready but as I didn't give it a second thought once things got underway so don't waste your time.

What did the midwife supply?
Scissors to cut the cord.
Pads for sitting on and others for wearing.
A lovely electric fleecey thing for afterpains.
Their expertise.

What room did you give birth in?
Sitting room x 2
Study x 1
Bedroom x 1
But I moved around the house whilst in the first stage.

Did you move around your house much during labour?
Yes. I like to cook between contractions and try to forget it's happening and concentrate on something else entirely. I also find it good to keep moving.

Did you have other children at home at the time?
Yes. Once they slept through the whole thing, bizarrely. I remember waking in the morning after having ds4 and the other three were standing in a line at my bedside singing twinkle twinkle little star to their new brother. It was pure magic.

Another time they watched Toy Story 2 downstairs while I mooed like a cow and grunted like some other beast. Then they popped up straight away to see their brother, cord and all, having his first feed. This was great, especially for my dd who was given a really positive experience of birth.

Good luck.

What special things did you get in for your homebirth?

Nothing!!!

What did the midwife supply?

Medical equip, gas and air, disposable mats.

What room did you give birth in?

Lounge

Did you move around your house much during labour?

My dd2 was born 1hr 45mins after i woke with the first contraction. In that time i showered and paced around before my waters went quickly followed by a baby on my lounge floor. Mw's weren't even unpacked there was no sheets/blankets laid out like i'd imagined and they hadn't had a chance to examine me at all.

Did you have other children at home at the time?

Yes dd1 slept upstairs throughout (and i did make a lot of noise!) she woke when the midwife left closing the front door behind her! it was 7.30am though so dd's normal waking time. If she had of woken, dp would have just been able to keep her company wherever she wanted to be as he didn't really get near me anyway! he was busy making tea for recently arrived mw's!

Lastly - it was fab and highly recommended good luck!

I got some plastic sheeting from garden centre and stiched a sheet to the top and bottom of it so had a comfy nest that was waterprof and could be chucked away.

Look how many of us had short births?

My midwives kept telling me how perfect my birth had been and were saying how it was likely to have been longer if i'd have gone to hospital as i'd have been strapped down for monitoring etc. thats assuming i hadn't already had baby in the car!

But in all seriousness, the homebirth gave that added 'natural' feel and my body just completely took over far more than it did with my first labour in hospital. I read a really interesting book about how just the anxiety of entering a hospital can put a stop to some women's contractions and make the whole thing last a lot longer.

There really wasn't any mess and as everyone says relaxing in your own bath afterwards and seeing your older child grinning at the knew addition all in the calm of your own home - the feeling cannot be beaten!

I second those who said they didn't want to move house now, and the look on peoples faces is a picture when they realise they are sitting in the 'spot'!

Had my 2 at home.
Didn't get much in that was special. Extra towels and bin bags.
Midwife brought Inco sheets (sort of cloth 1 side, plastic other side large squares to put under me), a bucket to catch placenta, scales, rubber gloves, thingy to clip cord, dunno what else. We provided good lamp.
Gave birth in living room both times (on Futon)
Moved around a bit, in bath then walking around a bit downstairs.
2nd time my 19 mth old was asleep upstairs the whole time.
Go for it! One of the best things I have ever done.

Had my ds4 at home

1. I bought about 8 meters of plastic sheet stuff thats a bit like the stuff that covers dry cleaning.
2. The midwife supplied all the important stuff like gas and air,scissors to cut cord,scales etc.
3. I gave birth in my living room though was very nearly the bathroom.
4. I have only got a small flat but the hall became very familiar for a couple of hours. Spent a bit of time leaning on my bathroom sink too cause I was being sick alot
5. Yes my 2 year old was in his bed. Luckily it was 6am when baby arrived so by the time Id had a shower and got into bed he was just waking up and was eager to meet his baby bro

Good luck mumtooone. Hope its a good as good an experience as it seems to have been for everyone else here. x

Hi,

Highly recommend homebirth. It was a magical experience!!

We had a birth pool and supplies that go with it (hose, pump,tarpaulin, thermo)

Old towel, pampers absorbant mat ( great for blood loss)

Midwife came with all equipment but we did not use much.

Baby born in the pool in the living room

DS got bored with the labour and went to bed asking to be waken up when baby would be here!!

It's interesting no one else was given such specific instructions about the temperature. Perhaps it was because the MWs took one look at our drafty Victorian house and thought it might be a bit chilly. It was a hot day in June, I don't think we had the central heating on but they did have one of those glowing electric heaters blasting out. Sadly the curtains were drawn too, I'd have liked to have seen the blue sky outside but was too spaced to do anything about it (spent hours staring at the thermostat on the wall trying to work out what time it was!) But delivery suites in hospital are always really warm, aren't they.
So, Mumtooone, I think the others are right, get the advice of your MW on temperature thing.
Reading the other posts brought on tears because we are having to move house and then I won't be able to look at that little spot on the dining room floor where DS finally arrived.