Right to home birth

[fooolofbeans]

I don't want to drip feed but likewise don't want to write an essay.
Is my understanding the European Human Rights Law allows a woman to choose where and how to give birth.
I know there was a recent trial where the midwifery team were within their rights to refuse a home delivery.
However I'm low risk and have no contraindications to a home birth. At my most recent antenatal appointment my midwife suggested they may withdraw my option of a home birth as I have cancelled two OGTTs due to work commitments. I have since had the test and all was fine. But surely all tests/interventions are my prerogative to refuse and the suggestion of withdrawal of a home birthing option seemed like a veiled threat to make me comply. I will say however if there are any issues that may contraindicate home birth I will comply with full investigations.
Any thoughts on this? Are they within their rights to refuse a home birth based on no evidence of risk but simply missed appointments which were cancelled and I have now attended?

Sorry about your anaemia. I think you should definitely contact PALS to complain about the poor care you have received from the midwife team, regarding both the anaemia and your request for a home birth.

There are usually warning signs before a c-section becomes necessary. An experienced midwife would recognise them and recommend a transfer to hospital.

Have a bit of respect.

How about you just mind your own business mollyboom (edited in case I'm told off for swearing at you)?
I've said the health of my baby is paramount, RTFT and perhaps think that everybody is different and no one size fits all. You chose what's right for you just as I am doing. I have zero faith in my NHS antenatal care, but I'm not going to catalogue the full complaint I've put into PALS here as I have no need to justify my reasons. Women's human rights are routinely disregarded in hospital births and I for one want to make informed choices about moly care, as is my right irrespective of 'YOUR' viewpoint

namechange you're an angel thank you for your support

Moly=my

Oh and mollyboom 'entitlement'?????have a word with yourself. Any intervention by medical staff without explicit consent by patient or NOK is assualt. By law mothers health comes first whether you agree or disagree.
Educate yourself.
www.hhrjournal.org/2016/11/international-human-rights-and-the-mistreatment-of-women-during-childbirth/
See links up thread and look at rationale for maternal rights becoming enshrined by the European Court of human rights.
You may be well now but PTSD following traumatic labour is increasingly common and can negatively affect mother/baby bonding.
I'm getting het up and rambling now so stepping away but PLEASE have some respect for women who may not have had the same experience or care as you.

mollyboom pissing Doulas???? Do you understand the role of a doula? Jesus Christ you're showing your ignorance. As ive already said my home is closer than my midwife led unit to my hospital.

OP, my advice is to breathe and step away from the thread

Sorry if that sounded patronising... but I've got wound up by replies on here before and you do have to disengage x

Have a look at www.birthrights.org.uk/ or aims they can offer great advice

Did your independent midwife update you on the insurance situation at the moment? My independent midwife is currently unable to attend births while it goes on, although I know some IMs are getting temporary cover via the NHS.

My independent midwife was great, so professional and caring. The NHS midwives are just stretched sooooo thin, mine (before I switched to the IM) had terrifyingly big caseloads. I think it makes so much sense to have an IM if you can afford it.

OP I had similar daftness. LO 11 weeks old now, so very recent.

Community midwife was patronising, rude, dismissive and generally horrible. She laughed at me when I was dizzy after booking in bloods were taken, and at third trimester appointments refused to discuss a birth plan with me saying there was no point I had to go for a number of completely pointless appointments during work hours (one of them genuinely was the consultant saying oh we don't need to see you again, waste of everyone's time), however, I got the impression quickly that my job was to shut my mouth smile and nod so the boxes could all be ticked. I did so, and ended up with a water birth in midwife led unit which went better than I could ever have hoped. The hospital midwives were lovely!

PS. The nod and smile box ticking hasn't stopped, it continues for all LO appointments...

Not patronising at all namechange I am stepping away now putting some hypnobirthing on and chilling the fuck out thanks again for your support x

Did you complain mysterycat I'm a big believer in complaints when justified or nothing changes, especially for the vulnerable who don't know their rights

elanetucal yes my IM is on bank for my trust for my birth. Bonus as I don't have to pay insurance and they know their bank wage off my bill the trust are all for learning from the IMs due to their low interventions and positive outcomes in comparison to standard trust stats

Know =knock

I think a lot of people feel horrified by the thought of HB's due to their own experiences, it's so emotive. I doubt anyone is just seeking to be unkind.
Best of luck OP.

Sweets I agree. When I was pregnant with my first and planning a home birth I had many people tell me I was mad, and share their horror stories about how they would be dead if they weren't in a hospital for the birth etc.

Quoting place of birth studies and risk factors, pointing out that I could walk to a major maternity hospital in about 15 minutes from my house etc made no difference. Traumatic births leave a lasting emotional impact and I do understand why people are frightened of home births. I don't agree with their approach to dealing with it, mind you! Trying to scare pregnant women is never ok.

Anyone who is at risk can't have a home birth anyway, my friend goes on about how she can't understand why people would as she had lots of interventions and would have died but she would never have been able to anyway due to her being deemed at risk.
Home births have far less intervention. midwifes don't need to 'hurry them up' as they need the bed as was the case with another friend.
It can usually be found early on if problems may arise and transfer to hospital in good time. Let's not forget that this only became a hospitalising condition in recent years.

It only became a hospitalising condition in recent years- correct. This correlates with ever decreasing maternal an infant mortality rates. Childbirth can be relatively straightforward but it can also go horribly wrong. I just see an Inherent contradiction in that nearly everybody will accept modern medical intervention in the form of ultrasound scans and pre natal testing but wil then rubbish the need for medical intervention in the actual
birthing process. I know the NHS is overstretched and some posters feel that they don't get the care they deserve and criticise etc but I doubt that they would be criticising that if they and/of their baby needed blood transfusions or other such hospital care. As a pregnant woman if you choose to accept pre- natal care then you are are a patient just like everybody else who accesses the NHS, no more and no less. I just get very frustrated at the constant criticism of the NHS and medical intervention in pregnancy. If you want personalised care then perhaps best to pay for it. Not that it adds anything but my DH is a consultant in this field and maybe they are over cautious but people are very quick to sue when things go wrong and then invoke a whole host of other 'legal rights'.

I also had severe anaemia which was made worse by a lack of monitoring (HMW didn't check the blood test results and went AWOL ). Lots of iron supplements for me from GP with double/triple doses.

It took about 2 weeks for the breathlessness to go and I felt bloody awful the whole time so I'm afraid it's not a quick fix.

It is a massive shock when you are pregnant at just how patronised you can be, that your views can be completely ignored or not even sought and your time is considered to be of no importance with lots of sitting about waiting or having to chase people up because they haven't got back to you when they said they would and awkward appointment times. Still, it's good preparation for when they go to school

It doesn't have to be that way at all.

Positive outcomes for birth are not just about the baby. Mothers matter just as much if not more because that baby needs a healthy and well mother. Basic respect for women costs nothing but has enormous value.

Ah well if your husband is a consultant then you obviously know more on subject than anyone else....

Home births are perfectly safe. Any one can have one. Doulas don't attend home births in place of an actual qualified professional 🙄

OP I'm sorry you've had a rough time, I hope you have a marvellous home birth!

Mollybloom have you done any actual research about this? There are massive studies showing that the outcomes for women and babies born at home where the mother is considered to be low risk are about the same or better than in hospital (from memory the latter is for second births).

Why is it more risky to have one-to-one care at home - where you are transferred in to an accute maternity unit at the merest hint of anything going wrong; where there is a full resus kit and birthing pack including oxygen; where there is a second midwife present for delivery (one for mother, one for baby) and for the couple of hours after; where notes are made contemporaneously - than in a maternity unit with one midwife to 6 women?

If you're going to make statements then use a few facts Molly. My husband is a consultant is an embarrassing cop out.

I'm going to post a few factual links after this post. Educate yourself.