Any have their first baby at home?

[naturelover]

I'm hoping to have mine at home but am getting lots of negative comments from people. Midwife is not anti but is at pains to remind me I'll get no pain relief except gas & air. I'm hoping hypnobirthing methods will help.

Have been reading Ina May and it's very inspirational.

I live very close to the hospital.

I'd love to read your experiences of home births for first babies. Did you transfer? Any regrets? Any advice?

Eca on the April 2007 thread had her first at home very recently, i'll point her in this direction but it might not be today

I didn't have either of my children at home, but a friend of mine had her DD in February at home; mainly using the birth pool and it was a veyr positive experience .

My midwife told me that if I wanted a HB I would only be able to have G&A but at my last app she said that she could give me Pethidine but I would have to get the drug from my doctor first!

i know Eca had to collect pethadine from the GP beforehand, but where i live the mw carries it. (and we're in neighbouring counties ) might be worth investigating further?

Had my first at home 4 months ago, was ace. I had gas and air only though I had pethidine in the cupboard just in case!

Just keep reading Ina May and try not to listen to negative comments. The more confident and relaxed you are, the more likely you are going to be able to cope.

It may be worth hiring a doula who will help you stay calm and strong if labour is long or you feel unable to manage.

Hypnobirthing sounds like a great idea - are you hiring a birthing pool as well?

Anyway, hopefully hypnobirthing techniques and maybe some gas and air will see you through but if not, you're close to the hospital so can transfer if you have to.

Stay strong (!) and good luck!

I am also hoping for a HB with first LO, (due in June) have just read Childbirth Without Fear and found it very good, also purposely not told anyone so i dont have to hear their concerns! I will have a Doula also, but hormones must be raging this week as I am having second thoughts too...we are only 5 mins away from hospital and I am just remembering I can always try and stick it out at home for a long as possible...when are you due?

I had homebirth with my first.

It was a very positive experience but I'm not gonna pretend that at one point I was begging to go into hospital and be anaesthetised from the neck down. I was lucky as it was a fairly quick first labour, so by the time I was begging he was on his way out. Things that really helped were:

Amazing midwives - I think this is the main benefit actually. You get two midwives (if you're lucky you will know them from ante-natal care) and you have their undivided attention throughout.

Hospital very close - not sure I'd have been so gung-ho if i didn't think I had a get out clause.

Pool - cannot recommend this enough. It was amazing. Enables you to move freely into comfortable positions, and is warm, relaxing and comforting.

Totally on-side DH - absolutely critical. They need to be positive about it and support you all the way.

Getting into your own bed with your amazing baby immediately afterwards. All tucked up by MW (who cleaned up with DH), DS asleep, me gazing at him with NO interruptions.

Go for it, but be prepared to change plans as you get closer or at the time. Keep an open mind.

And take all drugs on offer!!!

I had all mine at home

first was 25 hours 8 hours in water - and all was great. god luck - ina may is amazing isn't she

Smilingkiwi I'm due end of August.
I also feel reassured that the hospital is around the corner if it's needed.
I am hoping to hire a pool and will also look into doulas.

Its a hard decision to make isnt it? Kind of feel like its the first of many decisions which is all about being a parent I guess Dont get me started on routine tests and guidelines my pregnancy and growing LO SHOULD be following!! I can certainly keep you posted on how things progress for me if that helps! I think the hardest thing is about it being the first is everything is so unknown- but I'm actually thinking that is an advantage- what we dont know cant frighten us!

Please do let me know how it goes for you, SmilingKiwi. I wish you the best of luck.

I planned a homebirth for my first but wound up being induced at 42 + 1 and then having an emCS

But I have two friends who had homebirths recently. One of them was having her first, used a pool and had no pain relief at all, and the other had her second (a VBAC) with only G&A.

It can be done, definitely. I'm still hoping to have a HBAC for my second (not that I'm even pregnant yet!)

In my area you can have meptid/pethidine prescribed for you beforehand, so definitely worth checking. I got the meptid as a back up plan, even though I didn't really want to use it, but as I say I went to hospital in the end anyway.

Good luck!

Had my first at home last year. Amazing experience - not one thing I would change about it and being at home was just wonderful.

With regards to pain relief, don't forget that there are other coping strategies other than medical/chemical ones. I used the bath in the early stages, then a tens machine (Mamatens - would recommend) and positions and breathing techniques learned at antenatal yoga classes and through hypnobirthing cds (hypnobirthing.co.uk (I think) do a cd especially for home birth - would recommend.

I did have gas and air and didn't like it at all! I think that huge amounts of self-belief, supportive birthing partner and creating an anxiety-free zone all go a long way.

I know a lot of people who've had a home birth. Even those where they ended up being transferred to hospital (both pre and post birth) don't regret the decision to have a home birth. Perhaps there's a home birth support group near you that could offer advice?

I'm due in August too and am aiming for a home birth for my first. Love the idea of it - have also been reading Ina May and all those lovely home birth stories have stuck in my mind and made me feel it would be the best way to experience labour.

I was advised by my consultant against having a home birth, but received lots of useful advice on the thread I started here a few weeks ago.

I'm also planning on using a hypnotherapy CD to help prepare me, as well as going to antenatal yoga classes to help me with positions during first stage labour and breathing. A supportive and informed birthing partner is really important to me too.

The negative advice seems to mostly come from medicalised bods (consultants, docs and nurses) and people who haven't experienced it themselves. Women who have given birth at home seem to be overwhelmingly positive in their feedback about the experience - that's been enough to pursuade me.

Good luck with whatever route you decide to take

Hi, we planned to have first baby at home and had everything sooo well organised. Also did hypnobirthing and antenatal yoga. Was really looking forward to the birth but it was not to be! The little madam didnt want to budge so we were induced at 42 weeks! Things didnt go too well at hospital but I'm convinced they would have been fine at home.

Good luck with your homebirth plans!

not personally (but did have dd1 at home) but I know a few people who did and it was a really positive experience for them, even though for one of them she had to transfer to hospital and ended up with eventual c section. are you going to hire/buy a birth pool - I'd highly recommend one for pain relief. also check your mw will bring gas/air with her - mine didn't and it took ages to arrive.

hi naturelover

I had my first baby at home 3weeks ago. It was the most wonderful experince ever and I would highly recommend it. I had a super speedy 6hr labour and did it with no pain relief (no G&A - mw got here too late and I was coping ok without and no pethadine - had on standby from the docs but didn't even think about it!) All I used were flower essences and tens. I also did a lot of what I think is called active birthing. So I was walking and breathing through the contractions. If you can get to any antenatal yoga or breathing classes DO! I also read up on everything. Ina May stuff and Sheila Kitzinger.

My dh was really supportive and I think that helped a lot too. It all happen really fast. I was coping well with contractions and was still unsure whether they would progress or evaporate (as so many 1st timers find!) So I was staying calm and trying to relax and breathe. They were 7mins and I called mw and she said it could all stop still, call when I need pain relief or they go to 3-5mins. They went to 3mins 1 1/2 hrs later and I was still coping and debating about ringing mw and then I recognised I was in transition and starting to want to push we called mw fast and she got on her way. Then waters went with a gush. Thankfully I was in the tiled bathroom at that point as we hadn't had chance to put the shower curtain down!

Urge to push got very strong. Called mw again to see how long she'd be. She was still 25mins away. And so dh was instructed not to let me push and helped me breathe through the desire to until mw arrived. She came in took one look at me and told me I could push! Ds arrived 40mins later.

It was the most wonderful thing being at home and tucked up in our own bed 1/2hr later. We didn't leave the bedroom for 2days! I was quite bruised and so walking was painful. But it was a lovely start for ds, we took things really slowly and didn't have to rush anywhere etc etc. Having my own bathroom was fantastic!!

I had a very unsupportive family who all said I was doing the wrong thing, but SIL had had a positive hb experience too and that helped me go ahead with it. Hospital is about 20mins from us. 2 of my mw's were quite negative as well as it was my first. There was one who was not who said to me that the 2 main conderns were 1- if the baby needed resussitating (sp?) and the mw's were trained, but didn't carry the drugs they give in hospital. And 2- if i haemorrhaged and then they would just call an ambulance. I chatted through about other issues - needing an emergency section, baby getting distressed etc and they said that if there were warning signs of things progressing badly they transfer to hospital sooner rather than later iyswim.

hth

Thanks Eca, that is such an inspiring story!

Midwife told me the majority of first timers who transfer do so because of the pain issue (they decide they need more drugs or epidural). I'd like to see how I get on without drugs and, in any case, being so close to the birthing centre and adjoining hospital, I've been told it's good to stay at home as long as possible anyway, even for those intending to birth at the centre (which is one mile away). I have a few friends who've had HBs and even those who've transferred haven't regretted at least attempting a HB. Fingers crossed my low-ish lying placenta will move so that I can go ahead with my plans. In the meantime I'm doing lots of reading and am about to start active birth yoga class.

Thanks again for telling me about your experience.

I had my DS at home (first birth) and plan to have my second baby at home too.
It was a good experience, relatively fast, around 7 (ish) hours.
Used a pool for a while plus Tens and G&A. The contractions were pretty strong and intense for much of the labour so it was quite hard work but I moved around a lot and found this helped.
Was lovely snugling up in bed together with DS and DH after the birth and fantastic to have own, CLEAN, bathroom to hand!
ALso felt that I had plenty of attention from the MWs - not always what I wanted but much better this way than having a MW who has too many labouring women to care for, which I gather is often the case in the local hospital.
I am of the mindset that birth is a natural process and if left to get on with it most women will manage it well, as long as they feel safe and have good support. I hate hospitals and the idea that birth has become quite medicalised, so for me home birth was v much what I wanted and I am v glad to have done it this way.
Good luck with it all...

hello,

I had my first at home last year and it was absolutely fantastic. I did hypnobirthing classes from 25wks pregnant and it helped so much, as I was slightly childbirth phobic before those classes. During hypnosis I was told to envisage my labour being smooth, problem free and easy and I was asked how long I would like to be in labour for. (!) I thought 4 hours sounded reasonable without being unrealistic and that's exactly what I got! Went into labour, wasn't even aware of it until I was about 7cms gone and 3 hours after starting to feel contractions DS was born.

Was determined to have him at home and fortunately everyone was really supportive. I ignored anyone who was negative (MIL for example,) as I was healthy and had text book pregnancy. Totally recommend it.

Oh, should have said, I also had a birth pool in a box but by the time DP and mu mum got it up and filled DS was out!

I had DS at home last summer (first baby). Was fantastic experience, very hard work, but got through it with TENS machine and a few baths (altho obv not at the same time ). G&A was available, but ended up not using it. My midwife wasn't majorly enthusiastic about homebirth - think she was trying to lower my expectations so that I wasn't 'disappointed' rather than being negative. However, she did end up delivering DS and was great.

Things I did to prepare, as others have mentioned: antenatal yoga (really useful for positions/breating, also relaxation during pregnancy) hypnobirthing CD (listened to it a few times, didn't really get on with it, but some of the visualisations were ok), wrote birth plan, and got DH and my mum on-side too. Both were fantastic birth partners.

There is a v emotional and hormonal birth announcement here which I wrote about 3 days after DS was born. It's a bit long . Good luck with your birth

naturelover - you sound really positive and like a homebirth would be a good choice for you, and having the birthing centre so close is really reassuring too. hope that the placenta moves so you can have your lo at home. My ds was breech for a while and it looked like a homebirth might not be possible, but he turned in the end! Good luck, let us know how you get on. Are you on the august antenatal thread too??

i had my first LO 6 months ago at home and it was really as wonderful as birth can be. Amazing to give birth in friendly surroundings and then be able to lie in my own bed drinking champagne - never know euphoria like it!
But yes, it felt like everyone in the world thought i was crazy (apart from dh!) but in my last few weeks i got assigned a great mw (by chance) who was very supportive indeed and really stuck with me and encouraged me and saw me through a loong (27 hour) labour. It was really hard work but it is weird how you kind of forget. I also had a doula and i think that was a MAJOR help, would recommend it if at all possible. And I had a birthing pool - if you like the water then i really recommend this, but again you do need a supportive mw who is trained in waterbirth for this to work.
I also lived only a mile from hosp. which helped me to decide it was OK, there was a point when i was begging to be taken there and be given every drug going but furtunately my mw and doula helped me to decide otherwise!
The mw only let me have G&A while pushing and it felt like the best thing ever at that point...
All the very best to you