Would you have a home birth if you were in my position?

[cupcakesgalore]

My 4th baby is looking large oon the scans. I'm 33 wks and on the scan its measurements - done repeatedly - were at 36 wks. My 1st 2 were q. big at 9lbs 11 (due date) and (lbs 10 (one wk. late). No problems with delivery. I was planning a water birth at home - last baby was only 8lb4. however, the cons. is already making noises about not being keen. I know scans can be v. wrong - although to be fair they were spot on with all my others. The bigger thing is that the nearest hospital is 25 minutes away minimum - and that would be in a speeding ambulance. I'm sure every thing would be fine but the disytance to the hospital is the only thing putting me off. What would you do / have you done in a similar position?

It depends how easy you other births were.
If you're confident you can give birth to a largish baby, go for it. It really depends on how much you want a home birth, or how much you don't want a hospital birth. Personally, I'd be more concerned about head size, than the overall size of the baby.

My nearest hospital with number 2 was over 25 mins away so I opted for a home birth. This was all fine, until I was overdue (8 days) and told to go to hospital, risk of death, complications blah blah, massive baby overdue, not much room.

At overdue +10, when I was due to go in, I gave birth at home in water. Fantastic. Baby was 7.5 so hardly ginormous.

You need to do what you feel most comfortable with. Good luck either way.

Birthing unit possible?

I think the recommendation is that you live within 20 minutes drive of a hospital.

I've had a home birth, and being close to the hospital was a big factor - giving birth can be scarey and I needed to know that medical assistance (apart from the midwives who were great) were reasonably close by.

I wouldn't worry about the size of the baby, as you can obviously give birth to a big baby without problems, but the distance from the hospital would put me off.

cupcakes, I'm 31 weeks with my fourth too, and will be 25 mins (at speed) from my nearest hospital - though there the similarity ends! . I would never be comfortable with a home birth and would far rather be in hospital, so that is my decision made for me. But you feel differently, and that's what counts. This is such a personal decision that only you can make.

Agree with Miaou.
Personally, I would never risk a home birth as I would be worried about any complications. The distance from the hospital in your case would also put me off.
However lots of women (especially on MN I think!) feel differently so you should really do whatever your own instincts tell you.

i was put off my home birth as ds was a big baby. told nightmare scenarios of shoulder distosia(sp?). wish i had ignored advice as he popped right out..very personal decision to make though.

My 4th baby was my biggest yet (can't remember the weight, but around 10lb). The birth wasn't anymore difficult than the others (in fact it was better than the third) and wasn't the quickest either.

Have you asked your midwife what she thinks?

Lots of stories about how fantastic home births are, and 99.9% of the time, I'm sure that's the case. I had a domino delivery second time around, and midwife was on the brink of saying she wouldn't move me to the hospital. Got to hospital in the end, easy delivery, but baby had swallowed some gunk, so very glad the paeds were just round the corner. Not sure i would risk it, regardless of size of baby or previous delivery histories. "just in case" - was at uni with a student who had cerebal palsey as a result of his mother being moved during childbirth, so I guess that put me off. But I'm megga cautious, and tend to cover the negative outcomes rather than assume positive. Unfortunately, this is one where there is no easy answer, unless you have second sight! Weigh up the risks, and ask yourself how likely things are to go pear=shaped with home delivery vs fantastic experience if it all goes well.
Sorry, I'm sure this is of no help at all. Whatever you decide, make your decision and stick with it and don't look back. Good luck!

Yes I would

There's a good section on the homebirth website about Big Babies and home birth.

Given that you've birthed big babies before with no problems I think this has got to be a point in your favour. How would you feel about a home birth if your baby was predicted to be an average size?

Oh, and just to add, I had a 10lb 13oz baby at home. No problems whatsoever. He was predicted by serial growth scans to be about 7lbs

My hospital is also about 1/2 hr away, my second was frighteningly quick and I only just made it. I had home birth for no 3 and am planning to do the same again, but I do understand your worries. At the end of the day make a decision based on the one that gives you the least worries, as lets face it, giving birth can be daunting even for those of us who have 'been there'.

Of course you know by now that fundal measurements are out when it comes to 4th baby because everything is so much more stretched already. And you also know that dating and sizing scans are notoriously inaccurate! I have known more than a few women online who measured big for dates and had a 'normal' sized baby!

You also know that if mw was not happy about anything a decision to transfer in would be made, the hospital would have been notified you were coming and would have been waiting to meet you when you arrived. How much time would you have been kept waiting while they assembled a team for theatre at the hospital if you had already been there?

If you feel confident in your abilities, trust your mw team to be able to make a good call should it be needed, and know that you can birth a big baby no problems, I would suggest that you plan a Home Water birth!

Homebirth.org

Sheila Kitzinger and Homebirth

BTW it is your legal right to have your baby at home. So do your research and make up your own mind, make an infomed choice. The HCP's can 'advise' you of what they think but it is up to you whether you accept this advice.

Thankyou everyone. I guess the only answer is for me to do what i'm comfortable with. The last 2 were v. easy deliveries and I regretted that they weren't born at home. I'll hold off making a decision for a while yet. Everything's set to run as a home birth at the mo. though. I'm currently going through that dread of labour stage - nr. enough to remember and think ouch, not again, but not nr. enough to think I'm just desperate to give birth and don't care how much it hurts! I'll see what the 37 wk. scan brings.

I went through most of my 2nd labour at home and then went into hospital for the delivery. I did find labour easier, perhaps partly because it was the 2nd time but largely I think because I was more relaxed at home and had more things to distract me. I just wasn't brave enough to go the whole way at home, but can imagine it would be a wonderful experience. Look forward to hearing how it all goes!