Homebirth - what questions should I be asking?

[karenferris]

I am considering taking on a private midwife for a homebirth because the midwives attached to my local hospital don't offer this service. I can only see positives about this at the moment and would like some advice on the sort of questions I should be asking and your experiences of homebirths.

Thanks in advance.

Not sure which questions you should ask but do know that you should be able to feel comfortable with whichever IM you choose. Does she seem in tune with your wishes, do you feel a warmth from her, if you are a huggy person then perhaps she should be and visa versa.

You need to feel that you can absolutely trust her and don't mind baring your innermost soul to her. If you interview a few, one should jump out as the one you most feel comfortable with, no matter about price, experience etc - she's the one!

I have no experience of HB to offer but do plan to birth at home if I have another baby.

er, i thought that homebirth was a legal right and has to be offered by each PCT?? i;d speak to the head of midwifery

instinct.
No-one too evangelical, too wacky, or anyone who doesn't listen. Someone you like, trust with a good record of homebirths

Hello. Seems like the most sensible option to me too after doing tons of research. Here's a nice overview about home births and here's the link to the Independent Midwives Association Good luck in finding someone nice.

I had a fabulous HB experience last year - there are lots of threads on HB on this chatroom so take a look around.

I too thought that HB had to be offered as an option so I'd go back to the hospital on that one, taking it as far as you need to. Luckily, my mws were highly supportive, even though the HB rate here is around 3% - not sure what I would have done had I been faced with any opposition but in hindsight, I would hope that I would have really fought for it because there's nothing about the whole experience that I would change.

I had a great home birth last year too, so much better than racing around trying to get to hospital on time. When I was about 36-37 weeks they brought a birth pack containing lots of medical bits and pieces, as well as the gas and air, and sat down with me for a good long time talking me through. It might be worth asking what the 'cut off' point is here it is 37+ but it may be different where you are. My midwives were all very excited about it so I'm afraid I don't know what you'd need to do, the advice you've been given about that seems right though. Good luck and keep pushing for it.

If you want a waterbirth, you need a mw who is comfortable with this and has done the relevant training.

My local 'team' are very much of the 'right. fine. we'll try not to think about it till you really end up going through with it' school of thinking.
Oh, unless of course you have anything that might conceivably be an excuse to whip you into the 'nearest' high risk unit (ours isn't very near). That means, anything at all.
They are very overstretched I think. Nobody's given me any advice or a pack or a visit to talk it through. I have no idea what they want me to do to prepare for them, in fact it makes me want to not tell them until he's been born!!

Just a tired old cynic here

I hope you get more info and encouragement, seamonster's experience sounds great.
Good luck!!

Yes it is your right to have a HB and it is the community midwives (not hospital) who have to do it - well it is in my area.
I had a wonderful HB last year with my first baby and with a very supportive mw and doula (if you can persuade your mw to do a HB then i'd recommend a doula, more than makes up for a reluctant mw!) - i would say that with an IM you should try and find out whether her thinking is in line with an NHS mw and whether you are happy with this. For example, I know of local IM's who would happily let you go well over 2 weeks without wanting you to be induced, but an NHS mw would prob never "allow" this. The wonderful thing about having an IM is that you can have a choice about such matters but you just need to be informed i guess. All the best to you

Thanks so much for your advice and support. I've got an appointment with the hospital mw at the beginning of June so I'll try and get it sorted.

Just wanted to second everything that has been said here. Had a homebirth with dd2 19 days ago, and it was a wonderful experience. One of the things that made it really special for us was the continuity of midwife care I received from our community MWs. I saw the same MW throughout my pregnancy (she was the MW who delivered dd1 so I already felt quite attached to her), and she was determined to be there for the birth of dd2. When the time came she looked after me superbly throughout the birth and did all the follow-up visits afterwards. Having someone there who I trusted and felt comfortable with made the whole experience go very smoothly, and when the going got tough she was reassuring, encouraging and I put my trust in her entirely. So I cannot stress enough how important it is that you have someone there that you feel comfortable with and that you trust 100%.

By the way, we had 4 MWs present at one point during my labour, and 3 there (one was a trainee MW) when dd2 was actually born. No problems with MW shortages here obviously. You really should check if your local MWs will support a homebirth - mine told me that homebirths are being actively encouraged by the NHS.

Good luck and I hope you get the experience you want!

I would thoroughly recommend a Home Birth to anyone deemed low risk, if this is supported in your area. My beautiful 10lb daughter was born at home 7 weeks ago, and it ran like clockwork. The first midwife arrived within 20 minutes of my phone call and the second about 30 mins before my second stage of labour began. They were fantastic, and really looked after us. They ran me a bath and helped me with it after the birth and stayed to make sure we were ok for around an hour and a half. There is a great website I recommend which may answer many of your questions - www.homebirth.org.uk