Homebirth for your first

[wheniamqueen]

I was told by my midwife that you shouldnt have a homebirth with your first but I beginning to think that its what i want. Anybody got any advice?

Hi wheniamqueen.
I haven;'t much time as I must go to bed but I had a homebirth with my first. Many people tutted and advised against it, blah blah blah but it was the most fabulous birth. I've gone on to have four at home with no drugs and the absolute minimum of intervention (which is how I wanted it) and can throughoughly recommend it.

That said I felt mistrusted by my NHS midwives so switched to independents in week 38 of my first pregnancy. Expensive, but easily the best money I have ever spent.

Good luck.

i had hb for my 1st 12 weeks ago. i did end up being transferred in, to have ventouse, but i would definitely do it again.even if you end up being transferred, it's likely you'll be grateful for every last moment spent in your own environment. i must add that i'm 10 minutes drive form the hospital, whcich helped me decide.

hi wheniamqueen, agree with annie75 about reading up so you feel confident about what you want - would also recommend Sarah J Buckley's Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering and Stand & Deliver by Emma Mahoney. Good luck.

wheniamaqueen, don't be put off. i had a homebirth for my first and it was wonderful! the best thing we did though (being novices to birth ) was to use a doula. her help and support was invaluable and made us confident of what we were doing.

I planned a home waterbirth with my first (4wks old today). I got to 10cms at home in the pool but after hours of directed pushing had to be blue lighted to hospital and found out that dd was well and truly stuck. Ended up with failed ventouse, episiotomy and eventually an emergency cs. I am not trying to scare. Contrarily I am so glad I did a large portion at home and I cherish the memories of that bit. I'm working on forgetting the rest!

As with all home deliveries you would be very well monitored and there are nearly always signs that something may be amiss and transfer is not necessarily the panicked affair you might imagine. Remember, if 40% of first timers end uip transferring then 60% don't. Make sure you have decent support and know what you want. Finally, be prepared for the eventuality that they may not have a midwife to send to you and have a plan of what you want if you do end up in hospital. It can be heartbreaking if you have dreamed of a homebirth and you don't get it. Planning for the alternative is always sensible too. A hospital birth isn't always the sterile affair that people imagine.

Good luck.

i've planned 2 homebirths, transferred in both for slow progress and if i were going to do it again (unlikely!) i'd plan a homebirth again in a heartbeat. i felt it gave me the best chance i could have had to have natural labours and deliveries, to stay relaxed and active in my own home for the longest part of each labour.

i think a lot of how you perceive labour - no matter what the actual outcome, home or hospital birth, few or many interventions - depends on how much you feel in control of the situation, that you are in a position to make choices about what happens next and you aren't made to feel powerless or overtaken by "procedure". the balance of power is very much in your favour at home, so even if things don't go according to plan you can still have a very positive experience.

i firmly believe that my first birth would have been a section had i started in hospital, so who knows whether i would have then managed a natural delivery for my second, unlikely given the length of the labour i suspect. so just planning a home birth can have a very positive impact, even if you do transfer, and believe me, when you get to that stage it really isn't traumatic, because you've accepted that you need extra help and you're then in the right place to get that help.

Go for it. I had home birth with my first last year. Great experience, which I'm hoping to repeat in a few months... My mw (very supportive) said that if anything went wrong, they'd send ambulance with flashing lights and sirens to get me to hospital asap. ie, they wouldn't mess about. Thankfully, nothing did go wrong - homebirth website (I think someone else has mentioned it) is the place to go for more info. But would wholeheartedly recommend it - people thought I was mad, so I ended up keeping final plans a secret. Don't be discouraged.

Am not sure of exact stats but I am sure that of low risk mums who deliver in hospital fewer than 60% have normal deliveries. If you have a 40% transfer rate from home and some of them will go on to have normal deliveries in hospital I reckon it is a good plan to start off at home because all in all you are more likely to have a normal birth and a good birth experience.

just thought I'd add my failed first baby homebirth story here as they often don't get told...
I totally agree that homebirth is a fantastic option and more women should be doing it, including first timers. However, I would warn you against getting so militant about it that - like I did!! - you forget the facts and end up feeling a) stupid b) guilty
The facts are that 40% of first time home births transfer to hospital and you need to be mentally prepared for that.
I spent 9 months fighting my corner, convincing friends /family / cyncial consultants, became a total AIMS junkie, read all the papers, all the Ina May. I didn't need the medical establishment, I was healthy, had a smugly petite bump, low blood pressure and was swimming 40 lengths at 40 weeks. I mediated, yoga squatted and put up the birthing pool in the living room. I believed SO strongly that my baby would arrive in it.
Anyway - to cut a long story short:

1. 24 hours drug free labour at home
2. petrifying 35 mile journey to hospital (that I never ever in my wildest earthmother dreams considered I'd ever have to make ) with placental abruption
3. zoomed into surgery and underwent what attending doctor told me was "fasted C-section he'd ever witnessed) The home birth queen ended up a week in hospital as my skinny 5lb son (hence small bump) decided to prove he didn't need the medical establishment either by spending 7 days in the Special Care Unit covered in tubes as he had jaundice and a lung infection

Obviously it took me months to get over what had happened - an overwhelming cocktail of anger, disappointment, shock and guilt. My wee man is fine now and so am I in body and spirit. But I would say make sure you're prepared for all eventualities! Because shit does happen and irony of ironies, I was the cynical consultants dream example - the seeming super healthy mum whose home birth went arse over tit at the last minute and who probably would have lost her babe give or take another 30 mins

However, I know I'm the minority and most homebirths are beautiful and stress-free event

Thanks for your advice and stories, i'm only 29weeks tomorrow so i've still got time to decide, and i think if i do go ahead with a home birth i will have a back up plan just in case!

Geez Basil. Scary stuff. Thanks for sharing, tho. It's good to keep that it mind.

Yeah it was. First time I've put it in words too which was quite theraputic .
Didn't want to frighten anyone too much though, just put forward a version that's not often heard - and that's because usually everything's fine at homebirths!
Also, I'm sure you could write tomes about scary mismanaged hospital births, badly timed inductions etc. I was seriously unlucky and what happened was rare.
DH has refused to let me even consider HB this time round though...(am a magnificent 5+1 so fingers crossed!!!)

I had a homebirth for my first and I live in a very rural area. There is no reason not to unless you have some particular medical condition that would put you at a high risk. But again you do decide for yourself. I know if i went into hospital I would have been really stressed.

I think legally they can't actually refuse you although some areas like to make you think its their decision not yours. I know my friend was told point blank by her midwife that she would not turn up at the birth if she decided to stay at home. She decided to get an independent midwife in the end as their general attitude was so bad.

I think you have to think of it like home is the best most cosy environment to give birth in but the medical back up is there if you need it. Women who get transferred to hospital after a failed home birth don't need to feel guilty because they need help, as that is what its there for.

I also know someone who was forced to have an unplanned homebirth because the maternity unit was totally full.