Homebirth for first baby - did you plan one, and did you have one?

[lilylilyrose]

I am 34 weeks pregnant with my first baby and planning a homebirth. I am very lucky to have the full support of my team of midwives, plus my husband/mum are both keen on the idea (they'll both be there at the birth).

I'm going to order a birth-pool-in-a-box, and I've been reading 'Childbirth Without Fear' - I've also ordered a Hypnobirthing CD and book after reading a thread on here about it.

Really I would love to hear from other first-time mums who planned a home birth - did you end up having one? If not, what happened? I've heard that up to 60% of first-time mums transfer, but apparently in my area the stats are much lower - my midwives do 1-2 HBs a week, and haven't had a transfer since December.

So if anyone wants to share their experiences, good OR bad, I would be most grateful!

Makes it so real, Kyte! craaaaaazy!

you can buy a cheap plastic shower curtain from tesco for a few pounds.....cover with old sheets or towels..when my friends had homebirths, we all dug out our old sheets etc..and gave them to the mums to be....in the end..neither of them used them, as the mess was very contained !!

hi,
i planned a homebirth and ended up in hospital, but am glad it was planned at home nonetheless. cos mine turned out to be pretty long, and he was stuck, so had to go in BUT did the first 30 hours at home, so was dead glad of that.
my friend is 41 and just had her first at home and it was brilliant! so go for it!

I'm 38+1 with my first and also planning hb. It's been good to read about other peoples experiences. I also have BPIAB and TENS so hoping can make it through using just them and maybe a bit of gas and air. DH bough tarpaulin from B&Q (just a few £s) and MIL has given me some of her old towels (which I understand we'd need in hospital here anyway).

Divaskychick & Kyte - I am nosey so did have a quick look in my hb box - several of those disposable changing pads, a stethoscope and loads of other stuff that I have no clue about.

A tip someone has given me for hb is to make your bed as usual, then put a plastic sheet / waterproof protector on top, with an old sheet on top of that. Then if you want to use your bed, you won't worry about ruining your sheets. Also, while you are having a shower afterwards, dh or mw can take top two layers off and you have nice clean sheets to sleep in! this is probably not a bad idea whatever birth you are planning on, just in case your waters go in bed in the last weeks!

Oh Melissa lucky you, you could be just days away! I'm so envious. (or not - you let me know! lol)

Great idea about the bed. Where are you setting up the pool? It seems so big and our flat is so small....

Divaskychick - I don't think there is any chance of this lo making an appearance anytime soon. S/he's far too comfy! We're putting the pool in the dining room (dining/kitchen). We'd originally planned on putting it in the spare room, but our architect said that the joists aren't strong enough to support the weight of the water, let alone the extra people. You should be ok in a flat though I would think - they are usually made with stronger joists than houses (or so I am told).

I had amazing midwives who did homebirths for breakfast! I was so sure ds would be born at home. But I was in second stage for twelve hours vvv long. I transferred and he was forceps. Dd was homebirth, almost wasn't as she was stuck too. It was lovely but hard. After dd born, midwife said ds would never have come out if we had not had forceps as he was well and trully stuck. Two failed ventouse. She did not tell me until after I had dd though, as I think she thought I would have given up during dd four hour second stage, which is right!! Homebirths are lovely by the way, it was magic.

Anyway, after ds I was very very upset, as i had not contemplated a hospital birth. I had no bag packed etc.. I had just imagined the tea and the toast in my bed!! I went in with a bag packed by dh and no money. So here is hoping you get what you want, but don't make my mistake and be prepared and ok about things not being as you imagine. The best bit is the baby and you enjoying your baby xx

Wise words tumblemum - I am packing a hospital bag 'just in case', as there are so many things that I just can't predict.

ib, I'm ordering a bpiab, though I saw one at a homebirth support group meeting on Saturday and was shocked at how big it is (and it was the Eco Mini!) I think with a bit of furniture-rearranging, we should manage it though

Hey Lilyrose,

Did you get your bpib yet? I'm still hesitating at the size but time is getting short and I really need to decide! If you got it, have you set it up to see?

Hiya DivaSkyChick - I just ordered it about an hour ago! Had a presentation scan this morning to make sure baby is head-down, and it is, so I took the plunge (pardon the pun ) and ordered my pool...I'll be setting it up as soon as it arrives so keep your eye on this thread, and I'll report back!

Well my Birth Pool In A Box arrived this morning, and it looks good - going to get DH to help me inflate it this evening to check how big it really is! Midwives also stopped round earlier with my homebirth kit, so we're all set...just need the baby to make a timely arrival now

I would love a homebirth too, but live in terraced house where you tend to hear neighbours, wouldn't feel good about subjecting street to birthing noises maybe i could borrow my parents in-laws house
My DS came 8 weeks early by emergency CS, but i did happen to see inside hospital delivery room and it looked horrendous, really cold and clinical with these scary looking instruments everywhere

good luck homebirthers xxxx

yes I had one, yes I planned one, yes it was a wonderful experience which I repeated with dc3 (for dc2, I gave birth in a country where they don't 'do' home birth so wasn't possible). Would thoroughly recommend

LizzieO, my fist HB was in a small flat on the 2nd floor with neighbours all within earshot. Made no difference - it was still great!

Planned one , didn't have one . Have unused and now useless birth pool stuck behind the sofa .

yes, both dcs born at home. Lovely.

ChristmasPud you could sell it on Ebay? They go for a decent price, so your money wouldn't be totally wasted...that's what I'm planning to do with mine if I don't get to use it.

Hey Lilyrose,

Bought our pool, it's been sitting in the hall ready to for us to open and try out. Then last night, our downstairs neighbor's ceiling crashed in. All the plaster came off and we can see right into his! Have no idea why, haven't even opened the box yet.

But rrrrreeally nervous about the whole thing now. The hole is in below our landing, not in the lounge where we plan to set up. But it's really not a good sign, is it!

Blimey DivaSkyChick, that's a bit unnerving! I was a bit nervous about the weight of the pool, but we're having it in our lounge (on the ground floor) so hopefully will be OK. The website/midwife said that a filled pool weighs the same as about 10 adults in the same room, so am hoping we don't have any disasters!

Hopefully the joists etc. between floors would be stronger in a 'proper' room than on a landing?

one hopes!