Home births - likely to be cancelled because of CV?

[wineymummy]

I finally seem to have managed to persuade DH to go along with a home birth for our second, due in May. Eventually helped by the current situation and risks of being in a hospital environment surrounded by other people.

But now I'm thinking that if the labour wards are short of midwives due to anyone self-isolating, then the home birth team would be called onto the wards as a priority.
Does anyone know if this is likely?
I will ask my midwife when I see her but just wondering. Months of Positive Birth Company prep and trying to get into a good frame of mind all now being lost due to corona-anxiety.

Hi don’t know where abouts in the country you are but here in Cheshire they’ve been cancelled

thanks for that heads up - no I'm in the south east but will be prepared to hear this when I speak to my midwife.

Oh crap I just ordered the last bits for the birth pool, I really don’t want to go near the hospital next month . MW is supposed to be doing the home assessment next week but I’m not even sure if she’ll come now.

I’m due any day and hoping to use the MLU birth centre in my town (midlands) so I checked with my MW as I was nervous they’d close it to keep all the MW on labour ward.
She said it’s business as usual at the moment but that it’s changeable by the hour and her gut feel was that community services would be the first to be affected / reduced.

Do you have a MLU you could access as a half way point between a full on hospital and home birth if they do stop offering them?
I’ve also started following our MLU on social media and they are posting at least one daily update and it’s incredibly reassuring.

In the words of my MW these babies have to be born somewhere!!

Thanks @WingingIt101. Our nearest MLU is about 40 minutes away, compared to the hospital which is 10-15, so I'll just go there if necessary. I'm not dead set against it just a bit annoyed...but there are bigger things to consider so I'll accept it if necessary. Good plan to check social media though, I don't know if our home birth team has one but will have a look.
@bananamonkey what's the returns policy on your bits? I've just emailed La Bassine to ask if their 45 day returns period covers unopened liners too - as that's the only thing I need to buy - I've been lent the rest by a friend.

@wineymummy good point I will check later, I bought the pool off a friend so can re-sell it later but I needed to get a new pump, liner and hose. I used our MLBU last time and I’d be happy to go there again, it’s only 10-15 minutes away but it’s part of the hospital which is why I’m reluctant from both an exposure point of view and the worry that they’ll close it to re-direct the MWs and I’ll have to go on the labour ward where I can’t use a pool etc.

I’m set on a home birth. I had a shit experience with my DD at my local hospital. The MLU is alongside the CLU but I didn’t get to go there as they didn’t believe I was in labour. Basically if they suspend the homebirth service I’m fucked. I’ve got no one to look after DD as she cannot go to her grandparents at the moment and my husband could easily be working an hour or two away. Based on the speed that things happen last time I could have given birth by the time my husband get to me to take me to the hospital!

I’m in a very similar boat @Littlemissdaredevil.

Due in 5 weeks, have 2dds at home with only grandparents for childcare. Dp doesn’t have a car right now, only a work van (he’s a tree surgeon so it’s bloody massive), the hospital is 35 mins away and dd2 was born in just over an hour so there’s a very large chance that i won’t have the option to get to hospital even if they tell me needs must!

The midwife and paramedics all arrived after dd2s birth and that was without a virus stripping back resources so goodness knows what’ll happen this time!

Well just out of my midwife appointment and I was assured there is no plan at the moment to drop home births in my area. If anything they're anticipating increased demand due to people avoiding hospitals. They are going to cut general home visits to telephone appointments if necessary to allow for focusing on births. So hopefully things stay that way down here and I hope the rest of you remain unaffected too. It could all change but that's how it is for now.

That’s great @wineymummy. Hopefully it can stay that way for you and everyone else here.

Great news! Really pleased for you!

The best person to ask is your midwife.

Things are changing day by day but in my area (SE) home births are currently continuing. We're just doing more telephone consultations where possible and isolating women with symptoms. Other than that we just have to carry on going.

Saw my homebirth mw yesterday. I'm 30 weeks' tomorrow. They are not doing antenatal home visits currently so I have been referred back to my community midwife for those.

However, they are currently still attending labours at home.

I am adamant I am not going into hospital and I have been told it is my right to refuse. Which I shall be doing if they ask me to go in for the birth!

Rain, can I ask why you're so against a hospital birth? As someone who is currently waiting on a c-section for a breech baby, and very anxious there won't be enough medical staff to deliver him safely, I personally would be beyond grateful to anyone who might make adjustments in their birth plan that might allow my baby (or someone in my position) to be born safely.

Also, if the homebirth service was cancelled and you refused to go into hospital, I don't think that would result in forcing the midwives to come out would it?! Wouldn't you be concerned about the alternative, which presumably would be delivering yourself at home and perhaps waiting for paramedics to attend?

Mine are actively encouraging home births at the minute, their focus seems to be on keeping us away from the hospital.
I can't have one for a variety of reasons but it sounded like they'd have liked me to!

@dustyphoenix My second birth was made very traumatic by what is known as a "cascade of intervention". Basically a student midwife broke my waters because they needed the room and wanted to speed up my labour. It sent my baby into shock and his heartbeat dropped dangerously low. Urgent help was called and everyone came rushing in. It took about two minutes but luckily his heart rate started to pick up. It was horrible.

I had him at 6 am, I was put into the TV room at 8 am with my newborn. They didn't have time to do necessary checks. The next day doctor came out and he was diagnosed with severe jaundice. He has blood group "converted" due the trauma in labour.

We spent two weeks in hospital and I couldn't take him out of his incubator to feed him. He narrowly missed needing a blood transfusion.

I literally don't want to be touched when I go into labour except if absolutely necessary! I also suffer from severe anxiety and know that a hospital birth would make me feel very mentally unwell.

@dustyphoenix Not necessarily as they have a duty of care?

Just to let you know home births have been cancelled in all places covered by Medway hospital according to our midwife and they are forcing my partner into hospital

Aims website states: "If you are already planning a homebirth, or you wish to do so. Article 8 of the Human Rights Act protect your right to birth where you choose. In normal circumstances we would expect that if you made the decision to birth at home, you could expect NHS care for the birth. However in the current emergency circumstances there may be situations where this in not possible. This does not mean that you can be legally required to birth in hospital, but it does mean that hospital Trusts may be unable to provide a midwife to attend your birth."

Spoke to my midwife again today. Home births still going ahead down here but the key thing is ambulance provision. If the ambulance service are getting swamped with Covid calls, home births have to be stopped, they have no choice. Stilluo in the air but I can't imagine it'll still be an option for me in 4+ weeks time.

Homebirths supended in my Trust. They have pulled all hb mw's back in to the hospital. Looking at an IM for around £2.5k Will hopefully be meeting up with her soon.

First and last baby for my OH so obviously want him there!

@rainminusbow

No, they don't have duty of care if you are refusing to take the healthcare they are offering you. You can't continue to demand something they are no longer offering and claim they have duty of care to give it to you.

Its the same as if paramedics attended a fall and the person who fell refused to attend hospital, even though it was strongly recommended by the medics. That person would be exercising their right to refuse medical treatment which is what you'll be doing by refusing to attend hospital upon beginning labour. Paramedics (not midwives) will attend in an emergency, but in the current climate leaving it this late would be foolhardy (and they would recommend a transfer to hospital anyway)

Thanks @dustyphoenix. We're looking to employ an Independent Midwife.