Home births

[LouJ85]

Just wondering what people's experiences are of having a home birth?

Any tips / advice? Would you recommend it? Thanks

Absolutely brilliant loved both of mine.
First pregnancy and last.
Calm, comfortable two midwives keeping an eye on me and baby. Sleeping in own bed, using my own bathroom.
Definitely recommend it.

Thank you for the reply
Did you do any hypnobirthing birthing beforehand?

I didn't do any hypnobirthing no.
Did some reading around and spoke to my midwife. Got the support of my husband who was initially reluctant and went for it on the basis I would try it and see how I got on and would go in to hospital if I needed to.

My midwife tried to force me into a home birth because I was what you call a Midwife's dream with my first pregnancy which was a statightforward vaginal birth.

I refused and just gave birth at the hospital yesterday. I went in pushing and pushing and they all panicked after being told on the phone that I couldn't come in because my contractions weren't strong enough. Whilst I was pushing midwife realised my baby was legs down (breech), had to stop pushing in full whack contractions and I was taken into the operation theatre for an emergency c section (I could hear the alarm/siren ringing for an emergency). We had 14 members or staff all helping me. God made me have a vaginal birth. I was so scared thinking my babies head was going to get stuck and he/she will die.Can you imagine what would have happened if this midwifes dream would have given birth at home? I'm so glad I said no. My baby is in the NICU because she's having breathing trouble from the traumatic start/stop birth...and also because she ended up with meconium (baby poop) in her mouth and nose. What would have happened had I been at home?

Congratulations on your baby @faithfulbird20 ! That sounds like a really traumatic experience and I hope your little one is out of the woods really soon.

However @LouJ85 undiagnosed breach is a pretty unusual scenario so while it's one of the risks you ought to be aware of when coming to a decision, I wouldn't let it worry you unduly. Unless you were free birthing you would have two midwives trained in emergencies with you. You may want to consider your distance from hospital as well (in traffic if you change your mind last minute, but more importantly in an ambulance if the worst should happen).

I was induced with my first (overdue) and it was a miserable experience overall, ending in forceps in theatre as I was too exhausted for anything else after an extremely lengthy process. It was also followed by another couple of nights on the ward which weren't great.

I wanted to avoid this second time round and had a successful home birth which was a lot less traumatic/painful, although second babies tend to be a bit easier anyway from what I understand. It massively helped my recovery and bonding to be at home in a safe and comfortable environment. Note - I actually ended up with baby being delivered by paramedics as midwives had been called to another home birth and it was too late for hospital! So that's another risk you need to bear in mind.

I'm absolutely not anti hospital births so I would just recommend looking with a clear head at the risks and benefits of each for you. You will hear a lot of individual opinions of people who have had amazing and terrible experiences and lucky escapes on both sides!

@faithfulbird20

Congratulations on your new baby and I'm sorry you had such a traumatic time. I'm shocked that your midwife tried to force you into a home birth - this doesn't sound like something they should be doing at all. My midwife is lovely and wouldn't force me into anything so I'm trying to make this decision for myself but in discussion with her, if that makes sense.

@rosettesforjill

I shouldn't need to worry too much about undiagnosed breech I'm having regular growth scans right up to 36 weeks (also have own scheduled on my due date itself if I haven't given birth by then), so I should know whether baby is breech or not. Baby was in fact actually breech for a while and turned very recently, so fingers crossed she stays. I'm about 20-25 mins from hospital- faster in a blue light ambulance I imagine!

I plan to discuss with my midwife this week to weigh up the pros and cons.

@faithfulbird20 that sounds really terrifying! How did they not know he was breach?!

what would have happened had I been at home?

Well you would have been aware of her position as homebirths get scanned to ensure the baby is head down (where I live anyway).

And if not, you would have had a vaginal breech, the same as you did in the hospital

I've had two hospital births and a home birth (last May) with an IM. The hospital births were both not great experiences. The home birth was honestly better than I could even have imagined. She's my last but if I planned another baby there would be absolutely no hesitation to have another home birth. Can't recommend it highly enough!

I had emcs for baby no.1 and hbac for no.2. Dc2 ended up being a shoulder dystopia and born blue which was obviously very frightening and we had tobtransfer in, but I was told repeatedly in hospital that the reason we'd had such a good outcome was because I had the undivided attention of two incredibly experienced homebirth midwives, as opposed to the divided attention of overworked, understaffed delivery suite midwives.
Admittedly u paid for IMs because my first birth had left me so traumatised, but their care healed a lot of wounds. No regrets about homebirthing. The labour was wonderful. I'm just sad we didn't get to stay at home.

I had an unplanned fast home birth with my second baby. The home birth midwives made it time and were absolutely brilliant. A home birth would have been my very last choice but if I ever had another baby it would be my first choice. They provide such a high level of care and we went to one of their group meetings to tell our story. There were other home birth families there who had had to transfer into the hospital and the home birth team had stayed with them throughout to provide support. It really is such a personal experience. I’d definitely recommend exploring your options 😊

@Iveputmyselfonthenaughtystep

I had emcs for baby no.1 and hbac for no.2. Dc2 ended up being a shoulder dystopia and born blue which was obviously very frightening and we had tobtransfer in, but I was told repeatedly in hospital that the reason we'd had such a good outcome was because I had the undivided attention of two incredibly experienced homebirth midwives, as opposed to the divided attention of overworked, understaffed delivery suite midwives. Admittedly u paid for IMs because my first birth had left me so traumatised, but their care healed a lot of wounds. No regrets about homebirthing. The labour was wonderful. I'm just sad we didn't get to stay at home.

Gosh, was your son okay? That sounds really scary.

Baby number 2? That was DD and yes, absolutely fine. She still had her cord attached while the midwife did resus so she was getting oxygen. She's now a sturdy, stubborn, frighteningly bright 5 year old who gives her big brother a run for his money. She was 10lb when she was born and is now wearing age 8-9 clothes so no wonder she got a bit stuck really! Rugby player shoulders, you see

Statistically home births are the safest option for low risk second pregnancies and considered riskier than a hospital birth for first pregnancies. There isn't much in it though so best to be guided by your individual circumstances and midwife.

My hospital birth did not go to plan as my baby was unexpectedly very ill at birth and it is a big comfort to me that I was in the statistically safest place (hospital) with help very quickly at hand. I know that for me (and it might not be the same for you), if I had opted for a home birth it would have added to my trauma that there would have been a delay to my baby getting the help he needed.

Whatever you decide it is empowering to be fully informed of the risks of the various options. I did hypnobirthing and although I found the techniques very helpful - with hindsight the emphasis on avoiding any negativity about birth during pregnancy meant that I didn't fully understand some of the risks associated with labour.

I had 2 midwife unit births and my third baby was born at home.

The midwives were incredibly and although he was 10lb 4 and it was my hardest of my 3 births.. I would 100% do it again. Having a shower in my own bathroom and sleeping in my own bed was truly blissful.

Every birth and mum is different so we cant answer whether it's the right choice for you.. I'm not sure if I had know how big my boy was going to be if I would have gone through with the home birth.
There's home birth FB groups that are full ok experienced ladies. Good luck with your decision ❤️

@LouJ85 my midwife is lovely too and very kind. She didn't force me force me but she REALLY recommended it and tried to get me to have one because like I said I was a midwifes dream in my first birth. Kind of tried to get me to do it by praising me and complimenting me loads but luckily I'm an anxious person so didn't want to take any risks. The midwife that saw me yesterday said, if they had found out baby was breech at a home birth, they would have called an ambulance straight away. Yes they're equipped to deal with things like that. But I did say that there wasn't a guarantee that the ambulance would come here and get there on time so baby might be distressed/stillbirth. There was a chance of that happening in that situation and midwife agreed saying yes it did happen. Personally for myself I wouldn't take that risk but if u know you'll be okay and confident then I'd have a home birth.

@mrssunshinexxx it's just something that happened. They kept feeling the bum thinking it was a head. She must have turned after the 20 week scan. I have had a different midwife every 2 weeks at my appointments(so around 6) , 2 different at the hospital and 1 doctor who all felt my bump and no one thought hmm this doesn't feel like a head 😂

@kneecapper we don't get a scan and no one suspected anything. The midwife I saw today who was very old said well in our times we were taught to deal with breech births it was part of our training (vagina breech births). It's not like today where they say breech and automatically say c section. That was comforting.

@purplejungle honestly I totally agree with everything you said and that exactly how I feel. Just knowing I was at the hospital should anything go around and not stuck driving in traffic would be more comforting.

we don't get a scan and no one suspected anything. The midwife I saw today who was very old said well in our times we were taught to deal with breech births it was part of our training (vagina breech births). It's not like today where they say breech and automatically say c section

I meant a scan if you’re booked for a homebirth, to ensure the baby is in a good position.

midwives are also trained in (undiagnosed and expected) breech these days, it’s part of the emergency skills module. although I’m not sure why it’s called that since breech is just a variation of normal

I had 3 home births and all were very straight forward. When I worked as a nanny one employer had her 3rd baby at home and it was a great experience all round.
All my pregnancies were very text book and I was a low risk.
For me, being in my own environment made it far more relaxing and comfortable. Having my own shower/bath and bed after the birth was definitely my preference.
I also took the position that you can start at home and change your mind to go to hospital but not the other way round.
For my first I had 2 midwives plus a student. For my second, the second midwife arrived 10 minutes after the baby! For the third (same midwife as no.2), she didn’t even bother calling the second midwife!
Should add that DH was fully supportive. My mum and PIL were too so it was never a battle to be fought for.

On these threads, people always turn up with their horror stories of what could have gone wrong if they had had their baby at home, instead of in hospital... Despite never having had a home birth.

To offer the opposite view... My first was born in hospital (in a western European country, private hospital, all round highly rated). My labour wasn't typical... I'm one of the strange people that don't feel much pain in labour. As a result, I was laughing and chatting, and although they confirmed O was nearly fully dilated... I was left alone as birth wasn't imminent.
She was born 5 minutes later. The nearest other person was DH, who was in the corridor shouting for help. I don't remember much after that.

Second time round.... I was recommended a home birth (back in the UK). We lived 45mins from hospital on country lanes. They didn't want to risk an unattended delivery on the side of the road. Two midwives plus a student. I wasn't left alone at all. As a result, DD2 was delivered calmly, no dramas. They would have picked up.any problems early on.

No two births are the same.

@Iveputmyselfonthenaughtystep

Baby number 2? That was DD and yes, absolutely fine. She still had her cord attached while the midwife did resus so she was getting oxygen. She's now a sturdy, stubborn, frighteningly bright 5 year old who gives her big brother a run for his money. She was 10lb when she was born and is now wearing age 8-9 clothes so no wonder she got a bit stuck really! Rugby player shoulders, you see

Thank God for that, sounds like a nightmare. Glad she’s okay now 💐

My younger DD was born at home. DD1 born in hospital and was an assisted birth so I wasn't an ideal candidate for a planned home birth with my second. I did lots of reading and research and found that for a low risk second pregnancy statistically outcomes for a home birth are very, very good. So DD2 was born at home in our bathroom after a three hour labour with DH and a lovely midwife to support me. DD2 was in complex position as she had her hand above her head but the birth was easy and quick and I didn't need any stitches. I think if I had been in hospital I'd have been less relaxed and the complex presentation may have meant interventions which I didn't need at home. It was a wonderful experience and I was up and about as normal the next day (she was born in the evening). I think of her lovely home birth on her birthdays and am still thankful and she's a teenager now. A good home birth is very special.