Please can you tell me why you are going to have / have had a home birth?

[CranberryMartini]

Because I just don't get it!

DS would most probably have died if I'd have had him at home. His heart rate dropped rapidly and needed a ventouse delivery with a resuscitator (sp) on standby. It was scary but I felt surprisingly calm with all the doctors and midwives around.

Why are you prepared to take any risk with your baby's birth? I can vaguely understand a home birth if it's not your first child and you know what to expect, but your first child?

I've also heard (could be wrong) that it costs the NHS £3000 to fund a midwife to do a home birth.

And doesn't it make a huge amount of mess?

Sorry I really don't want to offend anyone with this post and I would like to hear your reasons for choosing a homebirth. Try to persuade me to have my second at home!

Simple pragmatic reasions

Its the only way I could have Dh with me for the birth, something that ahs been very special in the past for us (4th baby). Two of our kids have non-birth related SN (ASD) and we have nobody closer than 60 miles away who could care for them if I went straight into hospital.

I have arranged a MN DOula in case I need to be transferred, and wouldn't dream of refusing a transfer (quite close as well) if needed, but would want to be with Dh if at all possible.

I chose to plan an home birth simply because birth is a normal biological event not a medical one. I fail to see the need to increase my chances of an instrumental or cs birth, and therefore increasing the risks of complications for me or my baby.

Mammals birth better in familiar surroundings & with as little intervention as possible - home birth fits that bill for humans just right!

Home birth has the added advantage of at least one midwife who is looking after you & only you. I don't know many hospitals where that happens! This means that any potential problems can be picked up much more quickly and a transfer can be arranged if necessary. Even in the most extreme of cases in hospital an emergency CS takes time to set up. If you had to transfer in as an emergency all it takes in one phone call to say you are coming in & all the prep work setting up the theatre etc would be done while you were travelling in.

we had 2 hb's first one was mainly because Dh and midwife asked me to think about it. the more I thought about it and researched it the more I realised it was the right decision for us. long labour that probably wouldn't have been allowed that length of time without intervention in hospital (36 hours)

2nd time was a no brainer 1st had worked well 2nd time was about 4 hours start to finish midwives gone by 4pm neighbours came in for tea and homemade cake.

Thank you all for your replies. You have opened my eyes to the many positive elements there are to a home birth. I think I will have the next one in hospital, but who knows? Thanks again. I'll keep this thread and read it when I'm pregnant!

Message withdrawn

CM sorry if I was a bit harsh in my earlier post. I think I may still have ishoos with the way my labour went that I have kept hidden under baby-love and (currently) red wine. If you feel safer in hospital then that is the right place for you to be. I would have felt safer at home but then i'm a paranoid and suspicious old boot.

hi cranberry, i am really glad that you found this thread useful, we actually had a similar debate last night at our local NCT agm, and someone asked exactly the same questions you did! if it there are too few midwives, why should some women get two to themselves at a homebirth and doesn;t it cost the NHS more? so you are not alone in your perceptions. but i am really glad you have found this useful and positive!

Also there are "community midwives" so different sets of midwifes on duty in different areas. In my area, you actually get 2 midwifes,one for labour and one when ready to push, s one for you and one for baby. It is still cheaper for a home birth. Like its been said before too..you are 50 pct less likely to have any intervention or c section if a home birth is booked, than if you have a hospital birth. I have gone over several "what ifs" with my midwife and they carry many things with them to either stabalise you or baby, while calling for an ambulance if needed. Most problems are spotted well in advance , so these are not even necessary.
happy births xxxxxxxx

i'm having a home birth for my first baby for two reasons:

1. im a real homebody and being away from my comfort zone really stresses me out, and being in pain in a strange place would make me very anxious(sp?) and tense, which i doubt is very good for giving birth, i would much rather be relaxed at home. plus i want to use my own CLEAN toilet, eat when i want, watch tv and after the birth get into my own comfortable bed.

and

2. im very worried about dirty hospitals and the super bugs, at home i know that my mother and i would have scrubbed the whole house and it would be sparkling.

my midwife has explained that she won't be there the whole time, she will pop in every 4 hours untill its definite the baby is about to make an appearance and i have said that i am perfectly happy to go to hospital if the midwife says she is worried and i can go in to hosital at anytime if i change my mind.

so i don't feel i am putting my baby at risk at all.

1. dp will not get sent home at 4.30am when ds2 is only an hour old

1. I will not have bright bright lights everywhere whilst im pushing, thankyou!

1. my own bed and pillows

1. my own bed and pillows

1. and freedom to move, toilet, and choose where i give birth - bath, bed, front room.

Hi

I had a homebirth with dd2.

After i had ds1 i got involved with the NCT in this area. They opened my mind to lots of different things re: childbirth and parenting. Having said that, i still didn't 'get' homebirth, and when i became pregnant with dd2 i had no notion of having a hb. However, something just changed in me. I started enquiring about HB at ante natal check ups - more to see the MWs reactions than anything else! The more i enquired the more i got into the idea..

The following facts were prominent in my mind as i considered a HB.:

I had had a very straight forward birth experience with ds.

I live less than a 5 minute drive to the hospital. So could transfer quickly if need be.

Visiting hours at our local hospital are rubbish for dps. They can't get in until 2pm. This had been really hard for us first time around.

When i transferred to the ward after ds, it was really noisy and i couldn's sleep even though my baby was. Kept thinking that if i was at home dh could be looking after me.

I loved the idea of cuddling up with my wee family straight after the birth, in the privacy of our own home.

My own bathroom!

Various MWs talked us through the risks at different points. Apparently a lot of the tthings that commonly go wrong have wee hinters before hand. We made it clear that at any point if there were any hints that it may not be strightforward we wanted to transfer. We were keen on HB but didn't have our hearts set on it.

I asked various MWs outright if they thought it was selfish or irresponsible of us to want a HB. They assured us it wasn't. Holland has a 50% rate of HB and are trying to increase it. Wales are trying to increase their rate too - because HB is good for mother and baby. Lots of stats show that it is safer at home. IF you are low risk i guess.

As it turned out we had a truly fantastic expereince. I woke at 4am with a contraction. By 4:30am i knew things were happening. MWs arrived 5:10am and baby born just before 6am. MWs all cleared up and away by before 8am. Lovely!

Having had a homebirth I'm not sure I'd have another. Much messier than I imagined - we had to take the carpet up as the landlord wasn't happy.
And we went to hozzie anyhow. And to be honest, I often wonder if dd was born in hospital she wouldn't be brain damaged. I blame myself that there was 10 mins in an ambulance before she got the NICU. She nearly died and as it is she's been left severely disabled. Fault of the hmoebirth? I'll never know but I can't live with the guilt.

oh NMC, that is awful. so sorry. you must not feel guilty. things go wrong in hospital too. are you getting some kind of help ie counselling or something to help you deal with that guilt? how old is your wee one?

Had my homebirth six weeks ago with number 3 after two previous hospital deliveries.

Neither of my hospital deliveries were a positive experience, but I had no choice in where I gave birth with no1, as spent most of the pregnancy in hospital. Naively, I went in with no2 after an uncomplicated pregnancy thinking everything would be so much better, but we were left on our own for hours on end and looking back on it now, I feel my waters were broken and I was given a drip to speed up the contractions unnecessarily.

My homebirth was fantastic, calm, relaxed. I was comfortable and felt much more able to deeal with the pain in my own surroundings. After the birth, I was able to get into my nice clean shower, have a nice cup of tea out of my own mug, and then dh and I got into bed with clean, comfy sheets and cuddled up with our newborn daughter.

In no way did I ever feel that my baby's care or life were at risk. It was made perfectly clear to me that any slight concern and I would be transferred.

Btw, we have cream carpet in our living room(where I gave birth) and there wasn't a mark on it!!

She's 3 now Ja. And a bad advert for homebirth. Homebirth elists and groups don't like the 'things went wrong' stories. But it does happen and everyone should know that childbirth can go wrong.

My 'homebirth experience' was fab. had a long long labour and when the midwife said that contractions were slowing, I was knackered and had 2 hours to go to hospital I went immediately. Had emergency c-sec and felt in completely safe hands in hospital where many had read my notes (as natural as possible but if I change my mind give me drugs!!
They let me out early (2 days) on the promise I would just stay in bed/ rest alot for next few days. Gave me counselling too.

I had an unplanned home birth with DP as midwife until the Ambulance arrived. It was great and far better than my fist hospital birth. It was great being at home and having family around instead of being alone in the hospital all night. I felt so much better but have a feeling the lack of drugs in my system and shorter labour contributed to that though.
Unfortunatly the fab experience wasn't to be continued as my Doctors surgery does not make home visits and I had to take my 18 hr baby to Normed (at the hospital) for her baby check (the check on hips and eyes they do before you leave hospital). We had to sit for over 3 hrs waiting to be seen with tons of ill people and an awful drunk man who stank and kept trying to touch our baby!! This seems mad to me as obviously everyone who needs to go to the emergency doctors is pretty ill, not the best environment for a newborn!!!

I chose a homebirth with my first - I was very scared about labour and felt I'd be more relaxed at home than in hospital - and therefore less likely to need any intervention. Plus I knew I'd have two midwives glued to my side once DD was really on the way. It wasn't too messy - we put plastic sheeting on the bed and the floor and the midwives took it all away with them afterwards and made the bed for us!

DH liked it too because he felt useful making tea and toast all round - and he said he'd have been bored hanging around for hours at the hospital whereas at home he could play on the PS3 which suited both of us!

On the downside, we also had to go up to the hospital the next day for the newborn checks (although we went to the labour ward so that was okay). I was sore and really didn't feel like going anywhere!

I'm expecting no2 in the Spring and planning another homebirth - if I do change my mind, I can always go to the hospital but if I'm in the hospital, it's a bit harder to go home again in labour!

I understand completely why people chose to go into hospital - my sis just had her first and was pleased with her experience but she did hire a doula to be with her and i think that helped make it more positive.

I personally would love a home birth, but as I going for a VBA2C, I would prefer to be in the hospital just incase anything does go wrong.

However if all goes well this time, I am decided that if I have another I will try for a home birth.

I don't like the idea of being in a hospital without all my things and people around me!

I have decided to stay at home for as long as possible, and then go into hospital, but I feel much more comfortable in my own home, being able to do what I want when I want, I would also like the idea of my family being able to be around, including my children.

Apparently the costs of births are
homebirth no complications £467 (mean cost)
homebirth complications £693 (mean cost)
birth at midwifery unit £774
birth at midwifery unit w/ complications £1484
birth at consultant unit £838
birth at cons unit w/complications £1413
instumental birth £1175 -1705
C/s no complications £1912
c/s w/complications £2638
Transfer to cons unit £237 (cost of ambulance journey)
nice guidelines on intrapartum care 2007 (figures from 2006) (just pinched that from another thread!)

So a homebirth is most cost effective, plus you get the undivided attention of a midwife rather than sharing one.

Homebirth isn't for everyone and it is a personal choice. Had ds1 in hospital and hated it - hated not being in my own bed, eating horrible food etc etc. Had dd1 and dd2 at home and it was sooo much better. Very little mess both times - had laid down plastic sheets and MW brought more sheets. Loved being in my own bed, in my own shower etc. After both births had pizza delivered and sat in bed with DH eating pizza and cooing over baby.Also had very little pain relief because I was so relaxed and had a midwife with me the whole time (two when I came to deliver) so feel I was well looked after.

Did have event free and easy pregnancies and do live near hospital.It's really a personal choice, but it was so right for us.

I am thinking of opting for a home birth. Largely because my first birth was very straight forward and only a 6 hour labour. I'm mindful that if things move even quicker this time, I might not have the time to get to hospital! I'd rather have a planned homebirth than deliver in the car!

The positive experiences outlined here have really encouraged me. Just need to keep my BP down now, as that is the only factor that has been highlighted as a problem. Only 75/120 today!

Victoriansqualor - I had a vba3c. Very scared beforehand with the doctors of doom but the labour was normal.
What happenend to dd was nothing to do with it being a vbac but i do wonder if we had been in the hozzie and close to NICU if she would be less disabled.
I think all women should be aprised of the risks of birth - it really doesn't happen - so they are fully informed. Homebirth is as safe as hospital birth but if something does go wrong you will blame yourself for ever. And you can't sue even if a midwife did something stupid.

I really didn't like our local hospital where I was supposed to go to have DS2. It wasn't a patch on the one where I went for DS1 but I wasn't brave enough for a home birth.

However, fate took a hand and I end up having a fast delivery (1/4 of the time it took for DS1) and DS2 was born at home, delivered by a paramedic. It was absolutely fantastic and I would plan do it again if I ever had a 3rd child. And I avoided that awful hospital. Their CS rate was about 35% which scared me to death, as DS1 had been a forceps delivery and so would probably have been a CS in that hospital, and they weren't keen on epidurals which I had with DS1 and thought was wonderful so they just weren't in tune with what I wanted. The wards were bigger and you had to go to a dining room for meals and leave your baby behind (apparently mothers need a break from their newborn, hours old baby sometimes).

You have no idea though of the sense of satisfaction and joy of being able to have a shower in your own home whilst your baby is looked after by his family. I just stood in the shower and grinned the whole time. We took our time after the birth to bond and do the skin to skin thing, I didn't have to get moved on anywhere and I could eat and drink what I liked. Fabulous.

I wasn't even scared when the DS2 was being born. I had read enough and was well enough informed to know what was happening and that it would most likely be fine. And it was.

By the way I would have thought a CS or epidurals and interventions cost a lot more than £3000.

apparantly statistics support hb. but arent these biased as only low risk women usually choose to have hb?