Should I book a home birth?

[calishire]

I'm currently 32 weeks pregnant with second baby. Have an appointment in 3 weeks time with midwife so will also discuss with her then.

Background is with DS1 I had planned a homebirth, but 18 hours after my waters broke, the midwives advised a transfer to hospital for induction as they weren't happy with my progression (was supposedly only 2cm still). Anyway, they checked me when I got there and were happy that I was progressing (4cm) so I requested a transfer to the birth center which they agreed to. I ended up using one of the pools. It was not part of my birth plan at all but really was my saving grace. I had PGP, struggled with my mobility and was exhausted. My son ended up being born in the pool.

This time, I'd like to go straight to the birth center as I really want to use a pool again. Also, I think practically the birth was messier than I'd anticipated and I'm not sure I'd want to deal with all that at home. However, due to severe staff shortages, the birth center is only open about 50% of the time. It's literally just luck on the day if it's open. (For context the birth center is in the hospital literally the same building as the labour ward). The labour ward has one pool. So there's a chance I could use it, but again someone else might be using it already.

I guess what I'm wondering is, if the birth center is closed and the pool on labour ward is not available, then what should my back up plan be? Maybe I need to go and have a look around but I'm not really keen on the labour ward unless the labour turns high risk or I can use the pool. So should I book a home birth as a back up? Or am I allowed to try an alternative hospital on the day to see if they have a pool?

Also, this might sound like a silly question but because I had a home birth booked the first time around, the midwives came to me. If I'm planning a birth center/labour ward birth, do I have to go in and get checked and wait in the MAU for a delivery room and potentially get sent home? I can't think of anything worse.

Just to preface, I'm not interested in debating whether home births are safe or are a good idea in general so if you are here to tell me they aren't or whatever, please jog on. So far, pregnancy is low risk despite being an older mum now and first birth was straightforward.

I would definitely book a homebirth as a backup. You may even decide on the day that you'd prefer to stay at home. Can you rent a birth pool, or just get in the bath? I planned a water birth at home with my second but it went so fast that we never got it filled and I gave birth in the tub. It was still great.

Second babies often come very quickly, so you definitely don't want to be ringing round other hospitals on the day of the birth! It would also be too complicated if they are part of a different Trust.

Yes I think a degree of certainty would give you comfort. Going into labour (as you know) is fraught and stressful enough without knowing for sure where or how it's going to happen and that was your plan first time round. If you are certain the midwife will be able to come to your house as it's part of the plan then that offers more certainty too. I'm sure your midwife will be able to reassure you.

I had my first in hospital and second at home (planned) . My experience second time round was so much more positive compared with hospital. The best part was getting into my own bed afterwards with clean sheets, cups of tea and my baby! I hated the post Natal ward the first time around as I know most do!

One of my main considerations was proximity to hospital just in case. Thankfully there were no complications but the hospital is only 5 mins away should there have been.

It was a fantastic experience overall and I still love teasing my now teen DS that he was born right in the middle of the living room when we are watching TV together. Good luck!

Definitely book a home birth but sort your own birthing pool and liner out now. My baby came weeks early and there were no rental birth pools available. We made it work with the bath and bed but it was hard getting out of the bath when I wanted to lie down.

Even if you only labour at home then have to go in, it’ll be a much more enjoyable experience than fully being in the hospital.

Definitely.

I had both mine at home in a birth pool. I promise none of it is as messy as you think!

We don't really have the space for a hire pool unfortunately. We do have a bathtub. I thought I might like to labour in a pool or tub the first time but birthing in a pool didn't appeal to ahead of time so I didn't even look into hiring one. But I can't imagine not having one this time as the weightlessness helped me immensely.

I'm only 10 minutes drive to the hospital. I guess I was just a bit worried that booking a home birth was disingenuous if my first choice is the birth center but then if it's only open half the time due to staffing it doesn't seem good odds that'll be open. There is a dedicated home birth team in my trust so not sure if there's risk of them not turning up. At the hospital basically if they don't have enough staff on the ward they poach the midwives from the birth center that day.

If they’re having to close the midwife unit for staff shortages that regularly I bet they’re having to suspend home births too - probably worth exploring that before you get too fixed on the idea.

I'd discuss with home birth team. I planned a home birth but ended up transferring in. They were really reassuring that I could change my mind and go in at any point. That way when you go into labour you could call them and see what the lay of the land is with space on labour ward, when can they get to you etc. I think better they have you on their books than not.

I had two homebirths. First one took 24hrs and was a bit stop start with midwives coming and leaving and coming back a few hours later. Second one was 6hrs from first contraction to baby being born. So you might find you progress much quicker second time around. I had the pool inflated from 37 weeks which was a bit annoying but my toddler liked watching telly from it so wasn't entirely useless! I would be inclined to say go for it with the homebirth. There's no rule to say you have to actually give birth at home but they won't come to you if you haven't been set up as a homebirth in the first place. I can't think of anything worse (and more likely to delay labour) than fannying around getting in the car to get to hospital to be checked to be sent home etc.

Thanks for all the replies. I've got an appointment with the homebirth team now in a couple of weeks time. The midwife on the phone told me they are "open" much more frequently than the birth center. She also assured me there's no contract, you don't have to birth at home and you can change your mind anytime. She said it's much better to book a homebirth if you think you might want one than change your mind on the day!