Low intervention - homebirth

[thismonthsfad]

Hi. Just wondering if any ladies are currently pregnant and planning a homebirth?

I have self referred and noted on my form that I’ll be having a homebirth. I have my first booking appointment in 2 weeks.

Just looking for some positive stories on the process so far and how to navigate avoiding landing on the intervention conveyor belt.

not looking for opinions from people who are against homebirth/haven’t experienced it

And actually no one has been scathing about the idea of a home birth. Most people even if they haven't had a home birth know someone who has, and know, it has a place in a maternity system .

People's concerns were about the hands off nature of what you were proposing, as that vastly increases the risk, if a midwife prevented from doing her job properly. That's not to say you need to agree to internals, but you've been very avoidant to giving any assurance that the midwife will be able to check on you at all.

It's the attitude that is concerning rather than the plan of home birth. You aren't going to get an echo chamber here, you're going to get mums sharing their experiences good and bad.

I was hoping for women to share their experiences of low intervention / hands off and homebirth.. 95% of the replies were not that which is NOT helpful in the slightest.
I have found a very useful facebook group though which seems more open to these types of questions, and clearly understands my actual ask... You may call it an 'echo chamber', but I like to call it a safe space for women to share their experiences with homebirth, good, bad, ugly... without judgement.

Nope

This! Great post @Babyboomtastic . Nobody is being alarmed about the idea of home birth, it’s the OPs attitude. The whole declining scans due to mis-information and refusing heart beat checks in labour has, very understandably, caused a lot of posters concern. Everyone just wants the best for the OPs baby.

Giving birth is one of the most dangerous things a women can do in her life. 21st century medicine makes it so much safer.

Some of the responses on here are hilarious and falling short of any manners or education. For those struggling to grasp, a FREEBIRTH, is without midwives, a homebirth is with one present. I had a low intervention home birth and indicated my preference at the booking appointment. It was encouraged by the midwife who booked my pregnancy, and I met the HB midwife there and then.
Midwife was with us through labour, but mostly left us alone. Partner caught the baby, our son slept in the room next to ours (as it was through the night). Midwives stayed 1/2 hours afterwards, tidied up and did obs, it was a wonderful experience. I think most posters in here would be genuinely surprised at how much better continuity of care is with the HB team.

But wtaf does my personal choice have to do with you? If people don't like my answer then don't ask the frigging question! Not everyone is the same, we all have personal decisions, we all have an acceptable level of risk - no intervention is 100% risk free. You are in no position to judge me, you don't know me, my history and it's none of your business! Your entiltlement for me to justify my decisions to you is off the charts, I owe you nothing!

Most of the posters on here are clearly clueless about homebirth which begs the question - why they felt the need to contribute (absolutely zero) to a homebirth post?
Thank you for sharing your experience, this is the type of hands off low intervention I want - It's lovely to hear that it does/can happen x

Discussing childbirth on a forum called Mumsnet will inevitably mean that many women who have actually given birth will give you their opinion. Some will have had a home birth and had no issues , some will have wanted a home birth but had problems that required a hospital admission, others will want to give you information on their experience generally. I've met so many women who believe that as they are fit and healthy, including some who were very athletic and fitness minded who thought childbirth would be a doddle. It wasn't. Others who were complete slobs, gave birth like shelling peas. And all sorts of things in between. No one knows how they will cope, etc until afterwards.
If you get 20 mothers in a room, there is always disagreement on childbirth. And that's what is happening here.

It matters, not for you, but for other people reading the thread.

Imagine if on an anti-vaccine thread, only people answered who were also anti-vaccine? More people reading the thread would believe the misinformation and also not vaccinate their children.

This is not an echo chamber.

I also registered for a home-birth at 8 weeks. Had brilliant care throughout pregnancy from the home-birth team. Did end up with a hospital birth as baby was stuck. Baby is alive due to 21st century medicine and checks.

Nobody is saying don’t plan for a home-birth, just being a more open to basic checks will help.

If I wanted to hear about anti homebirth experiences, I would've posted it.. I specifically asked for any women that are opting for homebirth - that doesn't mean that this is an 'echo chamber', it clearly means that I want to ask about homebirth..

I know - why don't I jump on a thread about Tesla's and start talking about my Diesel Kuga?!?! Hmm no I wouldn't do that because it isn't the right thread for that.

Do you understand me? I will say it clearer for you - this thread is about LOW INTERVENTION / HOMEBIRTH.... Read the posts - can you see many posts about what I actually asked? No - you will see judgement and questioning of a path that I have chosen which is no ones business.

It’s interesting how home birth is the equivalent of evangelists in Christianity. I posted evidence from a coroner about the checks that are not present with home births and why she believes improvement is needed.

Yes, one midwife only who might not be totally competent in all eventualities. Plus mums to be don’t actually know if they are low risk or not, let alone that there are no complications with the baby. The op is clearly not interested in anything other than her view and appears to think that things cannot go wrong and if they do, it’s easy to rectify. With the nhs, that’s for the birds.

Refusing checks means she will have no idea of risk or health and the NHS should refuse a home birth: the midwife won’t know the risks either! It’s wholly unprofessional to say a home birth is fine without full medical knowledge.

OP, I get it to an extent. My first introduction to Mumsnet was me early in my first pregnancy. As I said earlier, I have a severe needle phobia, so my post was asking for people's experiences in declining bloods in pregnancy.

I thought I wanted experiences, in reality, I probably wanted an echo chamber. What I got with scathing criticism, with people saying I shouldn't even be a mum if I couldn't handle the bloods. Bear in mind, this wasn't just a preference of mine, but a deep-seated psychological fear. I didn't hear what I wanted to hear, but in reality it gave me a kick up the bum, to push myself for those bloods. I got them done, albeit late, and thereafter managed most bloods/jabs with support.

As it turned out, there was a RH incompatibility issue, which if I hadn't had the bloods, could have been serious or fatal for my second child, even with treatment.

I'd always said I'd have the bloods done if it was an emergency and there was no other choice, but I hadn't figured that routine bloods could be life-saving.

Tell me you know nothing about homebirth and intervention risks without telling me you know nothing about homebirth and intervention risks.

You've fundamentally misunderstood the nature of MN and the internet in general.

People start threads, they don't own them or get to control the direction.

Posting on a Tesla thread to say you prefer a diesel and you recommend a Kuga would be far from unusual as a contribution.

You are correct, I clearly did not understand mumsnet - it's a cesspit of vile bullies! There have been people on this thread who have called me a baby unaliver (posts removed) and have genuinely wished for things to go horribly wrong for me! Absolutely disgusting. I am 100% certain that I will NEVER ever start a thread on mumsnet again - in fact, I am close to disabling my account. As I have witnessed this awful behaviour on many threads.

You seem to be valuing your own birth experience over the safety of yourself and your baby, which is your right to do, it's your life. Most people don't make the same choice, which is why you are getting the responses you are. As you know, there are plenty of groups on Facebook where people have the same priorities as you, but most don't so in a mainstream forum most people are not going to agree with you. Especially if they've had birth experiences that would have ended in the death of themselves or their child had they done things your way. A low intervention birth and a good outcome doesn't just happen because you really want it to and are "choosing" it, there are a lot of factors at play.

What a bizarre reaction. Getting someone to consider all the options for their own benefit is so far from hating women.

"You seem to be valuing your own birth experience over the safety of yourself and your baby"

By choosing a homebirth? By opting out of not wanting to be vaginally examined during the most vulnerable time in my life? To want to be left alone listening to my body? To want to not have an 12 week scan because it would not change any outcome?

I am struggling with your logic here!