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

Says who?

We don’t have a choice.

Bloody hell people are giving you a hard time here. I opted for a HB for my first baby, be aware that around half of HBs transfer to hospital during labour (not for emergencies usually I think it's for pain relief or interventions). Have a look at the positive birthing company on Instagram if you haven't yet. A lot of the homebirthing philosophy is about understanding what your body is doing so that you're not scared or shocked, so you're minimising the amount of adrenaline your body produces.

For me, that understanding included gaining knowledge of all scenarios and eventualities. It is more empowering to understand your limits and change your plans than it is to commit inflexibly to a birth plan (hence why we call them birth preferences!). I laboured at home for 24 hrs, I let the midwife check me every few hours with the Doppler and after 24hrs she checked how much id dilated. I had an overwhelming sense that it wasn't going as expected so I went off to hospital and requested a section - I didn't want an induction and I didn't want an instrumental delivery. Had a section a few hours later which went perfectly, baby was enormous and stuck so it was the right decision really. Felt very empowered knowing what my choices were and making them on my own terms! Good luck and I hope you get to experience birth the way you hope

Thank you Luckycharms.. I was hoping to pay for a private midwife but budget doesn’t permit. I will be hiring a doula though to advocate for me.
Did you do any hypnobirthing? I have been practicing hypnobirthing every night since I got my positive test. I’m very much adopting the mindset of trusting my body and intuition.

I’m not a midwife myself but this has been put so well. Very good advice here.

I have had five pregnancies.

one 2nd trimester miscarriage and one stillbirth. Three grown up children. one of whom ended up in scbu.

I hope it all goes well for you op but I think you’re taking it too far refusing to be examined in Labour.

I really do hope it works out for you.

They’re not exactly great now… The NHS maternity negligence budget is more than the actual budget for the entire maternity services.
The reason for poor outcomes pre medicalisation was mostly due to poor hygiene.

OK.op. Let's see how you go. Let's hope the baby doesn't turn posterior and give you indescribable pain, get into difficulty, have the cord wrapped around their neck, that you don't have a haemmorage, etc.

That your DH doesn't need to fling open the door and demand a Dr immediately.

Remind me again how many labours you have had.

Trusting your body and intuition isn’t safe. It honestly isn’t. You need to be examined and have care, ante and post natally, as well as when in labour.

please do think at the very least about letting the midwives do their jobs rather than having to stand there with their arms at their sides.

We wanted a home birth for my first child but he had other plans! I ended up being transferred to hospital and having my water broken. My fourth child was a home birth and completely hands off, in water

Come back in 9 months time and tell us how it went.

What you want and what happens when your body actually does take over during labour requires some flexibility on your behalf. The only desire should be a safe birth for you and your baby. There are no medals for giving birth at home, naturally or otherwise so try not to set yourself up for disappointment if this does not go according to your ‘perfect birth’ plan. I haemorrhaged badly following a routine natural birth and was very, very lucky to be in hospital to get immediate attention or things could have gone horribly wrong.

They are amazing now compared to the rest of history.

Litigation costs are high because it is impossible to completely prevent risk. Staff are overworked. Women have 25 years to pursue a claim as do their children if they feel their birth has affected their life. There are also many, many legal companies who target postnatal women. There are many reasons for high litigation costs and ‘shit midwives’ is pretty far down the list.

Birth is actually a risky thing. We have our babies too soon because we walk on our hind legs which means the pelvic opening can’t be any larger. We also have modern science facilitating women who are not at optimal health or age to become pregnant, plus it seems like almost everyone has a high BMI which impacts so much on pregnancy and birth risk.

But still, throughout history there’s never been a safer time to have a baby.

Edited to add…as already stated, we also have women who refuse interventions then sue when the shit hits the fan.
There are of course absolutely legitimate claims, and I’ve encouraged women in the past to seek legal redress.

Does your area have a dedicated homebirth team? They’re amazing if so. I had my first as a homebirth but did end up getting transferred to hospital. (However it was still a much less stressful process than my second birth where I was calling the hospital asking to come in and they wouldn’t let me until it was too late 🙄)

The midwives called the ambulance for me and had already contacted the hospital who had a bed ready for me and one of the midwives came with me in the ambulance so it was honestly like a really lovely private service! I had most of my appointments in my home too and it was great, despite the fact I didn’t end up giving birth at home I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

I’m now living in an area that unfortunately doesn’t have a dedicated homebirth service but given the issues with my second birth I’ll be opting for a home birth this time and hoping a community midwife is available.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience! This is exactly what I asked for. Unfortunately I’ve been labelled naive and I need to reset my expectations and all sorts - people acting like I’m going into this without a ‘plan B’. Of course plans may change but my plan for right now is a homebirth and I don’t see any reason why I won’t have that seeing as I am low risk.
That’s good to know about the hospital transfers!
Sorry to hear about your c section, it sounds like you trusted your intuition and made the right call. How did your appointments go? Were you supported with your decision to Homebirth?
Thank you for the recommendation for the Instagram follwo. I will take a look.

All of this. Just because birth is natural doesn’t mean it’s a smooth process for humans. Essentially being bipeds is a design flaw when it comes to birthing.

@thismonthsfad " Birth is a natural physiological process that has been massively medicalised."

Yes and for good reason. Do you know how appalling mother and child mortality rates were years ago?

I started off at home having planned a home birth, had the pool all set up. Unfortunately my birth started with my waters breaking and guidance is that after 24h you need to be in hospital under assessment with antibiotics as the risk of infection increases significantly.

The midwives were brilliant from when I first said I wanted a home birth and all through the first 24h of labouring at home; communicated timelines well and were very gentle about their care. I think they examined me once or maybe twice in the time at home. Most of it was just me and my partner in the room.

Transferred by car to hospital which totally stopped my contractions, ended up going on the induction drip to get it all going again and the hospital midwives were not nearly as good (though I’m sure this was just luck). Another 24h later I was finally examined by a consultant who declared baby was stuck and I got rushed off for a section.

All I can say I set out your birth preferences but prepare for every eventuality, including what decisions you will make if it starts going off course and try to avoid setting your heart too much on a certain course because at the end of the day the first priority is healthy Mum and baby. The people I’ve seen struggle the most with post birth trauma have been ones who had a rigid plan which didn’t come to fruition so surround yourself with gentleness rather than strictness.

But you want a home birth where no one is allowed to touch you.

your husband is going to Catch and no one is going to touch you and you’re going to trust your intuition.

what if you need stitches?

what if you haemorrhage?

what if your baby is in trouble?

Of course it is. You can, if you want, refuse any examinations even if you’re in hospital. What’s the alternative - forced internal vaginal examinations without consent?

I always wanted a home birth. No push back from midwives. I agreed to a sweep at 41 weeks as otherwise they wanted to induce which I wanted to avoid

At home, the midwives were great. They were often in the next room whilst I laboured in a birth pool. They checked my progression every two hours. When I hadn't progressed for 4 hours, they suggested breaking my waters. I chose to go into hospital as I was calm and in control at that point and didn't want to rush or risk an emergency. They did not pressure me.

It wasn't the birth I wanted but it was always safe, under control, calm and baby was healthy

I also want to reassure you that if you do end up with ‘plan b’ that it can still be really positive. I had my first in hospital, and they were really supportive and respectful of my wishes not to be examined regularly etc. I didn’t feel pressured into anything.