considering homebirth, is it practical?

[breaghsmum]

im considering having a homebirth, however, i live around 45 min to an hour from the nearest maternity unit, my concern is that if there were complications, is this too far/too long for me to get to a hosp. is it too much of a risk. ds was born in hosp, no complications, gas and air and pethidine.

yes thats in the car, i know an ambulance is quicker, but even half an hour in an ambulance sounds like a long time if there was something wrong. thats probably me imagining the worst but i dont think i could forgive myself if prevented the baby from getting help if it needed it. i just hate the thought of going back to hosp. would so much prefer to be in my own surroundings.

I have looked into this carefully, and had two home births with a third one due to happen any moment now!

You usually have a window of an hour before the birth to get transferred if there are problems. Afterwards it depends on the situation.

Ambulances are much quicker than cars, as Starlight says, plus you and/or your baby will be receiving treatment in the ambulance while you travel. It sounds like you would have plenty of time to get there.

The main risks of HB are: post partum haemorrhage, for which drugs and a drip will be readily available at home and in the ambulance, or the baby not breathing at birth, for which oxygen is available also at home and in the ambulance. There are less common risks, but with proper ante-natal care this is more unlikely because you will ave had scans and so on to rule out oddly positioned placentas etc.

Outcomes for low risk mums are the same or sometimes slightly better for home births than hospital births. Remember you will be able to guarantee a midwife will be with you at all times, which is not always possible in hospital when they get busy, and a good birth attendant is the key to a safe labour and delivery.

I had both my children at home and it was fantastic - even got filmed for a sheila kitzinger home delivery training video on the second one - that was surreal.

I do remember the criteria locally (for them giving in without a fight) was that the ambulance journey from my house to the hospital was 15 mins or under. Which it was, but luckily we never needed to test the theory!

It was great having the same midwife through out and again for my second baby 20 months later

thank you boffinmum, you will be shocked to hear that my own mother has been a midwife for the past 37 years, however i have purposely not asked her advice on this as #1 she is biased and will only be thinking of my well being, not statistics and #2 she tends to favour medical/hospital care over alternative choices. although i think i will now run it past her and see what she thinks. i really do respect her opinion on most matters which is why i havent asked her, i know if she thinks its a bad idea then i wont decide to do it.

A friend of mine lost a dearly wanted baby because of poor hospital care, so perhaps that has coloured my view a bit as well, but at the end of the day I go with the stats rather than superstition or vibe. For me it's actually lower risk to be at home, but for another woman it might be different - however you sound low risk like me so I would only take your mum's advice as part of the picture.

Agree with Loopymumsy being in Cornwall I am 1h 15min from a hospital in a car and hb's round here are almost second nature. The mw's are so good and well trained here they can very quickly spot any issues and will always transfer (by ambulance) if there is a suggestion of a problem. Thanks to their suport I am looking at staying home and relaxed, and not having to contemplate a long drive in labour only to be told I am not far enough along for a stay and to be sent home again!!

HTH xxx