Has anyone successfully argued for a homebirth past 42 weeks and what was it like ?

[puffylovett]

Discrepancy in my dates (yet again ! Same thing happened with DS) means that my scan dates put me at 41+2, my dates from conception put me at 40+4. So quite a big difference, especialy when you consider that DS was born bang on 40 weeks from conception (18 days overdue by LMP - again, inaccurate).

I asked my midwife yesterday what I should do if I wanted to hold out for a homebirth past 42 wks, and she was very disapproving due to the risks of meconium etc. Basically said I would have to have the discussion with consultant and supervisor of midwives, and that it would have to be a supervisor that came out to me due to the added stress. Also that if no-one was available I would still have to go in anyway.

Obviously if there is meconium in my waters etc then I'll transfer in straight away, and if there is any hint of risk then I will be in hospital, but I'd still like the homebirth experience. This may be my last LO and I seem to have a history of hanging onto babies for a while !

Now, I'm fully informed of all the risks and I know my dates are fairly accurate, and I'm really hoping I don't have the stress of arguing my case, so I'd like to hear from anyone else that birthed at home post 42 weeks and what their experiences were please

Sorry I can't help, I just managed to slip my homebirth in under the timelimit (I had ds on a sunday morning, was booked for an induction the following day). Like you, I had a discrepancy in my dates. If he hadn't arrived in time I think I would have refused induction/hospital birth anyway, at least until I was getting close to 42 weeks by my own dates. But I was expecting to argue over this - I'd already had major stress getting the homebirth anyway, because of my age (46). I felt that I had fully researched the risks and that a homebirth was best for me. I hope everything goes well and you get the birth you want.

Update - community midwife has just rung to say they need to follow my wishes but they need to make sure they have jumped through all their hoops etc to ensure everybody knows the management plan and to see if we can get my due date changed. So she's tryng to arrange a meeting for friday morning with herself, a supervisor and the consultant to discuss.

Sounding positive (I hope)