Did anyone have/is anyone planning to have their first baby at home?

[GoldenKippers]

Just wondering if anyone had or is planning to have their first baby at home. I'm trying to decide between that and the midwife-led birthing unit, assuming no complications arise between now and December.

I like the idea of a home birth for being in relaxed, comfortable and familiar surroundings with more one-on-one attention from midwives. On the other hand, I might feel more secure in hospital, it seems well-run and it's easier to have a waterbirth there if I decide to go for that.

Was chatting to someone the other week who recently had a baby, who didn't do much to reassure me - in her view for your first you don't know what kind of labour you're going to have. She told me there's a risk of needing a crash C-section within 8 minutes or the baby could die. Really, is that a likely prospect or would you have been transferred to hospital long before you get to that stage? (Our hospital is only 2 miles away).

I might go the midwife's drop-in to chat to her about it - all she's said to me so far is that bear in mind there's less pain relief available at home and you may have to move to hospital should complications arise.

I had my first baby at home, it was planned to be at home, you just need to tell your midwife, but you have to be a bit pushy first time round, although im told this is because they have no idea how you will cope with the pain more than anything else. As you can only have gas and air.

As it happens the pain was no problem at all, I think it all helps being at home, being free to move around.

BTW, I had 2 lovely NHS midwifes, the ones on call - they put your rough date in the community diary and you just call them when it all kicks off!!

I wouldnt say you'd have to pay an independant one really, the NHS ones I had where just excellent, and depending on there shifts you might even end up with your own midwife from your doctors which would be nice!

In my area, the community MW team also cover homebirths. I haven't yet had to fight at all to get a home birth, but I think this area is far more pro-homebirth than is usual. It might change if I get nearer to my EDD and the weather is bad or I go overdue.

I am contemplating a home birth, though very much undecided at the moment (both my mother and my sister have a history of quite difficult births so somewhat nervous, and also just unsure that I'd cope with the pain without at least the possibility of an epidural near by).

My question for the thread, though, is this - (I know it's going to sound silly...) I live in a terraced house, and sound carries quite a lot through the walls. Our neighbours have three small children, and I really don't want to be screaming in the middle of the night and for them to hear a live action version of my labour, as it were. It really would be almost akin to a child of mine upstairs hearing it in terms of volume. And I can't believe I'll be silent and serene, a la Scientology's rules... I know it's only one (well, possibly two - three?!) nights but I think it could be quite traumatic to hear the noise I may well make (or want to feel I could). Any thoughts? Did any one HB in these sort of circumstances, and was it ok from this perspective. I'm probably being ridiculously over-scrupulous, and they would never say anything of course (they're really lovely), but it is a bit of a factor for me, I have to say.