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Pregnancy

A few questions about home birth.

28 replies

marne · 05/10/2005 15:58

Im 16 months pg and am thinking of a home birth as i am woried about leaving dd with anyone as she has oly ever been left with dh.
A few questions,
1, what drugs will i be able to use eg, gass and air?
2, Is it messy?
3, What happens if i need stitches, will i have to go to hospital?

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Socci · 05/10/2005 16:05

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motherinferior · 05/10/2005 16:10

Gas and air, pethidine in some areas but not always.

2. Yes. Obviously. Get a shower curtain for the floor.

3. Not necessarily. Most of us have stitches. My midwife did mine by the light of the anglepoise lamp as I hadn't got it together to get a torch.

However, are you planning to have your daughter present at the birth/your partner absent to look after her? What will you do if you do end up going to hospital? You do have to think about these things; I know there is a myth that babies always come at night for home births but I'm here to tell you they don't.

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MadameMorticiaMills · 05/10/2005 16:11

First of all at 16 months pregnant I would go into hospital if I were you!

1- you can have gas and air, and pethidine, and that's about it
2- very
3- midwives can stitch, I think if it's extensive then a doctor could be called out to zip you up.

I had ds2 at home and the stains on the carpet came out eventually!

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JiminyCricket · 05/10/2005 16:12

midwife can do stitches at home. i had a birthing pool - highly recommend - and it was very messy by the end but dh just put the covers on and cleaned it out later so luckily i didn't have to deal with that. i had problems delivering the placenta so also floor got a bit messy. i would recommend covering everything with plastic sheets and then cotton ones you can throw away on top. my midwife brought lots of inco pads to put everywhere too, and they cleared most of it up. i would say be prepared that you might have to - or want to - go to hosp, so def try to make a contingency plan for dd. hth x

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marne · 05/10/2005 16:13

I wouldnt mind if she was present as long as im not in alot of pain, she will only be 2 so wont realy understand what is going on, dh wants me to have it in hospital on my own if dd wont go with my dm.

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motherpeculiar · 05/10/2005 16:14

DD2 came at 1pm (on the dot) we'd sent DD1 off with friends for the day. as MI said could be a bit stressful with your first born in the house (it being a noisy enough old business, in my cases anyway ) and your DH may want to attend to you rather than your child.

would recommend home birth highly tho'

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Socci · 05/10/2005 16:14

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Socci · 05/10/2005 16:15

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marne · 05/10/2005 16:20

We are half an hour from the hospital. Had a easy birth with dd with no drugs but needed stitches and had problem delivering placenta, also woried about making alot of noise and the whole street hearing me.

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Bozza · 05/10/2005 16:20

Right well:
1 everything except epidural and GA. so tens, gas and air and pethidine. Have to get own pethidine on prescription because midwives not allowed to carry it.
2. Fairly messy - although a lot less messy than first time for me. DH got loads of plastic sheets (used for covering pallates) from work. I bought a smartprice sheet for the bed to throw away afterwards - cost a couple of quid. Also put sheeting down in bathroom because you will probably want a bath after.
3. I didn't need stitches with my second and home birth but think it can be done at home unless complicated.

Could you get your Mum to be there as well as your DH at home? We called in my PILs for DS but they arrived too late and DS sat and watched Tweenies all unknowingly all the way through the messy bit. And I was a lot less noisy second time mainly because it was all a lot easier. Keep moving and a few journeys up and down the stairs are my tips.

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RosiePosie · 05/10/2005 16:32

I used a TENS machine for most of it, which worked really well for me. Then G&A which I also loved. They wouldn't give me pethadine here, it depends on the area, but I didn't want it anyway.

Very little mess for us, all contained on the duvet/waterproof sheet that I gave birth on. It was just rolled up and put in bin liner, dealt with in 2 minutes ( not by me! ).

I was lucky, I didn't need stitches that time. Loooking forward to doing it all again in March

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sweetkitty · 05/10/2005 16:56

Marne you could be me I'm 25 weeks pregnant with no2 and am planning a homebirth, I managed on gas and air last time during a 4h 20 min labour so think this time there won't be time for anything else. Our nearest family is an hour away so at first sign of anything will be phoning sis in law whos DDs nominated adult. The way I look at it is that she would have had to be minded by someone anyway whilst DP took me to hospital.

I've also decided against a pool as last time I couldn't move anywhere when the contractions kicked in, am just going to ask relatives for all their old sheets!

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princesspeahead · 05/10/2005 17:00

if you get a birthing pool it cuts the pain dramatically, lessening the need for anything other than a bit of gas and air, lowers the mess (if you give birth in it) and dramatically lessens the likelihood of stitches. I had one for my 3rd birth and there was no mess no stitches and I didn't need any drugs (had epidurals for previous two so I am NOT naturally stoic). planning the same for my 4th in a few months time.

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Papillon · 05/10/2005 17:17

contact a homebirth midwife for a consultation - they can tell you everything you need to know

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Papillon · 05/10/2005 17:23

my dd who will be just over 2 will be present at number 2 homebirth in december. dh will take care of her - we have no family nearby that could help.

there is lower incidences of tearing and therefore stitches with homebirths.

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sweetkitty · 05/10/2005 17:25

maybe I should look at a pool though the midwife had trouble getting me on my back for the actual birth as I was up the walls (or as DP put it your head was on the bed, your back was arched in the air and your feet were braced at the end of the bed)

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Pidge · 05/10/2005 17:26

Echo everyone else - gas and air you can get, it needn't be messy (and dps can be very useful if it is!), and I had stitches on my sofa for a 2nd degree tear.

I should also say my home birth with my 2nd was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.

Definitely recommend a pool. It seemed like a lot of money, but boy was it worth it. I didn't even need gas and air, just water, breathing and a fabby midwife. My dd was born in the water, and it was so peaceful as I held her in the water for the first minutes of her life.

Like mi - think about backup care for your daughter. You may feel suddenly it's not appropriate for her to be with you, and you always have to allow for the case that you have to transfer to hospital.

Good luck and enjoy your pregnancy.

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RosiePosie · 05/10/2005 17:29

Sweetkitty, you don't have to give birth on your back. The MW tried to get me on my back and I told her to F off! I was kneeling over the sofa and there was no way I was going to move from that position! Pushing stage was less than 15 minutes and I didn't tear.

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Papillon · 05/10/2005 17:34

squat or kneel Sweetkitty - much better for birthing

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Sari · 05/10/2005 17:39

My dd was born at home two days ago and I really recommend it. Like you one of the main reasons for having a homebirth was what to do with the other children. In the event I had contractions throughout the day but think I subconsciously held on until the kids had gone to bed (significantly earlier than usual!) before letting them get really full-on. DD was born a few hours later while her two brothers slept upstairs.

Gas and air but make sure they bring enough (first canister was nearly empty and ran out distressingly quickly).
Yes, it's messy but in my case only where I was when she actually came out so it's a contained mess. We covered everything with plastic dust sheets and old sheets. An hour after she had been born the midwives had left and the room was back to normal.
Stitches could have been done by the midwives if necessary.

I didn't have a pool as the house is pretty small and I thought it might irritate me to have it in the way. The midwife also said it could get a bit 'Laurel and Hardy' trying to fill it up. I spent quite a long time in the bath though and can see how a pool would be a good idea if you had the space.

It was all very straightforward and low key compared to a hospital birth.

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Sari · 05/10/2005 17:41

I gave birth leaning over the sofa too (Ektorp from Ikea!).

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Mimi5 · 05/10/2005 17:42

Gosh you all seemed to love the pool!
I am planning home birth for number 5!! Wanted water for no 4 but too much pain for me to actually get from bed to pool. Maybe i should get in earlier!

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JiminyCricket · 05/10/2005 21:19

It is expensive but a thermostatically controlled pool is really worth it - you just fill it up and leave it, just change the water once a week.

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motherpeculiar · 07/10/2005 08:38

get a pool - you won't regret it (unless something goes awry and you don't get to use it of course - childbirth being an unpredictable old business) I had a pool for DD2 and it was fabulous - no other pain relief needed ( and I had an epidural for DD1 so no stoic here either) - would nearly do it all again just to experience that amazing feeling when I stepped (lunged awkwardly assisted by MW and DH) into the water for the first time

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motherpeculiar · 07/10/2005 08:41

sari - lol at the "laurel and hardy" pool filling - had forgotten that - it certainly took my mind off a few contractions watching DD and MW trying to sort it out with minutes to spare, and me growing ever more desperate. Oh, I can laugh now...

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