home birth or hospital? need to decide soon

[bubblepop]

hi everyone, went to see mw yesterday to talk about homebirth, this is no 4 and the other 3 were fast! her reply has somewhat put me off, she said if the baby was born in poor condition, that there are only 2 ambulances covering my area and a city some 25 miles away. so if there happened to be a serious accident that would obviously take priority over me, and that they would have to send an ambulance from another area which would take longer to arrive.i do realise that perhaps it was her own personal feelings that were coming in as she mentioned other things aswell, which just gave me the general vibe she did'nt feel good about the whole idea herself. i left the clinic thinking 'oh well i'll go the hospital then, its no big deal, just have to make sure i go at the first twinge.' thismorning i met a friend of mine who delivered her 3rd baby at the local hospital which i would attend, 10 miles away from me.she said it was totally full and that she had took up the very last bed on the ward, and that they were sending women to another hospital in the city 25 miles away. my first thoughts were 'OMG I'LL NEVER MAKE IT IN TIME'. i phoned the maternity outpatients co- ordinater to ask if it was true, she replied that they HAD got to crisis point recently, but there were plenty of beds as the moment and they had't actually had to send anyone to the other hospital as yet, but provisions had to be made just in case . what do i do now? the local midwife led unit has closed down so i can't go there. this is worrying me.

bump

I had a homebirth with the 3rd because the 2nd was in hospital where I think I was sharing a midwife with 3 other labours - no one came to help (we discovered afterwards that the emergency button wasn't working) until dh rushed out to get someone. Homebirth still hurt, of course, but it was so calm and peaceful and I recovered so quickly that I am definitely doing it for my 4th, due in 4 weeks...The only difference from you,bubblepop, is that we could probably drive to hospital in about 10 mins. But if your previous labours were fast, I would go for it - I think you have to have faith that things won't go wrong and that even if you did the chances of you not getting an ambulance are remote etc. Good luck!

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I gave birth to my DS (child no 2) at home and it was a great experience, still painful of course as Sid states but much more relaxed, needed only gas and air and the best of it all was when it was all over and the midwives went home, there was just the three of us in the comfort of our own home. It made for a much more memorable birth!

I haven't given birth yet, but my MW was very pro-homebirth (tho' I don't think she meant to let it out ) and she said that transfers are hardly ever emergencies and they have a lot of stuff at home anyway in their delivery kit, like oxygen for the baby etc.
Also if the baby was in poor condition you'd probably be just as priority as the accident, i'd have thought, plus the likelihood of it being at the same time????
Maybe you should ask another midwife in the area for a second opinion.

Try these sites:

site 1 homebirth. org. uk

site 2 Birth Choice UK

site 3 NCT

site 4 The Labour Of Love- The Home Birth Decision

Personally, if you're in any doubt and the MW is off putting, I'd say book the home birth now as it is always easier to change your mind that way round, especially if you do have any hurdles to jump.

I will admit to bias though... I was denied a much wanted home birth myself and if I have No 4 I WILL have one

Oh for goodness' sake. If your previous three were fast, what chance have you got of making it to the hospital anyway?

You could end up like my friend, screaming blue murder in a traffic jam at 8am, 45 mins after her first contraction, her on phone to ambulance, her DH on phone to police, off duty cop trying to help too. Ambulance turned up and she gave birth in the back of ambulance in a hotel car park 10 mins later (less than one hour start to finsh).

Does the midwife think that's a safer way to bring a baby into the world than a planned homebirth?

I'm semi-planning a home birth because my first was fast and when I got to the hospital I was fully dilated and ready to push. This time hospital is even further away and birth will probably be quicker. For that reason my midwife said would I consider home and I pounced on the idea. I might end up going into the birth centre but I might not, pending what happens on the night. Everyone involved in this, at my end, agrees would be safer to deliver at home than in a car on the way to the hospital.

I had a home birth with my second and it was the most wonderful thing I have ever done. Our nearest hospital is 30-40 minutes away. I think one has to take responsibility for the decision to have a home birth and the risks that it entails, you have to weigh it up. I am a great believer in fate and I felt that I would be safe and the baby would be safe at home, away from all the medical staff's temptation to use intervention. I was lucky to have a greatly supportive community midwife team. I felt fantastic afterwards, totally high from the achievement and experience and we were all out for a family walk 24 hours later.

If the pregnancy is uncomplicated, I think you should def. go for a homebirth. I had both mine at home and it was fantastic - much better care than if I had been in hospital (2-3 mw's each time). I am in a different situation though, as I could practically walk to hospital.