Anyone having a homebirth?

[Thumbelina79]

Considering it and hiring a pool.

What do people reckon?

Yep! Had home water birth with DD was my third labour and definately the most relaxed.

Was lovely experience, highlights were waking up DS1 (10yrs old) to introduce him to his new sister when she was minutes old, DS2 (2yrs old) coming into our room in the morning and looking like he had woken up on christmas morning! Rushed out to his room and came back with his little chair to sit on by the crib and a teddy for DD!

Having a shower and getting in my own bed, no rush to the hospital,eat what and when I wanted, would definately recommend it!

Exp DC4 in April and all being well I will be going for another homebirth, good luck!

My first is due Dec 20th, hoping for a homebirth as our local midwife led unit has been closed and the labour ward does not sound like a good place to be. Will try and book a pool too. I'm quite exited about it and think it will be calmer. I can snack and pace around in comfort and relative privacy.

(Labour ward is small and has been described as like a conveyor belt due to the increased demand and docs have tendency to just whack on the ventouse / forceps / drugs on instead of allowing things to progress naturally. )

*excited

yep- planning one here for March - complications being we live in a tiny flat in a college, with very thin walls!
Planning on buying rather than hiring birth pool, but waiting to see if all goes well with pregnancy to buy one after christmas.
DD born in pool in hospital, without any probs, and great care; but feel that I am not able to get a similar standard of care now in hospital as the midwife situation is not good and we have moved areas and the hospital that we are near to is not where i would prefer to be ( although who knows, i might end up there.)
Good luck!

This all sounds really positive. We just feel that it'll be us in charge at home and at hospital / unit we may be forced into a medical model of care because of their retraints; like you say Koop and thegauntlet.

morethemerrier I am in awe that this will be your forth child. This is my first. Also due in April.

We've been watching births on youtube to try and grow up and face up to it all and actually it doesnt look so bad. Ok I get that as the baby crowns it will really hurt but all the good advice we keep hearing is keep cool and deal with it. Inner strength and clarity. morethemerrier - what is the secret?

My homebirth, for my third child, was the quickest prgressive, least painful, and most non-horrifiedbirth I've had.
Now I know how easy and natural it is to have a homebirth, I almost feel resentful towards the hospitals for what I went through with my hospital births.
Bright lights and strangers walking in and out, and hearing other women screaming seems a recipe for a badlabour, and it was inmy experience.

Would definately have homebirths in future.

I do recommend a Doula though, because you might need that reassurance.

I think transition is the worst, just the sudden hysteria. It was like having a brief nighmare while awake. Apart from that if you do it properly you'll be in too much of a trance to even be in the real world and that gets you through the pain.
If you don't get into the zone, then, well let's just not go there.

Wanted to wish you all wonderful homebirths.

All three of mine were born at home and wonderful experiences. Of course I don't have a hospital birth to compare it to but I have been a birth partner to a hospital birth (pre DC) and it wasn't something I wanted for me.

Similar experience to MTM. For my last, we dropped DC's at school, came home had DD in the afternoon, nanny picked them up from school and gave them dinner and then they came home to meet their baby sister. Wonderful!

I am planning on having mine at home, first baby for me, the midwives seemed genuinely excited when I told them it was lovely - I just like the idea of having tea on tap :)

Thumbelina - I cannot recommend home waterbirths enough - am hoping for my 4th late April early May
Tips - relax, maybe natal hypnotherapy CDs during pregnancy, you can also get tens machines to use at home, love getting in the pool - check your hot water tank can fill it in one go, or how long it takes
Your attitude sounds so positive - accept the pain rather than fight it. I got DH to tell me each contraction was 1 nearer to meeting baby
I found I was happy to walk around but as contractions got more intense I wanted to kneel and lean forward on the settee
Echo what the others have said about how nice it is to eat/drink what you like, sleep in your own bed, not have DH sent home etc
Hope it all goes well for you

I had a home birth for my 2nd and hoping for the same for my 3rd in March.

My first birth in hospital wasn't awful, and nor do I hate hospitals....but just preferred being at home. The pros to being at home for me are:

• knowing you have a pool that's just for you. I had gas & air + pethidine the first time and honestly found that just water the 2nd time around was much better for pain relief.
• getting straight into your own bed after
• when my 2nd was born, DH was ill with horrendous food poisoning....although the chances of him infecting someone else were low, they were still there - he really ought not to have gone to a maternity unit, I think. It would have been awful to have to make the decision for him not to come...but since we stayed at home all was fine.

I'm trying to decide whether to have a home birth, but as I am 39, and having my first baby, my midwife doesn't seem keen, and while I normally blithely ignore advice, this makes me nervous. But I think another factor is that, like thegauntlet we live in a tiny flat with no soundproofing and floorboards that may not support a birthing pool...

Yorky BIG THANKS lady for you advice.
xx

I'm due in May and have been considering this. Then I thought I might want a compromise and have a midwife-led centre birth. But then I realised that the one near me is not attached to an obstetric ward, so I wouldn't have access to more intervention if anything went wrong. They'd take me by ambulance to the neared ob ward, an hour away!

Hmmm...

Yes, I am hopefully with my 2nd baby in December.

I was happy with my hospital birth for DD and felt I coped quite well, didn't need lots of drugs... but it was quick for a first baby, no build up etc, so I like the security of having the MWs and G&A come to me, as well as feeling like if I can cope at home, I might as well as it's easier and less faff with needing to organise childcare for our toddler.

I'm not having a pool, our house isn't big enough.

See your dilemma Crackers - I was lucky, when I had my first we were less than 10 mins from the hospital so I didn't feel I was risking anything - I was more worried about the number of speedbumps on the way!
Where would they transfer you to if you needed more than the MWs could do at home?

A couple of other things I remembered - arnica for afterwards
and when you go to the loo afterwards my MW told me to take a jug of water to dilute the acid in your urine going over your stitches/'graze'(love that phrase - it mmeans a skinned knee aged about 7, not something that happens during birth!) - I couldn't pour it where I needed it so next time kept an old shampoo bottle so I could aim better don't use cold water either!

Hi thumbelina, I actually love every aspect of pregnancy including giving birth!

Definatley agree with Yorky dont panic and accept that yes it will hurt, but each and every contraction is bringing your baby closer to your arms!

Listen to your midwife,they are your eyes and will coach you through your labour,dont be afraid to be assertive though, you know your body trust your instincts.

With DS2 my midwife spent most of the time telling me nothing was happening only to panic and pull the emergency red cord as the head was crowning! I tried to tell her that things were moving faster than she thought but she wanted to stick to hospital policy of only examining every 4 hours!

My last labour,my homebirth was a very natural experience the midwives just let me get on with it, and I really had a sense that it was me alone that brought her into the world, a real sense of control and it was very powerful!

My hospital births whilst being straight forward I felt rushed,ignored and I couldnt wait to get out of there!

Ive been very lucky in having straight forward deliveries, I have never torn (not sure if that is something to advertise! ) but I think it is down to not losing control during the pushing and going with it.

Its amazing how your body just knows what to do, mother nature is an incredible force, and to everyone who may be apprehensive about homebirths if you have a straight forward pregnancy and have the support of your partner go for it!

You have a guarantee of 2 midwives throughout, and if you have to transfer to hospital you can be there in as much time as being prepared on the ward while the theatre staff etc are being rallied.

There are some proffessionals who are not as supportive as they could be, dont be put off if there is no reason for you not to have a homebirth they should respect your wishes,its your choice.

Oh and I also am a BIG fan of arnica after the birth, didnt know about it with DS1, but my goodness it made a massive difference afterwards with my other two! Great tip from Yorky!

I had one with DS2 (DS1 born at private natural birth hospital, now closed) A great experience, DS1 woke up and came and watched, I was back on my feet and cooking dinner that evening ( because I wanted to - and ot be able ot boast about it!) Lying in your own bed, with a big cooked breakfast and lovely baby next to you is absolute bliss. Highly recommended.

yorky i think if I had a home birth, i would actually go to a closer hospital for intervention rather than the one an hour away. I think they transfer you there because they're both part of the same trust if that makes sense. A bit silly though, eh?!

Hoping to have HB with DC2 in January. DS born in hospital, I never want to go through that again, unless there is a risk to baby.

Not sure what to do about a pool. Would like one, but don't know whether to get an in-a-box type thing or a heated hired one. Any advice?

Re the arnica, the topical gel or tablets? Didn't try with DS but would give it a go.

Yes, we're right at the edge of the homebirth area, so technically my hospital is an hourish away. But in reality if anything were to happen I would be taken to the one in the next county - only 20mins away.

Im hoping to have a HB in Jan with third baby. First two were in the hospital, DD2 was quite quick and all a bit panicky/scary so I am hoping that being in my own home i will feel calmer and more in control. Just started reading hypnotherapy book and looking into pools!!! Love reading about the positive stories, keep them coming!!

Spag, I bought a pool in a box, but if you can afford to hire a heated one I d go for that as DH found it a challange keeping the water at the right temp was too much of a distraction for him!

And I used Arnica tablets, taken within a certain time after birth then at regular intervals I cant quite remember the timings but it absolutley made a difference in swelling etc!

Good luck All x