Am I crazy to be considering a homebirth?

[sharklet]

What do you think....

I am 32 weeks pregnant and stuck in a bit of a nightmare. We are living in Las Vegas right now with Hubby's job. I had my daughter back home in England, had a waterbirth in Hospital and was planning no. 2 to have either a waterbirth in a community hospital or at home. Luck did not go my way and DD is now 8 - we had 7 early mcs between her and this pregnancy.

Was very cautious (obviously) in early pregnancy, and was flagged by the US system as high risk as am over 35 (38 actually) and with the mcs as well... So I have been jumping through hoops for this high risk specialist - who has been trying to put the fear of god into me from the very beginning on a variety of things that have proved themselves not be non-existent. In his mind he'd like to give me a c-section at 39 weeks (no good reason, and nothing pertaining to me - except thats just what he likes to do...) So here we are at 32 weeks and this baby has been scanned within an inch of its life - as have I - and there is nothing wrong with either of us at all. I want a natural birth (preferably a water birth again, in hospital or at home - I don't mind) thing is here in Las Vegas - it is really hard to get a natural birth in hospital - there is no support at all for doing it naturally, from all info and reports you basically just get nagged do you want a c-section.... do you want an epidural... do you want a c-section....

Have been really scared and miserable about the birth, knowing what is coming up - but I have found out there is a small chance that I might be able to get a homebirth on our health insurance here - would you do it? The attitude here is that I'd be insane to do that, irresponsible even, they are all much more about intervention.

What do you think?

OMG! Run far far away. I hear bad things about maternity care in the US. Find yourself a midwife there and have a homebirth. If you had a waterbirth here, you won't believe how interventionist and mother and baby unfriendly it is.
This always horrifies me.

IMO I'd play it safe, I think you're really lucky to have such wonderful ante natal care, and as a risk averse person I'd love to have the same treatment. After having multiple miscarriages myself my view is I'd prefer to have a c section and end up with a healthy child than run the risks of a complicated natural birth. As for a home birth I've never seen the attraction I prefer to know that all the medical know how and equipment is on hand not an ambulance ride away. Like I say I'm risk averse.

i had 3 miscarriage before my son who was a perfectly natural birth no pain relief and perfectly healthy. i also had another 2 between him and this pregnancy. i'm now 37 weeks and hoping for a home birth. i'm close to the hospital IF i do happen to need extra help but i do think the hospitals tend to leap to c sections etc before they're needed.

It's not crazy, but after my experience I having a good healthy pregnancy everything was suppose to be fine and I was told to be having a good labour with. I problems, turnt out if I wasn't in a hospital my little girl wouldn't be here right now! She was born with pneumonia, cheat and lung infection and couldn't breathe on her own! ( don't mean to put you off the idea of a home birth) just anything could happen, as I found out!x

In England I doubt you would be classed as high risk anyway.

That said, an English homebirth with 2 midwives, ppi drugs in the boot and your progress recorded on labour ward with hospital on standby for you is different to the American model. As I understand it anyone can call themselves a midwife and the levels of training vary massively.

I have had a UK homebirth but dont necessarily think a US one is something to.be taken lightly.

I had several mc's, but those triggers are very different/ usually irrelevant on your birth outcomes. Sounds like you birth babies very well! As did I on my first at home, and am about to do the same again with any luck, at the geriatric age of 41 :) If you have been healthy and risk free in pregnancy the chances are you will be absolutely fine. However, you have to be sensible and what everyone says about the US is true. Have you considered mailing a UK pro like Janet Balaskas, or Ina May Gaskin, american doyenne of home birth, who might know a recommendation in the states in your area to follow up? Would you travel to san fran or la for it, dont know your circs or your money situ but all the vids and institutes who know about this sort of thing seem to be there.
Good luck! X

I know what you mean about homebirths in the USA, however there are levels of qualification (just like at home) and as I want this to be covered by my insurance company the experience will be much as at home. The midwife will have to be both a CNM (Certified Nurse Midwife) and a CPM (Certified Professional MIdwife) in order to qualify to be covered by the insurance company. This means it is a Midwife trained in a hospital environment to a similar standard to midwives at home, the CPM qualification means they are trained to specifically work as home visit midwives, the lady I am looking at hold a separate qualification for waterbirthing. There are doulas and lay midwives here - who may or may not have recieved professionally recognised training and are not covered by my insurance policy and that would be a private transaction - no issue with what they do - but I would not be able to use them.

Travelling to San Fran is 9 hours drive for me through the desert, LA is a 5 hour drive to the suburbs. But I'm not sure how that would help - unless I wanted to be induced for a particular date (which I don't) or unless I wanted to hang out there for weeks waiting for baby's arrival - DH would have to stay in Vegas for work - so I'd be alone... I think I am safer staying here in Vegas to be honest.

I don't think I'd be down as high risk in England either. Although it might sound good having so much screening and check ups through the pregnancy - what you have to realise is that here each Dr gets paid per procedure, so they want to give you as many as they can. You often feel as though they are needlessly wasting time and money checking you for things that you stand a very minor chance of having - or erring so far in the side of caution it is ridiculous. I have had to teach myself to take what my specialist says with a large pinch of salt - and wait for results before worrying occurs. Otherwise I'd have been constantly incredibly stressed and worried throughout the whole pregnancy. Hubby who is American (and much more of a hypocondriac than me) has been literally on the edge the whole time listening to what this guy has said could be wrong - as a result poor hubby has been given a bite guard to stop him grinding his teeth and has huge flare ups of stress related psoriasis.

Even when each result has come back fit and healthy with no problems, there has never been a bit of positive attitude - always onto the next harbinger of doom. Really its not healthy for a pregnant woman to be made to feel SO stressed and down about pregnancy, especially when most of the tests are not generated by something wrong with me, rather than "becasue we just like to check this if you are high risk"....

I can't comment about the US but recent studies have suggested that home births are actually safer for second-time mums in the UK...

I'm considering a homebirth myself and it sounds like you've done a lot of research, so if you can actually get your insurance to cover it, I'd go for it. I'd do anything to avoid a c-section if I have a choice (I'm not sure its actually safer than a natural delivery in the vast majority of cases, but can't back that up with research...) so I were you, I'm sure I'd be doing what you're doing!!!

Good luck :)

Hi,

I have no experience of home or hospital births (I'm expecting my first) but if you'd like to read about someone who went down the homebirth route in America, this might be a good blog to read.

www.feedingthesoil.com

I hope that works! If you look down the bar at the right hand side there's a link to all pregnancy and birth related posts. Although she had to go to hospital in the end, the posts take you through preparing for a homebirth, finding a midwife and a doula and the rest of the process as well as her feelings about a homebirth. I am also sure she wouldn't mind you contacting her for more info too.

Good luck.

After an uneventful first delivery I was offered home birth with my second. I'm not a huge fan of the mess associated with delivery tho so politely declined. Thank god I did, I had an awful delivery, episiotomy, baby had to b resusitated, if I hadn't been on hospital I dread to think what the outcome would have been. Just personal experience but no way I would ever have a homebirth based on that. X