Home birth V hospital. Still on the fence.

[littleraysofsunshine]

Third baby.
Uncomplicated super fast deliveries, I'm currently 31 weeks and thinking about my birth plan. I think it's best to hope I can get to the pool room at MLU, but been told to have things ready at home.

So home jut and hospital bag. What would you advise?

My midwife came within 10 minutes, but she lives near to me and I had texted her a couple of hours earlier to say my waters had broken so to get ready for a birth that night! I was lucky that my midwife lives nearby. The second midwife I couldn't tell you how long she took to come, I was in the throes of labour so no idea - I didn't actually meet her until DD2 was out.

I gave birth in the living room - because I hadn't planned to deliver at home, it was quite messy but if you have even a slight hint that you might have the baby at home, you can get a couple of cheap shower curtains and some bed mats to save all that. If only I'd had a shower curtain my rug would have been saved!

I'm due with my first and we are planning on a home birth. My midwife is very supportive of it (and even suggested it early on when I thought the idea was a massive no no!).

We're doing hypnobirthing and just really prefer the idea of birthing at home. We are near the hospital though and so can transfer easily if needs be. I've found the website www.homebirth.org really useful for reading up about natural births and might be a good place to look if you are on the fence too.

If you want a water birth there are different pool options too. I've found ones to hire which you get for 5 weeks and come with heater and filter so you can fill in advance and have ready for the birth.

I think at the end of the day you have to go with what you feel most comfortable with. It's very hard not to hear people saying "I'd have died if I had been at home" and not get really scared about the choice you are making but for me I have to remember that the risks are very low and that as someone mentioned above there have been no recorded homebirth deaths in recent years (can't remember exact data). Good luck making your decision, it is a tricky one

i have had 3 children 2 of which where born in hospital first i had no choice as i was high risk due to lots of waters and she turned out of pos when i was in labour hence the high risk so hospital was best that time second time was hospital it was okay but not relaxing and quite stressful up rooting to hospital when contractions where regular but delivery was easy 3rd was at home 21 days ago and even know the midwives didnt make it to my birth as it was fast it was the best experiance ive ever had and if i had another dc i would do it all again tomorrow i am very close to the hospital like 10 mins away if i needed to transfer this is something i would considor before having a homebirth

Bunda - it must depend where you are, as we had 'our' midwife for both HBs, as well as the on -call MW. Both times they were able to get to us within 10mins, which is lucky as DS2 put in an appearance within 40mins of the call.

Of course no birth is risk free, wherever you chose to labour and deliver. But on balance, for me, I believe my labours have been easier and safer at home than in hospital (based on continuity of care, depth of risk assessment, breadth of reading and preparation by us, contingency planning by us and MW, our relaxed and confident approach to labour, lack of pressure and intervention from health care providers).

I've found this thread really useful to read. I'm currently considering a home birth (22+2 with DC3). One question I have is would a longer transfer time be a deal breaker for you? We have quite a choice of hospitals where we are but they are all at least 25-45 minutes away. There is a local ambulance station but still a bit of a trek to hospital.

My reason for wanting a home birth is how quickly I progressed with ds2. I went from 3cms being told I wasn't in established labour to 10cms in 1hr 30 mins, 3 minutes of pushing. I worry about being sent home and having baby at the side of the road. I think for me a HB would be safer but the transfer time is bothering me a little.

Also hoping to have a home birth and the midwife seems happy with that choice at the moment (I'm 25+3), despite that fact that it's my first and I'll be just over 40 by the due date.

I'm interested in the posters (CorrieDale and BusyCee, I think) that have said that they did lots of reading/research/prep about home births beforehand and that it helps. Any suggestions of good books/websites/anything that you used? I'm keen to read up more, and get DP to read up (he's less convinced by the idea) before making a decision but not sure where to start. Thanks!

thecake - where is the closest hospital with a CLU unit? Is that the 25 or 45 minute away one? For me, yes, it would be an issue. I'm max 10 minutes away (it's only fractionally over that by car, so blue light would be a lot faster) and TBH personally I'd be less happy if it was a long transfer.

However, if you labour fast, the reality may not be 'hospital or home' it may be 'home or side of the road' and I know which one I'd pick, and is safer, out of those.

I've had 2 hospital births and 2 home births. The 2 hospital births were my first 2 and I didn't know any different really. It wasn't until I was expecting dc3 and had a different mw that she mentioned it might be something to consider after 2 problem free deliveries.

I much preferred my homebirths, my other dc were just upstairs and were next to meet the new baby after dh.
With dc4 I sat and had a special chicken kebab in bed! classy

Buttercup - I would really recommend homebirth.org I've found loads of info on there and it's got so much useful info about lots of other things to do with birth as well (e.g delivering the placenta, delayed cord clamping etc).

I would highly recommend hypnobirthing as well. I'm pregnant with dc1 and have learnt so much about what happens during birth and feel much calmer about it (I know I wouldn't be feeling confident enough to do home birth if I hadn't done hypnobirthing as before hand I was quite scared of the prospect). I'm also reading a birth skills book by Juju Sundin which has been recommended. It's different to the hypnobirthing ideas but is all about ways to manage labour pains etc and I'm finding a lot of useful info in it.

Obviously I'm no expert on home birth as I'm due my first but I know these have helped me to feel confident in our decision to have a home birth.

We are also considering having a doula but still need to look into that (best get my skates on I'm 30 weeks eeek!)

I was a bit like you - two uncomplicated deliveries in birthing centres, so ended up going for a home birth for number three (on the grounds that it'd be more relaxed, no danger of giving birth in the car etc). In my case it did go wrong, despite my being classed as very low risk: dd3 turned out to be an undiagnosed breech delivery. It was a much longer and tougher labour than before, she was eventually born at home, needed resuscitation on the kitchen table, followed by two blue light ambulances to hospital.

We were both fine in the end (I also had an invasive strep A infection and haemorrhage but that was 10 days later and I doubt it had much to do with the place of birth), but we might not have been.

To be honest, I don't regret the choice to have a home birth - having an unexpected breech birth is always going to be grim wherever you have it - but it was very tough on dh. Scarier for him than for me, tbh, as I wasn't fully aware of what was going on. If I wanted a 4th (which I don't) I would go for a hospital birth, largely for his sake.

But that's the thing with risks! You just don't know. Probably you'll be fine and have a lovely experience - I really hope you do.

My first was a speedy delivery in hospital - I think they thought I was being a wussy first timer when I arrived and couldn't speak - when examined I was 5cm, baby was out less than an hour after that. The consultant told DH that he'd need some gloves for next time which worried him no end!

I went for a HB second time as I hated the idea of an unplanned home birth or car birth! It was great - as I had a history of fast delivery they sent two mw plus a student round as soon as I called (and I called them when contractions were no more than mild period pains). Baby was out 3 hours later, and an hour after that I was drinking champagne on my sofa!

Just regarding transfer times - our transfer to either of the closest hospitals would be about 30 mins. This did bother us a tiny bit, but the odds of needing a transfer were very small, versus the odds of a roadside delivery. (Though I do appreciate the risks associated are different in either case)

If we had a DC3, DH would still feel better about a planned homebirth even if he then had to deliver the baby on his own again. Now he's seen my labour progress rapidly for a second time, it's no longer an odds game - an unassisted roadside delivery would be a certainty...and one of the reasons is the distance involved. From my pov I'd rather give birth in the back of an ambulance with a paramedic, than at the side of the road with just DH.

Penguins - both are major hospitals so both have a CLU. I'm booked in with the 45 minute away hospital as that's on the England side but the other falls in Wales so the local dr's surgery is linked to the hospital on the English side.

As you say the problem is a speedy labour meaning I risk delivering at the side if the road. I'm worried because after hours of labour + intense contractions I was only 3cm and they tried to send me home if I had agreed then I would have had ds2 in the car.

Its something I'm going to have to give a lot if thought to but this thread has helped.

A tough call. It could be a lot quicker this time. On the other hand, they are pretty unlikely to send you home because of your history - if you are there and contracting I'm guessing they'd probably keep you!

That's another problem I've moved areas and they don't have my notes from previous pregnancies. Therefore meaning they have no comparison - I have to keep reminding them that I had a quick progression. I've been tempted to request a copy of my notes even though it would cost me money to do it just so they can actually see I'm not being dramatic! It was very naive of me to think they would request my previous notes themselves, I always thought the NHS could share data but apparently not.

Ah, the joys of the NHS. I've found that this time as well. I'm on DC3 and with DD2 they just magically produced my notes from DD1. Didn't realise that was because it had been the same area until this time when... nothing. Thankfully my community midwife is part of the homebirth rota and has written all over my notes that I was long latent but very fast active stage last time.

From reading this thread im seriously going to consider a hb...... BUT...... are you supplied with pads and stuff for the 'mess' or did you all use towels???

You need to sort out most of the stuff for the mess -they will have all the normal medical kit. Few cheap shower curtains and some towels from the cheapest shop you can find and you're fine though. Probably costs less than parking at my local hospital!

If you go for a water birth there really isn't that much mess, particularly if your waters don't go until after you are in the pool. The only time you need to be more careful is if you want to labour on the bed.

Pool = very little mess. We had plenty of old towels but tbh I think we only used 3, which DH washed straight away and they were fine. In fact DH drained the pool and had everything looking normal again by the time he went to bed that night Apart from the placenta I don't think the MWs had any clearing up to do, though I've heard that they would normally help with this.

I bought some of those large pads for putting on chairs/bed before the MW suggested puppy pads (the ones you use for house training). I'd forgotten we had some in the garage - they are more or less identical and can be cheaper, or you might already know someone with spares.

I went with UK Birth Centres as I also couldn't decide what to do. I was just like you...very much on the fence w regards to home birth and hospital. In the end I opted for a private suite in an NHS hopsital. What UK BC do is they can give you private birthcare (just as you would get at home) but in the safety of a hospital. I had the same midwife throughout my pregnancy and she was wonderful! www.ukbirthcentres.com/

I had 2 v straightforward birth centre deliveries and had ds3 at home - I absolutely loved my hb - it was fantastic.

re the mess - ds came early so I wasn't very prepared - but I did have a groundsheet ready which was great and contained it all. My memories are a bit hazy but they must have found something to put on top of it and I remember they wrapped newborn ds in a brand new white towel But the mws put the washing machine on before they left and everything came up clean. they definitely had those mats for the bed - I had also changed the sheets for the nicest set the day before and that was fine too!

The feeling of sinking back into my own bed with lovely pillows and the posh sheets afterwards was wonderful, as was ds1 wandering in for a cuddle a couple of hours later with a casual glance and "oh the baby's arrived then"

We're actually quite a way from the hospital (I'm another one who felt the choice was between home or side of the road) but I understand they can get you there significantly quicker by blue light. I had fab mws who were all very experienced and good at stepping forwards and back as they felt I wanted or was necessary. Ds was in a rather awkward position for delivery and they told me that in hospital I would almost certainly have ended up with an assisted delivery but they helped me manage it beautifully and I didn't even need a single stitch in the end.

we had a couple of cheap shower curtaisn to cover the floor but the midwives brought loads of inco pads with them and were very diligent about putting them where they were needed!

they also clear up EVERYTHING, so you're left with a nice clean house :)

oh we also bought a load of cheapy plain white towels from asda and the midwives kept saying "are you sure you want to use these?" lol
i was like "yes! i got them just for this!"

Again interesting to know about all the mess side of things. We had kind of opted not to get a pool but from a mess point of view it sounds like a good idea, not to mention the pain relief of water etc. My main concern was filling it up and how on earth do you empty it? We have a downstairs shower room close enough to where I'd have the pool so I guess that would help but DH isn't that keen on the idea of emptying it.

Penguins - sounds very similar to me I had a long latent phase (24hr+ from first pains) but quick active phase and pushing was literally 3 minutes. I think I would get stressed wondering when to go to hospital if I'm not having a HB.

This thread has just reinforced that I know I want a HB just got to hope things stay straight forward and baby is in the right position!

thecake - He doesn't want to empty it because he's squeamish, or because he doesn't want to schelp about? They come with a pump which pumps the water out when you are done and, even if it a reuseable pool, the inflatable sort come with a disposable liner for hygiene. What's the worry with filling it - time?