home birth stories please :)

[sidorek]

Hi, only 28 weeks, but had my mind set on home birth from the start of this pregnancy. This will be my second labour. The first one was in hospital, not a bad memory but not an excellent either. I would love to hear stories from you. I would appreciate any advice as to what to expect, what to avoid... anything really. Many thanks!

good morning sidorek i had a home birth with my 3rd baby it was great :D my contractions started early in the morning and lasted all day but was not regular so didnt think they was contractions they didnt hurt either got to about 5pm they picked up so thought oh ok maybe this is it but still didnt call midwife yet as thought id be told i was wasting their time so i plodded on waited and waited then they stopped dead out of no where then about 9pm started again had 2 contractions told my husband to call the hospital for the midwife then woops i shouted i need to push waters broke 2 pushes later baby out no midwife made it nor did the ambulance my hubby caught baby was born on sofa lol but you know what it was the best birth ever just be wise and call the midwife when your contractions start LOL good luck hun

All 3 of mine were at home so I don't have hospital to compare it to but it was great. I just loved being in my own home, not having to worry about getting to hospital on time or being told to go back home. I paced around my house until I could pace no longer then got in pool/settled myself on all fours draped over my ball and had my babies. Afterwards I had a shower in my own bathroom and snuggled down in my own bed with my family around me. It really is perfect.

I wouldn't worry about when to call the MW, they like it is you call when contractions start so that they have a heads up. They can tell a lot by how you are on the phone or they come out and see you and then go away again if you are not yet in established labour.

The MW cleans up pretty much all mess. You just need a couple of tarps or old shower curtains to protect carpet/sofa/bed. A pack of inco pads though the MW will also have some and a load of towels. Afterwards it pretty much all got bundled up and chucked out.

I had a HB with DC1 and am planning one with DC4 (if he or she ever appears - 39/40 now and feeling like it is never going to happen!).

I'd really encourage you not to be too set on having a home birth but to keep an open mind because something might happen before your due date or even when you are in labour that means it is not a good idea or you need transferred etc. Not having a home birth will, by no means, mean that you have failed.

That said, women who have delivered before are no more likely to have problems for either them or the baby (risks are slightly higher for the baby in first time mothers) and even starting at home and having to be transferred in is still associated with a reduced risk!

With DC1, it was just lovely being able to potter about at home, make tea when I wanted, carry on with chores to distract me (I remember telling my DH to put the bins out for the following day), and then all get into bed together afterwards. It really wasn't, as Paleontologist says, messy at all. My hospital asks you to get bubble wrap or a shower curtain and an old towel to cover it to protect the floor/sofa/wherever you give birth. The MWs took it all away at the end.

Make sure you've got biscuits, bread, tea and coffee for the MWs as they might be there for a while. Ours made themselves at home and looked after themselves, sitting quietly on the floor on the other side of the room and let me get on with it. (I had a main midwife and student MW there for most of the time and then another MW joined her for the delivery. It was the student's first HB.)

Think about how warm your house is. If you are 28 weeks now, you are due in mid-December. We were told to make sure that as soon I went into labour to make sure that the boiler was on to ensure there was plenty of hot water for the birth pool and put the heating on so it was lovely and warm for the baby.

I hired a birth pool and thought I would love it and just didn't get on with it all, so I am not bothering with one this time at home, although if I end up in the birth centre instead, I'd try the birth pool this time.

Anyway, a bunch of random thoughts!

totally agree about heating!

Numbers 1 and 2 were December/January babies but were born in houses with nice normal gas central heating.

Number 3 was March so not hugely warm. We have solid fuel heating so every night from 37 weeks even though it was the time of year we would normally let the fire go out and just re-light in the morning we dutifully riddled and piled on more coal before damping down so that all we had to do to get a nice blazing fire was open the air inlet. The thermostat on the hot water tank was set high so that the water was roasting hot because our tank is rather small and we wanted to make sure that once cold was added it would be enough to fill the pool. Anyway on the Sunday at some point in the day my waters started trickling. I was pretty sure it was my waters but I just stuck a pad in, didn't tell anyone and went about my day with the dcs. After putting them to bed that night the trickling was heavier and non stop so I called the hospital to let them know and they asked me to come int o be checked. Why oh why did I bother? I knew it was waters! They checked my pad and confirmed. They hooked me up to a monitor to check on baby and then they started going on about deadlines for going into labour and deadlines for having to have antibiotics and all the rest of it. I was not impressed. Got home around midnight and after a while of crying and bouncing on my ball desperately trying to get contractions going I allowed dh to persuade me to bed, his reasoning being that I had gone into labour while asleep both times before.

But neither of us thought about the fire.

The result being that around 5am the fire was out, there was no hot water at all for the pool, the house was freezing cold and I'm not sure what the poor MW thought she had walked into with dh trying to light the fire, her telling him she needed him in the room with us but also telling him that if there was not going to be a pool the room needed to be warmer NOW and me merrily ignoring them all and concentrating on giving birth .

Lots of towels or easy to wash fleece blankets etc are good for winter births as once you are done you might well get feel a bit shaky and then cold so nice to have lots of thinks to cuddle up in on the sofa with baby while placenta/checking for tears etc happens.

Hi - also had 3 at home - so no comparison with hospital but very happy to remember the experience! DC1: overnight labour, calm house, midwives slow to come (first mum seen as likely to be making a fuss), but focus was all on me, my labour and the baby - no distractions for them and I felt they were very attuned to the changes in my labour. I felt safe and well monitored. Lovely to have shower afterwards in own home, and snuggle back in my own bedroom with baby afterwards. A highlight was the neighbours hearing his first cries and realising he was born, and cards arriving within the hour. I did need more support though - wasn't prepared for the anxiety of a newborn (should he be breathing like that?!) outside of hospital, and breastfeeding was hard. DC2 - very fast labour (about 3 hrs) and so lovely not to have to spend anytime worrying about childcare or getting anywhere. Midwives again needed persuasion to come out immediately but were brilliant when there. DC3 - about 4 hours, again brilliant to not have to leave home or arrange childcare - moving around was very tricky and painful. Again midwives were stuck in a room with me and not much to do so seemed to completely be tuned into changes in labour stages and seemed to know what I needed and when. Best moment was letting the big two know that the baby has come and them meeting him in the morning in our own home.

I generally feel I was more relaxed, and there were fewer 'jobs' - i.e. bag packing, arranging childcare etc. So life was a bit easier. I definitely felt I had better care than some people's descriptions of hospital - my midwives only had me to focus on. All three of my labours were overnight, I'm not sure how it would be if I'd been in labour over the day with the little ones around. In terms of advice - I would recommend being assertive with midwives about needing them (we had to really insist they came even with number 3, saying I had quick labours), and also to be active in getting postnatal support if you need it (I struggle with breastfeeding and needed help), as you may get a bit neglected if you're at home. Also it really helped to have good support at home as well as partner - my parents were brilliant for helping out with big kids so we could have some bonding time with new baby. I did worry, but I new that I was very close to hospital, and that a hospital birth is not risk free. Need good lighting in case of stitching.

I have a great DP who does all the practicalities (towels, mats, etc.) so I don't worry about that, but there was never any mess - I think the midwives tidied really messy stuff away (my waters went during labour all three times). Births were all great experiences for me (not pain free, though!), amazing memories. Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy and labour!

I'm 28 weeks with my first and also hoping for a home birth :)
Waiting to see if my placenta has moved to see if i have the go ahead. Good Luck !!!!

Thank you so much for sharing:) It is important to me to read that it normal to want to have home birth :) (usually I see raised eyebrows when I say that to my colleges). At the same time, I am not deadly set on it. If I need to got to hospital, I will.