Is a Home Birth with 1st baby a good thing to do?

[pika123]

Hello,

I have had a risk assessment for a home birth and I am 50/50 with what to do. Part of me wants to have a home birth because it would help me be less stressed and calmer. Also it would mean my hubby would be involved a bit more. However I am scared of the things that could go wrong and the risks to me and baby. I am just wondering if there is any first time mums out there that have had a home birth and what it is was like for them and any advise for me?

Thanks in advance

Currently 37 weeks and my midwife has said I could have a home birth if I like but I'm going for a Midwife led birth centre in the middle of a forest instead. My midwife said that if you are low risk, want to go as natural as possible and feel comfortable having a fairly hands off labour then home birth can be wonderful. You can always transfer to hospital or change your mind on the day - apparently 80% of home birth transfers are because the mother wants more pain relief ( I believe the strongest thing you can have in a home birth is pethadine) - not because there is a high rate of complication.

Can only give my opinion on this. No. First labours can go on an on and on and you will probably be begging for drugs.

If you will be calmer and less stressed- I say go for it!
I considered a home birth but went for hospital in the end because DH has health anxieties and is very risk averse.
Plus, I'm one of those weird people that don't really mind hospitals. The beds are really comfy and the mess is someone else's problem.

I had my first child at home. I hadn't been planning it at all but then I went to look round the maternity unit at 37 weeks and I just couldn't imagine feeling relaxed getting in a car and going there while in labour.

The home birth was great, it took 12 hours in total and midwife was only there for about 5 hours. Very chilled and the midwife was very discrete so at times it felt like it was just me and my DH.

By staying relaxed and getting in the zone I didn't need any pain relief at all.

Only slight bummer was that DS got stuck so had quite a long pushing stage which meant I had to go into hospital for stitches afterwards but that would have happened in hospital too.

I went on to have DS2 and DD at home too. All were great births!

Good luck! If you feel like you want to try it then start at home and if you want more pain relief it is very easy to transfer to hospital.

I had planned for a home birth with my first, but when the contractions got really bad I asked to get transferred to hospital. Part of the reason was that it took forever to fill up my birthing pool and the water was not hot enough. The other part was that I felt that I was in charge of everything and that I couldn't really focus on myself and the birth. This is all in hindsigt, in the moment, I just asked "Can we go to the hospital nw, please?" We lived 40 miles from the hospital and that ambulance ride was the most uncomfortable I have ever experienced ;) I did get into a bath tub at the hospital, and it was great for pain relief, but I couldn't have the birth in the tub, can't remember exactly why. There were tons of nurses, doctors and midwives everywhere, although it was not a high risk or complicated birth. It all went well.

I had no idea what this birth thing was all about, I had read all the text books, but it turned out to be my "wall" shielding me from what I feared ;) I did have a good birth regardless, and after I was happy with my decision to go into hospital. I didn't stay long, but I would have liked to stay longer, but we had 2 dogs and they had been left with a neighbour and it didn't feel right to stay for days.

(for my DC2 I chose hospital and I was happy with that. I had an excellent water birth. I actually like hospitals, I like all their gadgets)

Having said all that, I think you should plan for a home birth if you feel that would be best for you. Chances are that you will be do much better than I did ;) Best of luck, whatever you decide!

Not a first time mum but I had both my DC at home ( 11 and 9yrs now) and would recommend it.

I had a straightforward pregnancy and supportive midwives ( not the GP though, he was against 1st births at home) and relatively easy deliveries. DH wasnt keen on me having them at home ( because of the possible risks) and agreed if there was ever going to be a third we ( read I) would labour&deliver in hospital.

My mindset was that I would start at home and if I couldnt cope I was transfer ( or medical reason). Both times it worked out well.

I had an elected home birth first time round and it was great. It was 25 hours from waters breaking to baby in my arms. The slow pace, in my own home worked well for us. Used gas and air from just before pushing stage. Had pethidine on standby but didnt bother. Eventually had to transfer after baby born safely latched on for first feed, dressed and all sleepy nice, because I had a retained placenta (because I didn't have the injection to speed it up, which I did next time). Feel free to PM me if you want.

If you really want a home birth go for it. But I would still check out the nearest hospital (do the tour, make sure you know the route to the delivery suite etc) and have a bag packed just in case. The pain is something unlike anything else - some women cope but I don't know how.

I had a home birth planned for my first but my labour went on for so long that I couldn't push dd out, I was shattered. Had to rush to theatre in an ambulance at the finish ( and was glad to at that point ).
So yes absolutely, stay at home if you can. I will be opting for that the next time round aswell.

I'm hoping to have a homebirth for my 1st (due in 4 weeks) as I'm low risk, and live within 4 miles of the nearest hospital.

If it all gets too much I'll ask to be transfered, but I'm a lot more comfortable at home and I think I'll be a lot more relaxed and so will my husband.

I'm pretty open minded - if I need to go to hospital, thats fine, but I think the longer I have a home in my own environment the better. The rates of intervention are still lower even if you do have to go to hospital from home.

I'm feeling pretty chilled out about the whole thing at the moment (possibly because I have no idea how bad it will be), but mainly because I know I'll have a midwife keeping an eye on me the whole time, rather than just popping in and out and an extra midwife for the delivery.

I'm currently considering the possibility of a home birth too- If I stay low risk, I'd be looking to go to the local midwife-led unit, at which the strongest painkillers are gas and air anyway, so I'm thinking, well, why not just try to stay at home for as long as possible and see how it goes

I really like the idea of being in my own surroundings, and, like the vast majority of people, find hospitals a bit scary, having never had to spend much time in them!

In my case, we're only about 500 yards to the front door of the hospital though, which I think is pushing the balance in favour of home birth- if i was further away, I might feel differently

I had my first at home, with no analgesia. (I don't like the idea of pethidine/diamorphine at home so would have gone in to hospital if I had needed anything more than G&A.)

The risk of complications is higher in a first time mum (9.3 cases of stillbirth after start of care in labour, early neonatal death, neonatal encephalopathy, meconium aspiration syndrome, brachial plexus injury, fractured humerus, or fractured clavicle per 1000 home deliveries compared to 5.3 in hospital) so I am not sure I would have made the same decision had I seen the Birth place study before (DS was born before the study was published).

www.bmj.com/content/343/bmj.d7400

Complications in second time plus mothers (multips) are the same across home births/MLUs/obstetric units.

There was no mess and the midwives took away all the messy incontinence pads, towels etc that I'd used to cover the bed. It was nice having a MW the whole time (along with her student) and we felt very well cared for. I think they tend to transfer mothers early in case of problems, which I was fine with.

I packed my hospital bag with everything so it was ready if I did need transferred or decided to go in, it was all there, and it was an easy place to keep everything ready for my home birth.

Like twiglet, I wasn't really worried about having the home birth itself but figured it would allow me to stay at home until things got too much. As it was, things didn't get too much and it was all fine.

I also only had a home birth because I live 2 miles from the hospital by a straight road. There is no way I would have had one if I had lived far away.

That's just reminded me I need to pack my hospital bag at the weekend, just in case!

Wow thank you all for all your opinions and advise. I have had my risk assessment and I am low risk too. the pull of having a midwife just for me and baby is very appealing but I live in a village and the worry of a stretch ambulance service not being there as quick as I made need it is another issue. I am 37 weeks pregnant from Fri so baby could arrive when I feels like it soon. I think the best decision I can make is be flexible and go with the flow. I may decide that after the pain or the first of labour that I can't do it at home and make the decision to go in to hospital. Like twiglet I better make sure my bag is done asap lol

I had a very low risk second pregnancy,and was attracted to idea of home birth but decided against it,our midwife led unit is attached to the local hospital so I went there,long labour but only had gas and air,so could have done it at home,but when baby was born he needed urgent care as had inhaled meconium and was whisked off to special care.He recovered very quickly thanks to the excellent care he received,he was having severe breathing problems after the birth but I am glad I was in the hospital and not home for his sake.Just something to bear in mind- that even in low risk uncomplicated deliveries the baby itself can have needs best seen to in a hospital after the birth.

We are hoping to have a home birth for our first baby, due in about four weeks. We're probably about ten minutes away or slightly less if I did have to be blue lighted to hospital but I've been told by a few people that because you have one to one midwife care, any problems would be picked up very quickly and possibly quicker than they would be in the MLU, and if you were being transferred a theatre team could be prepping in the meantime and you could go straight to theatre in more or less the same time it would take you from the MLU even though it's only through a set of double doors.

We feel that the familiar environment of home would be better for us, plus I'd be guaranteed a birth pool as the MLU only has two and I dread turning up and none being available.

If we did need to transfer I wouldn't be massively disappointed but I'd like to give it a go.

I think it's a good idea if you are reasonably close to a hospital. I would love to but I just don't seem to be brave enough, I'm going for a stand-alone midwife unit instead for my first and maybe home for my second.

I've been assessed and going for a home birth with our first for a couple of reasons. One of the big ones being what happens afterwards - our (v) local hospital has high demand for their maternity unit and beds are turned around quickly. I'd want to be able to take my time afterwards and not be encouraged to leave a ward that may have restricted visiting times etc for my DH before I'm accused of being naive I'm quite sure we'll both be completely knackered anyway afterwards and may be beyond caring about surroundings... We'll see though. Not due until May!

My hospital is not a busy busy one so the aftercare is quite good but the home birth aftercare is a bit unclear. Just can't wait to meet baby now

I had a home water birth with my first and would completely recommend it. It hurt, yes. But it was calm, I felt in control and the three of us (me, husband and baby) got snuggled up in our own bed a couple of hours later.