Home birthing! thread

[cheekstime]

Hello Homebirthers, unsure whether this will be benefical but after seeing due date clubs/threads thought I would put this up.

A place where you can just dive in to post comment, with any of your home birthing planning issues, difficulties or joys!

I'm planning one myself, albeit a natural thing to do there's not many that do....popularity is increasing though :).

Just how many, if any at all are here as mumnetters?

What great stories! I am having my third baby, first was a c-section, second was a vbac and I am really hoping for a home birth this time around. I have an appointment with the home birth midwifes soon, to discuss everything. I have a few high risk factors that may not allow me to deliver at home, but I am hopeful that after speaking to them and my consultant that I will be allowed.

wigels sounds like a great experience!!
With reference to the "no examinations", was it you who pushed for that? Or is that pretty standard practice for home births?
I want to avoid internal examinations if I can - I had DD in hospital, and apparently have a weird shaped cervix that is difficult to find, so my examinations were really really painful....worse than the birth itself really Do I just ask that I not be examined unless it's really necessary?

Mybread - unless necessary they don't do any examinations and I prefer not to. I asked once if they would like to check and they just said things are going fine. With both my births I never got told I'm at 10 and need to push, I had the urge to push each time. There is no way hiding from it I found both times transition is the toughest part for me. Up to then and after I can deal with, without gas and air

I'd planned a home birth but ended up getting transferred in (failure to progress) and would 100% recommend it to anyone wondering, whether or not it all goes to plan in the end. I had over a day of labouring in comfort, at home, in a pool in our living room, with occasional kitchen snacks and water and tea, candles burning and Spotify playing in the background. My partner took a couple of quick catnaps in our bed, and because I was so comfortable that was fine too (he'd been awake for as long as I had, but without the benefit of adrenaline keeping him awake!).

When we finally got transferred in I still felt in control of the whole thing and it was a really positive experience, and in part I feel like that's because I knew we'd done everything we possibly could to encourage an intervention-free home birth. Really wonderful set of midwives, too. Love love love them.

Mybread, I just wrote "No vaginal examinations" in my birth plan. In my first home birth I was asked if I would like one when I said I'd just reached down and felt the head. I said, "I'm not sure there'd be much point." DH said to me afterwards that people probably say all sorts on gas and air and that they probably didn't think I'd really felt the head!

Makes me feel much better I felt the unmistakeable urge to push last time, but because it was my first baby and my labour was so fast, the midwife didn't believe me So I just pushed a bit and shouted "I suggest you have a look!" at her sure as shit, my DD's head was there! I trust my body even more this time round, so would rather just go with the flow than have all my bits and pieces poked and jabbed by ham-fisted midwives

Howmuchisthatdoggyinthewindow Welcome from me too to share, if you still fancy, haven't heard any objections

DontBuyANewMumCuntingDailyMail Thanks that's great to hear & so quick, sounds a great experience :)

Got to say, how reassuring that you don't have to keep getting checked, something I'm def goign to aviod. Something I'd been wondering about for ages! thanku

thought you almost didn't have a say about the checks but I was already planning on tellign them to 'sod' off - in the kindest possible way of course x

wigelspigels Congratulations!! Marvellous stuff!

savasana being brave....I'm beginning to think the same you know :)

chunkymum1 thnaks for kind words, find your experience reassuring. Still can't believe how many of us there are it's great

PeanutJuice Hi! we are in the same boat I'm a week behind you and yes I have had a raised eyebrow about the first but only from someone who last had their last baby 40 yrs ago...so I see it doesn't count :D. Finding some of these posts great, really interesting and reassuring perhaps it can be done afterall, hey! Goodluck with it all.

iamdivergent Me too planning on one without water so far! I am hynobirthing so on balance thinks it right thing to do. The sieve and jug is new to me? for collection of matter? & goodluck!

foobio I think I will not bother with the pool as I'm doing hynobirthing Maggie Howell (NCT) home course 4xcds. I have heard that can take you out of your zone as it were also maybe slow things down for a first timer. Just a thought/idea. Don't want to put you off, as heard great things about water births...of I wasn't hypnoing I would def have a waterbath without a doubt and maybe a tens machine too.

McBaby mine keeps swapping between transverse and head down. I'm 36 wks. Lots of others say its normal so not worry tooooooooo much yet :/

Zoomtothespoon Congrats! and all best for your second. Really good to know!

Everyone thanks for all the sound advice you're troopers!!!!*

x

MyBreadIsEggy Absolutley brilliant, babies head right there. yes instincts, I mustn't forget!

cheeks I told her I needed to push and she was really flippant, like "oh no you don't, not yet!"......urrrrm YES I REALLY DO!!

Just gets better MyBread...honestly MW!!!! "hello its waving at you...." Oh yes...cough cough so it it is

Yay homebirthers! I had both of mine at home, in 2008 and 2011 and no pool either time.

Biggest advice is keep your mind open, I didn't have to transfer in but I kept reminding myself it was a possibility because I think I would have freaked out if I had had to go in and hadn't mentally prepared myself.

No "being brave" about it, I think giving birth in hospital is way more scary - and frankly got sick of the number of people who kept telling me I was brave or I was putting my comfort before my baby or their baby would have died if they'd been at home. I don't care a jot where anyone else chooses to birth, just passionately believe in women having a choice and doing whatever makes them feel safest

Good luck homebirthers, best thing I ever did, fab experiences and was lucky enough to have the same midwife both times - DD is named after her!

AlfieTheRailwayCat that's really good to know

BadlyWrittenPoem so interesting to hear that you would have gone for it with the first if you could have :) other mums saying the same :). goodluck with this bubs later this year

DeliveredByKiki - Yay!!! thank you thank you! so right about where you feel the safest....that makes for the best birth doesn't it. Fear being the worse thing for pain control etc etc.

If only I have a MW like yours. Wow sounds just great

apparently I won't know til the time which MW....hoping it will arrive before they get here ;/

My home birth was my best birth out of the 4.

I was just lucky the MW who'd looked after me through pregnancy was on call when I went into labour both times but she led the team and made sure every woman met every MW on the team before due date so you'd at least recognize them when they walked in. She's incredible and a serious tour de force in supporting women's birthing choices. And her team are an amazing group of women who've all done stints with VSO over the last few years, which she's fought to support. All NHS too

I felt so safe and so calm for both births, felt like I was in the best hands possible - no amount of machinery and men in white coats could have created that feeling for me. But I do reiterate that I fully support any woman's choice - and very aware I was lucky to live in an area where I had a lot of choice. I do think those at least contemplating HB though are more fully informed, regardless of where they choose and ultimately give birth.

There is nothing more terrifying however than when the MW finally leaves and you're just in your home with your baby!!! First time anyway

Have any of the homebirthers been classed as high risk? I wanted a homebirthers with my first but was told I 'couldn't' because I was high risk. Hospital birth wasn't a good experience at all. I'm now pregnant with my second and really don't want to have a hospital birth if I can avoid it. I'm going to enter into negotiations with my consultant and the midwives but I just wondered if anyone else had experience?

To be honest I don't really think the pool does anything for me from a pain relief point of view. But it's quite comfy in there and gives you a kind of protective bubble so you have your own space iyswim and the water holding your weight makes crouching/kneeling much more comfortable so I like using it. Plus it's handy for mess containment.

To be honest I don't really think the pool does anything for me from a pain relief point of view. But it's quite comfy in there and gives you a kind of protective bubble so you have your own space iyswim and the water holding your weight makes crouching/kneeling much more comfortable so I like using it. Plus it's handy for mess containment.

Lilly, I wasn't high risk but because the hospital thought I was at risk of a specific birth complication (in complete contradiction to NICE and RCOG guidance) they wanted me to switch to a planned hospital birth. As a result of me declining their offer they seemed to view me as uncooperative and this had an adverse effect on my care. Fortunately I had a doula supporting me and there weren't any complications so everything was fine ultimately. If you are viewed as high risk and choose a home birth I would definitely recommend having a doula.