Where to give birth??????

[user1479482895]

Hi guys, first time mum here! I'm 4 months pregnant and keep going back and forth on where I want to give birth. I love the idea of giving birth at home, but me and my husband are concerned about any complications occurring if we aren't in the hospital. I've also heard about women having very negative experiences with giving birth through the NHS and wanted some more opinions on this! Just wanted to here how you guys decided on where you gave birth, whether this was in the hospital or at home. Thanks guys!

Hi, congrats on your pregnancy! I have a 6 month old and would have liked a home birth, however I live in a tiny terrace with very thin walls and the whole street would have been involved! So I gave birth at our local midwife-led maternity unit which is attached to the hospital. This is the default option in our area for low-risk pregnancies, and this was ideal for me as I was keen to have as little intervention as possible and so wanted to avoid a full-on hospital labour ward. I can't praise them highly enough, I had one midwife throughout my labour who really paid attention to and adhered to my birth plan, even when I was too out of it to know what I wanted! I had a water birth, and needed stitches after which was all sorted quickly and I received absolutely fabulous care. I know each hospital is different, and services differ by area, but I would say really research what's available to you locally, and don't automatically be put off anything NHS-related, as there are a lot of fab facilities available. Equally if you're really keen on a home birth, go for it - you'll likely find your midwife is very supportive and will help you think about logistics etc.

My first midwife said ask for a home birth, you can always change your mind.
You can't change your mind and have a supported home birth once you've decided to have a hospital delivery.

Wish I had taken her advice.

You see the same midwife through pregnancy,
I saw a different one each time
And I think that contributed to the difficulties I had

How far are you from the hospital, if you did need to transfer from home to hospital due to complications?

Like previous poster, how far from the hospital is critical I think. I had a hospital birth with my first, worst experience ever for me but I'm sure others have had good too. I then had a water home birth with my 2nd, and used hypnobirthing, no pain relief....best experience ever!! So natural, relaxed, midwives throughout ( I was left alone a lot at the hospital and had 4 different midviwes ). Cup of tea on the sofa after with my bubba on my chest, her big sister could see her straight away the hospital is 20 minutes away from us. Go with your gut instinct, whatever that may be. Xx

Well I planned for a home birth and ended up with an induction and then an EMCS. So my advice is don't overthink it