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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Are home births allowed on the NHS?

19 replies

ShelleyRL · 13/01/2018 10:19

Hi everyone,

I have two children ages 6 and 9 and I am now pregnant with my third child (7 weeks today) I would really like to try something different this time and was thinking a home birth may be nice (well as nice as labour can be ).

Have any of you had home births if so what were your experiences and am I able to have one on the NHS?

I live in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire if that helps. Or has any one given birth in a birthing centre rather than a hospital itself?

Thank you in advance xx

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Hippydippydoo · 13/01/2018 10:20

Yes absolutely, if you want a home birth then the NHS should 100% support you in this decision.

Hippydippydoo · 13/01/2018 10:21

I should add that I had my first DC 11 months ago in an mlu, and am planning a home birth with dC2 in April.

Original poster

ShelleyRL · 13/01/2018 10:24

I was hoping it would be ok, I just feel it would be such a lovely thing to do :)

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ShutTheFridgeUp · 13/01/2018 10:24

Yep, I had a home birth with my first almost 4 years ago. Will be doing the same again with the second (all being well)

thingymaboob · 13/01/2018 10:28

Did you have uncomplicated births last time?

DonkeyPunch88 · 13/01/2018 10:30

Hi, I've had 3 homebirths and 1 birth in a birthing centre with my first DS. All of them were lovely births with very supportive midwives.

When you register with the midwife (I'm in the SW so may be different where you are) they do your booking in appointment and then transfer you across to the homebirth team which were independent of the community midwives.
I found them really nice and very contactable whenever I needed them. Brilliant follow up care too.

Bitsandbobsalot · 13/01/2018 11:23

I’m 10 +4 weeks and had my booking in appointment this week because I’m a low risk pregnancy and this will be my 4th (13 years since last baby) and all my births were straight forward my midwife said I’d be a perfect candidate for a home birth much to my dh horror but I’m seriously considering it tbh. Obviously if anything changes and become a high risk then I’m prepared to have a hospital birth. I think I would be much happier at home. It was really lovely that my midwife was so positive about me having a home birth she really seemed to encourage it for me so hopefully the same for you.

abrs16 · 13/01/2018 11:38

Congratulations op on your pregnancy!
Yes you can definitely have homebirth with the NHS. Mention that this is what you would like at your booking appointment. Each area varies but in mine there is a homebirth team and I was referred to them straight away and all antenatal midwife appointments were carried out at home from then on. If this is not the case in your area (where there is a home birth team) then find out the name of the head community midwife and get in contact to find out more information on the process.

Let us know how you get on

GummyGoddess · 13/01/2018 11:44

I was referred to the home birth team after 30 weeks and then all appointments happen at home here. Same again for dc2 in a few months The home birth team were lovely last time and birth went about 80% to plan so we were all very happy.

mustbemad17 · 13/01/2018 11:46

I'm on my 3rd pregnancy, will be my 2nd homebirth. 1st pregnancy was water birth at hospital which was amazing, 2nd was an unplanned homebirth - still a great experience but overwhelming as it was so unplanned.
This time i stated from my booking in appointment at 8 weeks that i want a homebirth & so everything has been geared towards that. I can even squeeze a water pool in my lounge 😃

Original poster

ShelleyRL · 13/01/2018 11:48

I really am so pleased to hear it is a possibility, I had both my children in hospital, with my 9 year old I had to have the ventous which is the suction cup but with my 6 year old it was a very straight forward labour, I arrived at the hospital at 4am and my daughter was born at 5:45am. If they deemed me at risk then I'd obviously have my baby in a hospital without a seconds thought

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DontBuyANewMumCashmere · 13/01/2018 14:01

I also had DD at home, she was my first. My local MWs were really on board, they did several home visits just to speak to me really, they didn't look round the house or anything. Asked if I had a fridge to store the drugs! They dropped the drugs and oxygen cylinders a few weeks before EDD.
I had to ring labour ward when contractions started, they sent out a community MW when it all really ramped up, she attended and assessed me and then gave me her mobile to call when it got really serious. She came back a few hours later and out popped my little one.

I have nothing to compare it to, but mine was a lovely birth and really straight forward. I had put down old sheets, towels, shower curtains don't use these they're fucking lethal and MW bought a few mat pads too and it was all swept up into bin bags at the end. Not a mark on my carpets.

I always recommend as it was so nice (comparing to nightmare stories you always hear).

Good luck!

pastabest · 13/01/2018 14:05

Not only is it possible they are quite actively pushing/promoting it in my area. They are almost disappointed when you say no.

Hawkmoth · 13/01/2018 14:09

Yes! I've had three.

They work out cheaper for the NHS if no complications and you get a midwife all to yourself, then two for the birth.

AllMyBestFriendsAreMetalheads · 13/01/2018 14:24

I had a home water birth with DC2. A midwife came to do a home visit around 36 weeks and brought the box with equipment such as a kit for if I'd needed stitches and red books for baby and went through scenarios that would require a transfer to hospital but it was all things that I'd rather be in hospital for! If your pregnancy is low risk it would probably not be a problem but it likely depends on area.

We chose it as our nearest MW led birthing centre was too far away and I'd rather be at home than in hospital if possible.

It was great and if I was having another baby, I'd do it again. I felt much more relaxed than my hospital birth, didn't have to do the hospital trip.

Baby's postnatal checks were done at home, the only thing I had to go into hospital for was the hearing test, but again, this probably varies by area.

Good luck and congratulations

athingthateveryoneneeds · 13/01/2018 14:26

Oh yes. I've had three. Much prefer the one to one care.

Roomba · 13/01/2018 14:31

When I was pregnant with my first, the midwife at my booking in appointment said 'Have you thought about where to have your baby? Our first preference here is home birth, but if you prefer you can go to the MLU or X hospital' That made it sound like it was unusual not to have a home birth, how she phrased it! I'm in the NW - actually about 2% are HBs here I believe. Not including me, so I don't know how easy it actually is to get midwives out when you need them for one.

mindutopia · 13/01/2018 14:35

Yes, I had my first at home with NHS midwives and planning my 2nd home birth any day now. It was a lovely experience. The midwives were great (at the time, it was just the regular old midwives from the hospital who come out, but now we have a dedicated home birth team). My care has been excellent. I have all my appts at home and I have a dedicated midwife who is my midwife (though no guarantee she'll be on call for my birth, but she at least does all my appts). The continuity of care has been so much better and of course, you also get two dedicated midwives just for you at your birth, which is a much better ratio that a hospital birth. Beyond that, it's just such a nicer experience. I honestly believe that I would have ended up with much more intervention in my first birth if I'd been in hospital, which would have had poorer outcomes for us. At home, the care was just so much better and I'm so glad I opted to be at home. Obviously, the teams are different depending on where live, so hard to know what the set up is like in your area, but definitely ask about it at your booking appt.

Original poster

ShelleyRL · 13/01/2018 15:29

I had no idea that home births were so common, this is so exciting. Thank you all for your wonderful stories

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