Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Pregnancy

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

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

Home birth option

56 replies

lozzalou93 · 14/04/2018 17:20

Is anyone having a home birth or had a home birth care to share their feelings?

I am pretty confident it is the option I want. I feel I would be much more relaxed in my home surroundings and am not a fan of hospitals. The midwife told me they would know if something was going wrong and before I even realised I’d be in the hospital. I live (a max) 5 Min drive from our local.

What are other people’s feeling on home births?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Adamsmom · 14/04/2018 17:24

Planned a HomeBirth.
Have been reading a lot around hypnobirthimg and honestly seems like the best option for me (I'm the type that won't even take a paracetamol and avoid antibiotics lol)
Like you have never liked hospitals and only associate them with sickness.
Home is where I 100% feel most comfortable and what a beautiful thing it'd be to give birth there! Husband completely against it but hasn't done any research or reading around the topic so currently have little respect for his opinion.
Like you also live a 5 minute drive from hospital so that's reassuring.
Good luck to you!

FrozenMargarita17 · 14/04/2018 17:24

Hi OP. I had a home birth which I fought for because they wanted to induce at 40+12. I refused this as I have white coat syndrome and am absolutely terrified to the point of physically shaking with high blood pressure and heart rate which astounded my midwives.

It was the most wonderful experience and I'd do it again (if I was planning on having another, which I'm not). The only thing to consider is the risk - but living so close to the hospital is always good.

I had very low risk pregnancy and had monitoring for the last 2 days - I actually went in to labour on the day they wanted to induce so it worked out fine.

There are pain relief options at home which are different from a hospital obviously but I didn't use these. I had a small bit of gas and air when I wasn't allowed to push but only because the midwife insisted and I then gave it back promptly after one or two times because I didn't like it.

I had no intervention or stitches.

FrozenMargarita17 · 14/04/2018 17:25

Oh! And do a hypnobirthing course if you are planning a home birth. Even if you don't buy in to the readings etc (I always used to laugh at my husband doing a faux-calm voice) - I used it to keep myself grounded in a practical sense and never lose my calm and I reminded myself why I was doing it. It helped me accept what was to come and just go with it.

Adamsmom · 14/04/2018 17:26

Ah glad it was such a positive experience for you Frozen.
First born in hospital and hoping to be much calmer at home.
Due to be induced in just under 2 weeks so really hoping that doesn't happen

FrozenMargarita17 · 14/04/2018 17:27

@Adamsmom my husband disagreed at the beginning but once he read up he was for it. After I had my dd he said he wouldn't have had it any other way. It made it so much more special for us. He was fully involved and I couldn't have done it without him. He came to the hypnobirthing classes and he knew exactly what to do to help me.

Original poster

lozzalou93 · 14/04/2018 17:32

Aw congratulations to you both and best of luck @adamsmom! My friends who have had children told me their partners had to leave the hospital a few hours after their babies were born and I hate the idea of this! My dp was also a home birth. It’s nice to know there are such positive experiences out there. Thank you for Sharing

OP posts:

Ninjamilo · 14/04/2018 17:55

I'm 38 + 3 and planning a home water birth, it's our first.

After doing a ton of research, I feel I am much more likely to have a positive birth than in the hospital, for many reasons. I have gestational diabetes will take baby in to have her blood sugars checked over a couple of hours so we know she's ok 😊

I think I considered a hospital birth for all of around 5 minutes....obviously I know we may have to go in, and that's fine if we do, but fingers crossed all will go as planned!

susiegrapevine · 14/04/2018 17:59

I had i home birth for my 2nd it was sooooo much nicer than my hospital birth. Even my mum thought it was better, although she wasn't there for the actual birth i think she just felt how relaxed i was. You get to go in your own shower while the midwives clear up and then i got back in bed and they tucked me in!!! It was bliss!

susiegrapevine · 14/04/2018 18:01

Oh ans fyi both of mine were natural births with only gas and air so the only real difference was location. And my 2nd labour was longer!

Dreamingofkfc · 14/04/2018 18:08

I had two homebirths and planning on a third. Lovely experiences. First labour was long, but the pool helped. I'd listened to some hypnobirthing tapes during pregnancy but in labour I just wanted my playlist. I thought I'd book a homebirth, get assessed at home and make a decision on where to give birth. I was 6cm when the midwives first came out, so felt confident to keep going at home. Had to get out of the pool for pushing but all was well. Go for it!

Smellyjo · 14/04/2018 18:33

I planned a home birth with my first but had to transfer in after 40hrs at home as didn't progress beyond 7cm. Was gutted but also happy I'd been so calm and in control at home for all that time in labour, and knew there was no other option. In hospital unfortunately they wanted me on my back for monitoring and it all became more painful and my coping strategies were all taken away. But all in all incredible birth still and planning home for my second.

Original poster

lozzalou93 · 14/04/2018 19:05

Congratulations to you and best of luck those about to do it !

@ninjamilo
I would also like water birth at home. Silly question but how does that happen? Do you buy the birthing pool? How is the temperature regulated ?

OP posts:

FrozenMargarita17 · 14/04/2018 19:30

I hired my birthing pool. I ended up getting out and pushing her out on my sofa after they threatened to catheterise me, they thought my bladder was full but after assuring them it wasn't (I had peed in the pool through no fault of my own!!) I got out and proved them wrong because she came straight out. I'll never get rid of that sofa ;)

FrozenMargarita17 · 14/04/2018 19:31

Look for mermaid at heart for pools. They were really good.

flumpybear · 14/04/2018 19:36

Please just remember 5 minutes drive isn't 5 minutes to help if something goes wrong .... it may take a hell of a lot longer to get to hospital and it may be the difference between life and death, or life and disabled

Hypermice · 14/04/2018 19:40

It wouldn’t be for me for a number of reasons. However if it’s not your first birth and you have no risk factors, and have had a previous trouble free birth, have it OKed by your MW then it’s uo to you.

Teateaandmoretea · 14/04/2018 19:47

I had my second at home - similar commute to hospital it. Much better experience, hated hospital.

pastabest · 14/04/2018 19:47

I like the idea of home birth for my second DC but have ruled it out because the the transfer time to hospital would be at least 30 minutes even on blue lights, and that's after having to wait for the ambulance to get to me in the first place.

A few of my friends have attempted home births with their first babies. Every single one got transferred to hospital due to labours not progressing and various other reasons including finding they weren't able to manage the pain at home.

A few other friends have had home births with second and third dc and on the whole these have gone very well.

Situp · 14/04/2018 19:52

Hey OP,
I tried a HB with my first. Sadly, I had to transfer to hospital for a foreceps delivery. Despite this, it was really calm. Midwife came with me in the ambulance and explained what was happening. The experience did not put me off at all.

Sadly I had to have 2 c sections after that so never got my HB.

Needmorehands · 14/04/2018 19:54

Planning my 5th homebirth in the next month hopefully. Like you we lived very close to the hospital for the 1st but now live much further away, I really don't fancy the journey in labour! They've all been born in the pool (bought from ebay!) and I've not yet had the chance to try gas and air! I listen to the hypnobirthing cds but don't think I've ever stayed awake till the end!

Ohforfoxsakereturns · 14/04/2018 19:59

One hospital and three HBs.

HBs were less stressful.

Gas and air, hypnobirthing. I say prepare for a HB, you can transfer in any time.

Thoroughly enjoyed my HBs. Hospital one wasn’t bad, but was wary of protocol. Had to stand up for myself, and post Labour ward was awful.

Nothing like a cup of tea in your own mug, in your own bed, with you brand new baby. Lush.

Good luck 😊

betterbemoreorganised · 14/04/2018 20:03

I planned a home birth and I’m very glad I did but I did end up with an emcs. I had a very long labour and by day 4 of contractions I was feeling stressed and terrified of hospital and a very kind community midwife came out and stayed for a few hours calmed me down and took the fear of hospital away. Two days later I had to go to hospital for monitoring and after my waters broke they said I could go home for the birth but by this point I knew it wasn’t going to happen naturally so I stayed.
There was no mad dash to hospital or mad dash to theatre when I was in hospital, ds was just too big to exit.

Ninjamilo · 14/04/2018 20:13

@lozzalou93 I've hired mine from Las Bassine.

Don't listen to the horror stories about life and death etc - look at the actual stats, the increased risk is very very low. There is a reduced risk of episiotomy, forceps, ventouse and c section, even for those who end up transferring in.

Most transfers in are due to slow progression, which I am fine with, at least I can labour longer at home.

Hypermice · 14/04/2018 20:29

There is a reduced risk of episiotomy, forceps, ventouse and c section, even for those who end up transferring in.

This is a misunderstanding of how the statistics are calculated. The pool of women who attempt HB are already lower risk - even when you look at the groups then transferring in you’re still looking at a lower risk pool from the start, so the comparison between that group and those in hospital from the start is not comparing like with like.

HB can be a great option for those low risk (and imho second time) mums.

Is this your first birth OP? What’s the actual transfer time rather than the drive time (eg a five min drive is more like a 15-20 min from first call to door.) is that place one with full facilities or a birthing unit?

Don’t ignore the horror stories. Don’t ignore the positive ones either - you need to make an informed choice and to do that you need a proper understanding of the risks and benefits involved.

Hope it all goes well for you

NerNerNerNerBATMAN · 14/04/2018 20:38

Had excellent planned HB with DC1 and planning another for DC2. Like you I live very close to the hospital. Not sure I'd consider it otherwise.

Apparently 40% of first time mums planning a HB end up being transferred, many due to lack of pain relief. I'm not gonna lie, it does hurt, but I'd hired a tens machine which was fabulous and the MW brought gas and air. I had hired a pool but it was too much hassle, I enjoyed being in the bath though.

Have you heard of Ina May Gaskin? She's an American MW who has written extensively on HB. I've really enjoyed reading her books to get me into the right mindset for it.

I'd say go for it!

Flip

1 2 3

Swipe left for the next trending thread