Homebirth experiences

[JessicaN25]

I am 20 weeks with my second baby and am considering a homebirth, I wish I wasn't so drawn to wanting one but I can't help but think of how nice it would be to not have to leave my home and get straight into my own bed, own bath, own toilet etc. But the risks worry me, I live a 40 minute drive from the hospital so I'm not sure how long this would take with blue lights. We have a lovely birth centre 3 minute drive from my house so I feel silly wanting a homebirth when I have that there but the risks still worry me with that too as my midwife has told me there is no more they can do there than at home and I am being encourage to go to the birth centre anyway as it's my second baby and the first birth was great with no issues. The things bothering me about the birth centre are that you cannot stay overnight even if you give birth during the early hours of the morning and you have to leave within 2 hours and i would not have been feeling up to doing that with my son first time around and i had no stitches or anything but was still in agony and also i did go to the birth centre with my first and felt scared and unsafe when i was there so went to the hospital and i wouldnt want to feel that way again but feel like i have to stay because i have booked myself in. Another thing bothering me is whether to hire a birthpool or not if I go for a homebirth as I didn't have one with my first birth but it has always appealed to me but for £200 to get the whole kit and all the bits I would need seems like waste of money if I wasn't able to have a homebirth in the end for some reason or another. Can anyone give me their positive or negative homebirth stories or attempts please.

Hi, I had my first child in hospital with no issues, straight forward delivery with no pain relief. I opted for a home birth for my second child and can honestly say it was the best choice for me for the reasons you have mentioned and the fact that I hated every minute of my time on the ward after the birth. I am now pregnant with child number 3, with a 12 year age gap and have asked for a home birth again, for which my consultant is very supportive. I am only consultant led because I’m 42. I am roughly a 20 minute drive from our local hospital.

Whatever you choose, opt for whatever you feel is right for you, if you want to be in hospital and not a unit insist on it. It’s your labour and your choice.

But a big thumbs up for home birth from me

I’m planning for a homebirth for my first (due next week!). We hired a pool from the hospital which was £5, then we had to buy a liner which was about £36, hose £10 and a couple of other bits, which probably totalled another £20 but could probably be done for cheaper (we chose towels as a ground sheet as pool is on a tiled floor and helps conserve the heat, but obviously plastic sheet would be cheaper), so while an obvious cost, isn’t as much as £200, so it might be worth seeing if your local hospital hires them.

Thank you for sharing! I too hated being on the ward afterwards with my first, I found the aftercare terrible. I hope you have another great homebirth with your next one. Thank you x

Oh my gosh Thank you so much for telling me that as I didn't think to ask my local birth centre if they hire pools, that's an amazing price! I have only looked into the birth pool in a box style things online and do feel it's rather pricey for something which may not even be used. Good luck with your homebirth! X