How many people have had a home birth? What pain relief do you get? Would I benifit?

[mumzyof2]

Im only 3 months pg with my 2nd, but I was wondering how common home births are, are they any safer? What pain relief would the midwife bring? And would I benifit from one?
My first labour was 40 hours, from first contraction until birth, but was agonising throughout, not just little twinges, however once I was 5cm, ds arrived 3 and a half hours later. Only had pethidin as p/relief.

I haven't had a home birth, but I really wish I had when I had my second. The birth (just gas and air) was amazing compared to my first (pethidin made me very ill and out of it). Looking back It would have been perfect at home but that's only with hindsight I guess.

Are you far from the hospital?

pain relief : gas and air and you can have mepid/ pethidine. of course you can hire a birth pool too, for pain relief.

being able to move, vocalise, rest , eat and drink as you need to will be in itself a big help...also as labour builds your own endorphins will help you cope with the pain

more than likely, as i said on your other thread, this labour will be quicker and you will cope better as you have the prior knowledge.

have a look at the homebirth site for answers to lots of questions

for a normal , low risk pregnancy, homebirth is as safe as hospital birth

Most midwives will not give pethadine, although legally they can. You can have TENS, gas and air, pool (at your expense)and of course, er paracetamol. You could have aromatherapy stuff at home if you fancy that, or partner to massage you.

Research shows that for under 35s without medical complaints, they are just as safe as hospital births, and usually have less interventions etc.

I'm having one this time (i hope) but you have to keep an open mind. you may need to transfer in if something gets complicated, or you decide you want an epidural etc.

They're quite common, and i'm most looking forward to getting into MY bath, then MY bed with MY mug of tea afterwards!

you can have gas and air and pethidine at home, and as lulumama says it is generally thought to be more relaxing to stay in your own home.
How common they are depends on the area you live in, and how supportive the midwifes are - I think each hospital has figures for the number of home births attended.

I had a homebirth for my 2nd and absolutely LOVED it. I felt so in control throughout, used TENS and a little bit of G&A at the end and DD got to meet her new brother within 5 minutes of him arriving. Fantastic, fantastic experience that I would recommend to anyone.
Getting into your own bath and your own bed at the end is wonderful, as is the fact that your DH isn't sent away after 'visiting time' (the bit I HATED about the hospital birth) He can stay and cook you omelettes and bring you hot chocolate as you both stare at your amazing newborn
I've gone all shivery and it was nearly 2 years ago now!

I had a home birth this April - first baby, 9lb 12. TENS for the first stage and nothing for the second (although that was my choice - gas and air was available if I'd wanted it). I did wind up transfering into hospital for some stitches, but neither DH nor I regret staying home for the birth for a single second.

We decided to definitely have a home birth when we found out DD was breech as, having done our own research, we didn't agree with the NHS's view that a C/S was the safest way to go and they would only reluctantly discuss a very managed, medicalised vaginal delivery - however, we did use idependent midwives so that we knew they had a lot of experience birthing the more unusual presentations.

Just to add to Loopymumsy's post - statistically you get those benefits (half chance of C/S, etc) just by planning a home birth. It's also a lot easier to go to hospital when you're in labour than it is to make a snap decision to stay home

if you are anxious , then you could look at hiring a doula for more support, regardless of where you have your baby x

DS was a home birth and it was LOVELY. I had a number of friends who had had home births and had raved about it, but I honestly hadn't appreciated what a difference it would make. Firstly, I had much better care at home than I had in hospital for the birth of DD. At home I had two midwives the whole time. In hospital, I saw the midwife for the first time as I was ready to push, despite being in the hospital for two hours and my husband trying desperately to get someone to come and see us. Pain relief was better managed at home than at hospital, mainly because at home there was someone around to show me how to use the gas and air. At home, I felt much more relaxed and in control and I think this contributed to a much less painful birth. By comparison, it hurt MUCH less. To be honest, it didn't really hurt that much at all, which is not something I ever thought I would say about giving birth. Afterwards the midwives cleaned everything up. It just felt much more "birth is part of normal life", which for us, was great. The home birth also made it easier to arrange care for DD. We are very close to the hospital though, which made it an easier decision for us.

Ooh. Am all warm and glowy thinking about it. Must stop getting broody, must stop getting broody, must stop getting broody.....

I had a homebirth with my second, and if I have a third I DEFINATELY want one. I had gas and air, and i would have had water had she let me get in it

Agree with a doula.

I felt a bit like I was in the way in hospital (they were convinced that I just had no pain threshold and wanted to transfer me for an epidural which I did NOT want), at home I felt much more free to birth however I felt like (although next time I will get in my pool when I want to).

Oh, getting into your own bed after a bath, and being able to snuggle with your baby and DH is the best feeling in the world.

On top of all the good stuff, having a cousin who's son contracted MRSA when he was born - much preferring my own home germs!!!

even thinking about home birth makes me broody...don;t want another baby, i just want the birth. and it would be in my house, with my friends and family near , and getting into my own bath and own bed afterwards.. my dad was sent home , being told i would be hours, and he missed the birth, by around an hour..

I cant wait for my HWB!!

I've had 2 homebirths after a C/s with #1 (planned breech delivery screwed up by hospital protocols) and I'd never go near a hospital unless it was absolutely vital - Both my 2 youngest would probably have progressed to EMCS if I'd been in the hospital (DS2 brow presentation managed to get him into a good position by stretching and pacing around, DD long rotation from right hand side so was fully and not pushing for 5 hours until she got herself round) both times I needed no pain relief because of being so relaxed at home and able to potter around ,have a cup of tea etc, I had a pool for DS2 bur only lasted about 30 minutes in it before I got an urge to leap out and do the stretching thing and with DD we filled the pool up and it just sat there so we emptied it again!
Looking forward to doing it again beginning of january!
Lisa X

i have to say i belive homebirths are the way forward.....i had a hospital birth with my first and it was a complete nightmare!!! worst thing was i'd needed an hour and 45mins of stitches as i wasn't in control of my labour.....i was basically made to lie in a bed and that was it, no-one asked me if i wanted to get up or anything, fair enough i had my son on onyl 2 co-codamol and i'd wanted as natural as possible but nothing else happened which i'd asked for in my birth plan......

second child was a home birth, and granted i was in a slow labour for a few days before being in established labour but i did allsorts within that time, i was having mild contractions while walking my son round stanley park, and enjoyed my last hot breakfast before she arrived- not once did i see a hospital though, and she arrived at a reasonable time of 1.45am so mummy and daddy could eventually get to sleep...not that we got much from staring at her!!! i had my first contraction at 7pm called the midwife to inform her, she came at 11pm but i was only 3cm, then i called her at 1am when my waters broke she arrived at 1.15 but i was only 6cm's i was up and walking about until half past but then i decided i needed to push despite still only being 6cm but 15mins later i had my darling princess in my arms- i was in control from the first contraction, and within 45 mins of her being born she left and we were led in bed with our baby within an hour of her birth- real bonding!!! if i ever had another i wouldn't have to think about it!!! i'd do it every day if i had to if it was like that- i was more relaxed due to my own atmosphere and i feel it helped my son bond with her quicker than having to visit mummy in the hospital with a new baby!!!