FTM -Home birth due to Covid

[Bumblebee111]

I’m 20 weeks. Whenever I mention home birth everyone shudders but I do understand why, I know women who have had major complications but I also know women who have flown through labour, I know home births are dependant on how your pregnancy is going and if you are high risk or not etc. I’m starting to consider it greatly because it means the world to me to have my partner there as well as my mum & sister etc which I/we cannot do due to Covid so am I crazy? I’d like to hear positive & to be honest even negative home birth stories if you ladies have them, I’m petrified either way but it’s just becoming an option more and more in my mind regardless. And I remember hearing ‘birth is not a medical procedure’ from somewhere and that is what makes me think I can do it at home again that is not to say I’m not aware of how it can also go wrong.

I had an attempted home birth with my first which ended in a hosptial transfer and eventually and emcs. I don’t regret trying it but I wouldn’t do it again. We live less than 10 minutes from the maternity hospital, I wouldn’t have considered it it we were much further. The transfer was incredibly uncomfortable and (I think) completely slowed labour down. If I had been on the MLU using a pool I think I may have progressed better and ended up with less intervention. But who knows!

I have had a subsequent MLU birth and am having a planned c section for my next baby.

I agree, a discussion with your midwife would be best. It is quite likely you wouldn’t be allowed to have 3 family members around with two midwives in the current situation.

Good luck with it all, whatever you decide.

@BeingATwatItsABingThing

you get 2 very experienced midwives vs. 1 more junior one in a hospital shared between rooms

The very experienced midwives are available at the hospital but they are tending to the more high risk births. If you suddenly need them, they’ll be there for you too. The doctors are also at the hospital should you need them.

Maybe if you are lucky. The reality is that they tend to be short staffed www.google.com/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/nhs-crisis-childbirth-maternity-wards-labour-a7529576.html%3famp

Does your home midwife have a crystal ball, OP? Can she predict that you won’t have a placental abruption and massive intrapartum haemorrhage? How would she treat it, when she doesn’t carry a six unit shock pack of O neg blood, available immediately in all obstetric units?
If you lose the fetal heartbeat, how will she perform a crash Caesarian in your bedroom?
The delay in phoning for an ambulance, plus their response time, has to be added to your hospital transfer time, possibly in rush hour traffic.
My own second baby (normal labour, 8lbs, spontaneous delivery) would have died at home. She survived thanks to the paediatric crash team, intracardiac adrenaline, 3 anticonvulsants, intubation, ventilation, and ITU care. Home midwives do not carry the drugs and lack the specialist skills.
No labour is “low risk” except in retrospect. If you want to risk your own life, fine, but you are asking your baby to risk brain damage or death too. I’m glad I didn’t.

Wow very mixed views! Thank you all for your replies :)

@Babdoc Okay chill your comment is unnecessarily full on, I’m not risking a thing right now am I? It’s merely an option and this post is to hear real life experiences from other women. Give your opinion fine, but relax with the forceful comments and telling me I’m risking my child’s life when I haven’t even made a decision. You feel way too strongly based on your own struggles with labour but don’t force that onto me and my potential experience - if you read the comments you will see a mixed amount of experiences, and you also do not have a crystal ball, be careful how you word things because that last comment has really p**d me off ‘you are asking to risk brain damage and death’ get a grip

Babdoc rocks up on most of the home birth threads to say similar. Don't rise to it. It's an opinion and people have strong opinions about birth!

Ultimately it's your decision.

When it goes well it's great, and no one denies that. But when it goes wrong it can be catastrophic. Personally the well-being of my baby is more important than any other consideration. I speak as someone with a disabled child due to birth trauma. Not home related but a late pregnancy complication which was avoidable. My personal experience of birth couldn't have been more traumatic mentally for me, but if my baby had been born unscathed I would have been able to process and put that trauma behind me I know. A healthy baby is the greatest healer of any birth experience and I wouldn't touch a home birth with a barge pole.

Of course this is my experience and thoughts on the matter. Everyone is different with different experiences, but all are valid.

Bloody hell @Babdoc a note of your experience would have sufficed!

As you can see, a mixed review of birth experiences, I think it’s 40-50% (Proper Numbers available in your maternity notes) of home births end in hospital. 30% end with assistance.. so it’s very likely you’ll need to go in.

Start at home, keep it an open mind that’s all.

@Babdoc but I’ve read for second time births that home birth has pretty much the same outcome as hospital births? But less interventions. There must be something to that? I wouldn’t opt for it as FTM mum though.

Interestingly the only 2 midwives I know had home births for their first babies.

Here is the NICE guidance OP in case you have not seen it. Good luck with your decision it must be a hard one given the current situation.
www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg190/ifp/chapter/Choosing-where-to-have-your-baby

There is more detailed information on the statistics here
www.nhs.uk/news/pregnancy-and-child/births-at-home-or-in-hospital-risks-explained/

I would speak to your MW and see what the deal is with home births at the moment. My friend had one, and presumably for the safety of the midwives in attendance she could still only have her DH with her in the room. Some hospitals suspended them altogether as well. It really depends on your appetite for risk, because there is one for your first baby; but similarly a lot of people have a very positive experience having a home birth, many midwives also seem to choose this. I personally wouldn't knowing what I know now, although they tend to be more cautious in calling for help at the first sign, it can still take time for an ambulance etc to arrive if needed.

Have you checked with the midwife team you could have all those extra people there at a home birth as it still could be their tryst policy of only 1 birth partner to protect the staff, that's why we can only have 1 at hospital as it's to protect the midwives just as much as other mums x

I am also a FTM seriously considering home birth. I think it's great to be open minded and look at all options. Of course you have to take medical advice based on how your pregnancy is going. I think it depends on the type of person you are too, if you are quite a calm laid back person naturally I think homebirth is the perfect option. I understand why people would not consider it but for me homebirth seems the ideal situation as long as you are close enough to hospital. I'm just hoping there is no lockdown as my midwife advised home births would not be possible if we did go back into lockdown so keeping my fingers crossed.

OP there’s no real point listening to anecdotes as you’ll always get people rocking up with stories about how they would have died if they’d been at home, but that assumes that labour would have progressed in exactly the same way if they’d been at home, and that’s something that no one can ever know. The only reliable thing is the statistics. These show a slightly increased risk of poor outcomes for first time mothers and babies from giving birth in a hospital. There’s also a 45% (I think) transfer rate for FTMs, so it’s very likely you’d end up in hospital anyway. For second or later pregnancies the statistics show that home birth is actually safer for mother and baby, and the transfer rate is much lower.

I had a hospital birth with my first and it was very fast. I’m having a home birth for my second because it’s very likely I won’t make it to hospital. For me the choice is likely to be have a home birth supported by midwives or give birth alone in a taxi, so tbh the scaremongering comments on this thread are pretty annoying and unhelpful! Some women don’t actually get a choice.

I wouldn't do it op and I'm a hypnobirth lover. My friend (young and healthy FTM) had a postpartum haemorrhage despite a straightforward and low-risk pregnancy and labour and being in hospital literally saved her life as she needed a blood transfusion urgently. With 9 mins in the car thrown into the mix she simply wouldn't have survived. Even being in hospital it was touch and go at one point. For me personally a medical setting is essential.

I've only given birth once but I honestly think it was the best of both worlds - 75% of the labour spent at home and I was only in the hospital for the last few hours where I gave birth in the pool. So although I didn't have a 'home birth' I still spent a large amount of time labouring at home so benefitted from the lovely relaxing environment. It doesn't always have to be one or the other (I.e hospital or home).

I know many women have lovely home births so good luck whatever you decide.

I had a home birth with my second after an unpleasant experience in hospital with my first. The whole experience was worlds apart and particularly given some of the draconian rules about support for birth/post-birth at the moment I can totally understand why you would want to consider home birth. Being able to sleep in my own bed, not being left alone was a huge part of my decision. I actually did have a huge PPH after birth which led to a transfer, but I was soon allowed home. My whole labour experience was a lot more relaxed and controlled too. At no point did I feel anxious or at risk. The slightest sign of anything not being 100% would have meant an ambulance being called and me being transferred. I can’t have one this time around due to my previous blood losses and large baby - but if I could, in the circumstances, I would certainly be seriously considering one again. Only you can decide what is best for you though. Remember most people haven’t experienced one, and people are naturally cautious.

I had a hospital birth 6 weeks ago. It was completely fine, didn't even think about covid while i was in there! It was a little gutting that i couldn't have my mum with me but i had OH with me and the staff were brilliant too. Personally home birthing isn't for me but if that's what you want then go for it!!

I had an accidental home birth with my first and intend to have a home birth with the next whenever that happens.

It was just under 20 minutes from my telling DP I was pushing to two ambulances arriving and he called the hospital first who were incredibly dismissive and unhelpful. I'm trying to work out if I could get better with a different hospital (London, there's a few options) or private midwife.