I think i'm leaning towards having a home birth. Please come and tell me your experiences good or bad .

[ledodgy]

My last labour was very quick 40 minutes established and I nearly gave birth in the car so i'm thinking this time with my third i'd like to go for a home birth. My midwife says i'm the perfect candidate. Dp will need some convincing especially as I quite fancy a birthing pool and he's just laid new flooring! My best friend who's been there for my other two labours is all for it but whether this is for purely selfish reasons I'm not sure "It will be excellent I can come round and bring a bottle of wine and sit on the couch watching"

So who's had a home birth was it good, bad brilliant, safe?

Forgive me if I don't reply tonight but I'm about to have a bath and then will probably fall into bed.

I've had three home births. My first was a quick and easy hospital birth, and I realised that I didn't need to be there.

My biggest concern when the midwife first suggested hb to me was the mess and that somehow my house was to small, but she soon put me right on that.

Obviously safety is an important issue, and you need to have each of your concerns addressed. They most important factor is that the vast majority of problems occur before the onset of labour - if that happens to you, you abandon your hb plans. There are very few true emergencies, and those that do arise are usually to do with intervention that you simply don't get in hb. The unforeseen, unprovoked emergencies that you can get at home are just as well handled as those that arise in hospital.

I had a home birth 14 weeks ago with DS. My first labour with DD was 4.5 hours start to finish and I too nearly gave birth in the car!!
This time was fantastic, no pool, I had him on my bed, very relaxed.
I felt safe, 2 midwives and a student (the more the merrier was my thought)
They were all very supportive and because I had one to one attention I felt very in control.
I also felt safe, at the end I pushed and pushed but DS was not moving so midwife 2 took DH to one side and said they would call the ambulance as they were not going to take any chances - I think they have to think much further ahead wth home births.
As it turned out midwife 1 was also whispering in my ear that if I did not have the baby out in the next 15 mins I would be going to hospital - all the incentive I needed and DS was born 7 minutes later.
DP was not at all conviced when I first talked about homebirth but I stuck to my gunsa and gathered all the info I could to give to him.
The best bit was that at 3 o'clock in the morning when I was starving and couldnt sleep, I just had to go downstairs and make myself a ham sandwich
Good luck, hope you get what you want

Well I was all set for a homebirth with ds, my second. Had everything ready. Started contractions at about 6pm and left a message with the midwives. Rang again at 7pm (or rather dh did) to be told there were no midwives available for the homebirth.
We left for the hospital at about 8pm and got there by about ten past. Was fully dilated, ds was born just before 9pm.
Fine so far, but because I had given birth in hospital, and in the evening, the midwives there tried to get me to stay in until ds could be signed out by a paed the following morning. DH says that from the moment ds arrived, throughout the stitching, I was constantly saying that I wanted to go home (particularly as had neglected to pack a hospital bag). My argument was that ds wouldn't have been checked by a paed if born at home.
IN the end., I wore them down, and was home by 11pm.
Soooo....
was a bit gutted not to have managed to stay at home (but really really wanted the gas and air).
But... I think having prepared for a home birth meant that I spent much longer at home than would have ordinarily and that was confident enough to refuse to stay in. And sidestepped the usual rules about checking out/overnight stay.
So am really really really glad that I had a positive outcome, healthy happy ds, labour without intervention, and home in time for bed.
Next time I will still go for a home birth and hopefully will be more confident about staying at home without g&a (it later turned out that just after we'd left home, the hospital rang home to say that they'd been able to rustle up a midwife from another practice who would have been willing to come out, so was a shame we'd already left).

My hb was absolutely amazing. I wouldn't say I enjoyed every minute - I didn't, because it bloody hurt! But it was awesome. I never felt out of control, I never felt as though other people were making decisions about me - which was how I had felt with my first birth, which was a planned caesarean. And I didn't have to time contractions or watch the clock, which you have to do if you're going to go into hospital at 1-5. So the time flew, and I didn't feel any pressure to 'perform'.

I was exactly like you ledodgy
two very quick easy previous births
booked HB all agreed
Went into labour 4 mins apart 2 day before EDD at 8pm - quite full on so called m/w
she came did check said 5cms and we got into the groove, assuming labour would rapidly progress...
it didn't ds2 stopped and started all night, by 3am I was knackered and m/w said she recommended transfer to hospital, I asked her to break my waters first (my prev were born in their bags) to move things along
it stopped them entirely...
so 3.5 hrs later with NO contractions
I was in an ambulance, 15 mins to a 20 min journey when labour suddenyl got serious (dp at home calling gp's to sit for ds1 and dd)
anyway ds2 was born 17 mins after arriving. quick and easy, no interference... 45 seconds after his dad walked in.

I am glad I tried and if (bloody big if) I ever did it again I would opt for it again.

Mine was much nice than the SmallDragons' hospital births. BabyDragon wasn't away from me, she wasn't tagged and she has our home address as place of birth on her birth certificate, that's my favourite bit

I have had 4 homebirths.
2 of the babies were born before the midwife got there. And I didn't leave it until the last minute to call them, just happened very quickly.
dd2 was actually born in the bath!
If I had any more ( which i probably won't) I would definitely have another home birth. Nothing like cuddling your new baby in your own bed, with dh and all the other little ones!
Should be very safe as you actually have 2 midwives with you (unless you have them too soon!) and you are not left on your own like you may be in hospital, where they are probably looking after more than 1 mum.
Go for it!

HB 10 weeks ago, it beats my hopital birth hands down

Nothing like getting into a freshly made bed and cuddling and feeding your newborn. You can get some lovely food in for afterwards and make everything just as you want it

hb rocks
even just planning for it is great, mw comes to your house for all checks and even had my sweep at home as well
i never saw any mess not that it means there wasn't any but certainly carpets were ok
we have the smallest house in the world btw and living room had me, dh, 2 mw and our doula plus pool and birthing ball. believe me, it was a squash!! but we managed

Had HB with my first last year, so no experience of hospital to compare with. Part of my reason for choosing home was that I knew I would have 2 midwives for the delivery. I had a normal and straightforward pregnancy so saw no reason to be in hospital, but equally I was not fixed on it and was prepared to go to hospital at any point if it was felt necessary.

The experience was great, got through it with a TENS machine (never actually got to try the gas & air) and lots of support from DH and my mum. Wasn't pain free, but then labour never is! I have always felt very anxious around hospitals (who doesn't) and being at home definitely made me feel calmer, which is kind of handy in labour.

DH was nervous at the idea of HB, but I gave him lots of stats and info, and we also went along to a ante-natal homebirth group (run by volunteers) and this helped him to feel more confident.

Unfortunately DS was jaundiced and still losing too much weight at 5 days old, and we were admitted to the post-natal ward for 3 days. This made me even more convinced that we had made the right decision to stay at home. The staff, while perfectly nice, were mostly stressed and completely over-stretched, the ward was pretty filthy, communication was bad etc.

For me the aftermath of homebirth was the best bit, as others have said - sleeping in your own bed, with your new baby and DH/DP, not being separated - fantastic. And the grub was much better too . Apologies for essay

I've had two home births and would recommend the experience. It's really good to be able to get in your own nice clean bath afterwards, and not to be in a hospital. Big plastic tablecloths are great for keeping mess off the floor - I didn't have a pool, but unless the thing were to leak I can't see why it would make labour any messier. In case you were wondering (I did before DS2 was born), the midwives take away the placenta and other associated medical waste.

My DH didn't need convincing that home birth was safe - he was born at home himself.

I think it's lovely for your other children aswell.
when ds3 was born (approx 3 am) none of them woke up and the mw was gone before they woke up and it was like magic to see their new baby snuggled up with mummy and daddy!
dd2 however was born at approx 9 am (in the bath as i said earlier) they came and saw me just before she was born and dh took her straight through to them as soon as she was born, and they all dried her and got her dressed together while the mw sorted me out!

Ooh, my favourite subject!

3 of my 4 were born at home (and I slightly regret not having the first at home). I can't recommend it highly enough. My last one was 13 days late so there was a risk we'd have to go to hospital if there was any meconium in the waters (there wasn't).

Went into full on labour just after bath-time (had to get eldest out of bath so I could get in and slow things down). MW got there at 6.45, baby born at 7.30pm. They were all done and out of here by 9pm, leaving us with our new baby, in my own bed with all my home comforts and children were undisturbed by the whole thing.

I would say if you can, you should. Or at least prepare for one, because you can always change your mind at the last minute and go to hospital, but you can't change your mind and stay at home.

Good luck!

Had first 2 at home - straight forward pregnancies, straight forward deliveries - planning 3rd homebirth. Loved them, could go on and on about it. Def. one of the best experiences of my life. Sleeping in our bed, with new dd between us was magical that first night, as was having dd1 toddle in to climb on the bed to the surprise of seeing new dd2.
If you are keen, def. go for it! I am sure my dh would be happy to post if you think it might help your dh...

Thank you all. You are making it sound very appealing and I think i'm definately going to book it as someone said I can always change my mind. I love the idea of the dcs waking up to find their new brother in our bed it would be great if the timing worked out like that. I think i've talked dp round and don't think i'll bother with a birthing pool as long as they let me labour in the bath I don't mind having the baby on a bed.

Thats the whole point dodgy! It's not about anyone letting you do anything! you're in your own home,the midwives are guests - you call the shots on where you are, what pain relief etc etc - you'll find that an experienced CMW who does a fair number of homebirths will tend to sit back and let you get on with it, unlike hospital where you're in their domain and it's a lot harder for them to go against unit policy and there could be pressure on them to put time limits on everything.
Lisa x

I had an unplanned/unassisted home birth as my labour with dd2 was so quick.

There is no need for a fancy birth pool ,your bathroom flooring will do the job,lol.Be warned though your insurance may not pay out for the damage and a rug may have to be strategically positioned for a while

Seriously though,people said to me what a terrible shock it must have been and i can honestly say that i remember it with fondness.
I did all the work then the midwifes put me in the bath,helped me into bed and made me a cuppa ,put the tv on and my mom went out for chips.
we all sat in bed talking and staring at dd2,fabulous.

I had a quick first birth and so opted to be at least prepared for a homebirth with my second.

I went to see a good friend who had her baby shortly after midnight on the Wednesday, had a cuddle at about 3pm on the maternity unit and I started to get twinges.

Got home, put ds1 to bed and settled down to watch 'The Bill' with dh. After 10 minutes he left to get KFC.(cravings ) After his return, I felt odd and called the midwife.

Midwife arrived shortly beore the end credits for the Bill just as I pushed out ds 2.

By 10pm I was tucked up in bed after dh bundled up decorators plastic and one towel beyond washing.

Absolute doddle.

I had a home birth by accident - I had twinges from 7.30am. Phoned at 9.30 to say getting regular twinges but as my bump didn't feel like it was hardening they decided that it wasn't labour yet. Phoned again at 11.30 as it was getting painful, still didn't feel like my bump was hardening but knew by then I was definitely in labour. The pain was very low down - a bit weird but OK. They said no hard bump so must still be early labour but come in for a check. Took 25 minutes to get to the point where I was capable of getting downstairs when my waters broke. DS2 came very quickly in the end after that and I knew once the waters had gone that there was no chance of getting to hospital 25 minutes away so DH called an ambulance. Phoned the ambulance at 12pm and DS was born at 12.19pm. The rapid response paramedic delivered him 2 or 3 minutes after she arrived. I wouldn't have made it to the hospital thats for sure!

I wasn't scared surprisingly as I knew what was happening having had DS1 already (although a completely different and much longer labour) and reading lots about labour and birth. Although it was painful, it was a relief to realise that I had to stay at home until the end and all in all I would say that it was a wonderful experience.

I still remember standing in my own shower, an hour and half after DS was born grinning my head off as I was having a shower in my own home and it had all be so easy compared to the first time. Sounds a bit sad but I was really proud of myself and wasn't in the slightest bit shocked by it all. (I never liked the hospital I was booked into anyway).

If you have fast births I would stay at home. You might not make it next time and you don't want your child born on the side of the road. It is great to be in your own home, with your family, and not to be kept awake by other babies crying at night or an endless stream of other people's visitors. DS1 got to see his little bro almost immediately and was not left with other people whilst I was taken away from him.

Go for it if you can. If you have easy births I don't think you will regret it.

Good luck.

I should have said that I gave birth kneeling on the floor leaning against our bed. I messed the carpet up a bit - when told by ambulance control to put a towel down on the floor, DH came back with this little hand towel which frankly wasn't up to the job! Luckily the carpet was dark blue so the stain hardly showed after a bit of scrubbing.

You of course won't have that trouble as the midwife will come prepared and your floors will be protected! And she will help you clear up afterwards.