I am planning a Home Birth, can anyone tell me their experiences [grin]

[MotherEarth25]

Good day mummies and pregnant ladies,

I myself have 2 children both of whom were delivered by my sister ( a midwife) in hospital. This time i have opted for a Home Birth with my sister delivering, as like my other children and 2 other midwifes. I have no clue what to expect with a home birth, think im excited, and would greatly appreciate some comments or experiences from fellow homebirthers . What kind of things did you need to supply for the ''D Day''.Cheers for having a look.

Usually the NHS provides a "birth pack" although I can't tell you whats in one as my midwife forgot to give us one!

Theres not that much you need to supply IMO. Cheap shower curtains to protect bed/floor are really useful, as are lots of old towels.
If the room you want to give birth in is cold then some sort of portable heater.

Good luck with it!

if your sister is a midwife she ought to be able to tell you exactly what you'll need!
I just had a home birth for my second child, and we don;t get birth packs here- so you;ll have to see what happens in your area.

I had cheapo shower curtains as I had a birth pool.
plenty of towels
pyjamas to put on afterwards and clothes for baby.
yummy snacks for midwives

Birth pack (contains various sterile MW equipment) has been sitting in my house for a month now... I am 40+6 and WAITING for my first home birth.

Asked by MW to provide-
plastic sheeting (B and Q)
Angled lamp
old towels/ sheets
stool or low chair for MW

Have also bought some disposable bed mat things.

Hopefully this LO makes an appearance this weekend... will let you know how it goes!

My home birth (DS2) was fab!

Cheap shower curtain here too - I gaffer taped it to the back of an old duvet so I had a comfy, waterproof cover for my bed.

Good Luck!!

Ah yes gaffer tape - make sure you have some of that around, you never know when it'll come in handy. We used it to stick the TENS pads to my back - the tape the midwife brought was crap.

My homebirth was absolutely fab - hope yours goes well too. worth getting some stain remover in now so you (or your DH or any other willing volunteers) can sort anything that gets a bit messy asap

Pack a hospital bag just in case things don't go to plan, and if all is well at least everything you need for you and baby is in one place

I didn't go as far as packing the bag, but I did produce a detailed list of what would need to be flung into a bag by dh in the event of a hospital transfer.

Can't think of anything that hasn't been mentioned already really.

Hi MotherEarth25

My ds2 was born at home and it was wonderful. I'm sure if you hunt through the archives you'll probably find many positive home birth stories.

I think everyone else has covered what you need. Tbh the most important things were old sheets and towels, plus plastic sheets (from a DIY shop). The midwives were great at clearing up and even put all my stuff in the wash for me immediately so nothing ended up stained.

I had lots of drinks around - cartons of juice are good so you can drink through the straw although someone else will have to hold it for you. And clothes and nappy for the baby afterwards.

Oh, the midwives asked for a torch for when they check for tearing etc. afterwards (other midwives use an anglepoise lamp).

I also packed a 'hospital bag' too just in case anything went wrong, but it was all completely unused.

If you haven't already checked it out the homebirth reference website has loads of information.

Thanks u guys. My sister hasn't experienced a home birth before either as she is based at our local hospital so she has no clue what is supplied. I had thought about cheap shower curtains for waterproofing floors and things so u all just confirmed my thinking. Thanks for the imput and hope all goes well with ur delivery honeyapple. Didn't know about the torch or lamp either so must remember to have one ready. Thanks again .

I had a fab homebirth in March, would do it again in a flash. Hired a pool, had a tarpaulin and several cheap shower curtains. Was a fair amount of blood but no mess on the carpets etc, just enough to not be a problem for me. Ds was born at lunchtime and dd was at a friends house so I just went to bed for the rest of the day and let every one wait on me, in the evening a couple of good friends popped in to see me, did not even get out of bed. Was lovely to be in my own shower afterwards, eating my own food, using my own toilet etc. It was lovely, must stop telling you about it as am starting to feel a bit broody and not quite ready to go for number 3 yet!

I am a midwife and have no idea what to get for my home birth! Community MWs coming on friday to bring gases and give me the big chat, which I guess will include what I have to provide! Have bought disposable incontinece pads though. Pampers bed mats better than the maternity mats you can get - bigger and more in pack

Just had my home birth on Monday ... and it was great. I felt so relaxed and chilled out and although the labour was quite long, I felt in total control and was able to cope much better than with my previous hospital births. Would recommend to anyone... also would definitely have another home birth if that situation ever arises!

BTW I didnt bother with my plastic sheeting. USed an old sleeping bag open on the floor and towels.