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Original poster

Thoughts on Home Birth

128 replies

Analysethat · 07/04/2021 15:49

Hi all,

So I’m 36 weeks and just come back from my midwife appointment(for clarity I’m in Scotland)

Anyway the midwives are really pushing home births, not sure if this is a new thing or if they have always done it. However I’m really open to the idea but partner and my mum are very wary as it’s my first.

Has anyone else had Home birth for their first and how did you find it? Is it quite dangerous or should I really just go to hospital?

Thanks in advance ☺️

OP posts:
Chanel05 · 07/04/2021 16:57

First baby absolutely not. It's what you feel completely with however. I only felt comfortable in a hospital in case I needed an emergency section, which I did.

Historytoo · 07/04/2021 16:57

Totally agree with all @ChocOrange1 says and especially this. *People will have horror stories of home births, but people will also have horror stories of hospital births which are somehow seen as more acceptable.

I would recommend reading research rather than anecdotes. The birthplace study is a good place to start www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/birthplace*. There are iatrogenic risks to being in hospital which are rarely mentioned by those who insist, despite the research to the contrary, especially for second and subsequent babies, that ALL home births are dangerous. It is a very polarising debate and, unless a woman has had a good home birth, I think it is hard to understand how wonderfully ordinary birth can be. There was an American obstetrician who wrote "the first intervention a woman in normal labour makes is to leave her home, from there all other interventions follow."

Luckyelephant1 · 07/04/2021 16:57

Also I really want that magical experience of bringing baby home for the first time 🥰

custardbear · 07/04/2021 17:00

First - no chance

Also the ambulance situation - for hone birth complications - it takes an ambulance off the road for that time period so in effect someone may suffer due to choices of home birth

newstart1234 · 07/04/2021 17:03

For FTM there is a good chance of being transferred to hospital in established labour, possibly with signs of distress or complications to boot. For me, this is a bad outcome in itself. I wouldn’t risk being transferred at a late stage which the data shows would be likely.

troppibambini6 · 07/04/2021 17:05

I've had four babies and it's a no from me. My first three were reasonably straight forward but my fourth had heart decelerations and was a ventouse delivery. I can imagine a homebirth being a really lovely positive experience if everything was fine but I just couldn't imagine taking even the tiniest risk. I just think how the hell would I live with myself if anything went wrong.

Bobbots · 07/04/2021 17:11

Adam Kay talks about home births in his book “this is going to hurt”. He says he thinks they are madness. The fact that obstetric doctors aren’t keen on them speaks volumes.

NiceTwin · 07/04/2021 17:12

It would be a no from me.
I sailed through both my pregnancies but neither birth was plain sailing.
Baby 1 was back to back, which they didn't realise until she came out star gazing. The actual point of birth was okay as I had an epidural but it was a long drawn out affair. Had I been at home, I would have been pushing baby out on a Saturday morning having not slept since the Wednesday, the epidural allowed me to sleep and gain enough energy.

Baby 2 had a tight grip of the cord and her heart rate was dropping dangerously low with every contraction. The wonderful doctors managed to help her out. Again, dread to think what the outcome would have been if we were at home.

ChocOrange1 · 07/04/2021 17:16

@Luckyelephant1

Also I really want that magical experience of bringing baby home for the first time 🥰
Each to their own but I didn't find that particularly magical, I was knackered and wanted a shower, the drive was stressful and it would have been much easier if I had just been in my own home the whole time.
nocoolnamesleft · 07/04/2021 17:18

With a first baby, there's a higher risk of adverse outcome for the baby with a home birth. It's still a low risk, but it's a low risk of catastrophic stuff like death and brain damage. For me, in the unlikely event of things going wrong, I couldn't live with knowing my actions increased that risk. For other people, they feel the benefits outweigh the risks. But there's a reason paediatricians tend not to have home births: we know too much about how things can go wrong.

Historytoo · 07/04/2021 17:19

@Bobbots Adam Kay needs to read the research and should be ashamed that he hasn't. The seminal Birthplace study linked above and freely available would have been a good place for him to start. Friend who is married to an obstetric anaesthetist had a MLU water birth for her first and a home water birth for her second. Thankfully her DH had bothered to read the research rather than be led by personal experience...

ChocOrange1 · 07/04/2021 17:20

@NiceTwin

It would be a no from me. I sailed through both my pregnancies but neither birth was plain sailing. Baby 1 was back to back, which they didn't realise until she came out star gazing. The actual point of birth was okay as I had an epidural but it was a long drawn out affair. Had I been at home, I would have been pushing baby out on a Saturday morning having not slept since the Wednesday, the epidural allowed me to sleep and gain enough energy.

Baby 2 had a tight grip of the cord and her heart rate was dropping dangerously low with every contraction. The wonderful doctors managed to help her out. Again, dread to think what the outcome would have been if we were at home.

There is no way to know what would have happened if you were at home. Because you weren't. Maybe you would have been transferred for an epidural, or maybe you would have been in different position and delivered more easily or maybe this, or maybe that...
Kimye4eva · 07/04/2021 17:24

Research suggests that planned home birth is equally safe for the mother compared to hospital births. Significantly less likely to have interventions such as forceps or caesarean section

But of course that’s the case. Hospital births cover all levels of risk including high risk births which are more likely to lead to complications/intervention.

My obstetrician put it very simply when she said no first birth is low risk. Until you have laboured once she would always class you as unknown risk.

Historytoo · 07/04/2021 17:24

Medical personnel are, unsurprisingly, often influenced by their day to experiences. If you only ever see births that require interventions then that becomes the default ordinary. Midwife acquaintance had her three children at home as she could see the iatrogenic risks of hospital.

ChocOrange1 · 07/04/2021 17:24

I just think how the hell would I live with myself if anything went wrong.
In some cases (and its impossible to unpick), going to the hospital causes things to go wrong. The cascade of interventions and so on. Yet a woman would never be made to feel guilty for choosing to go to hospital, and then having an adverse outcome. Why would someone be made to feel guilty for choosing a home birth, and then having an adverse outcome? For second birth the likelihood of this is (statically) the same for each place.

Historytoo · 07/04/2021 17:26

@Kimye4eva you are misreading the research, it is planned home births in low risk women no matter where the birth actually happened. The birthplace study was over 6000 low risk women, they all started as low risk and those who planned a home birth had significantly better outcomes than those who planned a both on an obstetric ward.

ChocOrange1 · 07/04/2021 17:26

@Kimye4eva

Research suggests that planned home birth is equally safe for the mother compared to hospital births. Significantly less likely to have interventions such as forceps or caesarean section

But of course that’s the case. Hospital births cover all levels of risk including high risk births which are more likely to lead to complications/intervention.

My obstetrician put it very simply when she said no first birth is low risk. Until you have laboured once she would always class you as unknown risk.

Obviously the resesrchers thought of this. This study which I quoted only looked at births classified as low risk. The high risk hospital births were NOT included. Planned home births which transferred to hospital were included in the home birth category.

And the thing you said about first births is probably why it turns out to be statistically more dangerous to home birth first time, but not second time as there are fewer unknowns.

Historytoo · 07/04/2021 17:28

Cross post @ChocOrange1, glad you are clarifying the research too Smile

MayorGoodwaysChicken · 07/04/2021 17:33

@ChocOrange1

They push home births because it saves on costs. Saves costs because you're less likely to need costly drugs, interventions and c sections. A good thing surely.
Less likely to get them. Which isn’t the same as less likely to need (or want) them. I don’t see it as a good thing if a woman ends up with a traumatising ‘natural’ birth because there isn’t time to transfer her and get her the pain relief that she finds in the moment she would actually very much like.

Yes it’s personal choice but, aside from very unusual and specific circumstances, I find it difficult to get on board with a woman knowingly making a statistically less safe choice for her baby.

MrsPatrickDempsey · 07/04/2021 17:37

Just wanted to clarify something asked up thread about transferring to hospital by car in the event of needing a transfer. This would never be advised, presuming that the reason for transfer was an obstetric/medical one.

MayorGoodwaysChicken · 07/04/2021 17:38

[quote Historytoo]@Bobbots Adam Kay needs to read the research and should be ashamed that he hasn't. The seminal Birthplace study linked above and freely available would have been a good place for him to start. Friend who is married to an obstetric anaesthetist had a MLU water birth for her first and a home water birth for her second. Thankfully her DH had bothered to read the research rather than be led by personal experience...[/quote]
Or perhaps having a husband with extensive medical training on hand influenced her decision Hmm

Historytoo · 07/04/2021 17:41

Nobody is forced to have a home birth and nor should they. If you want to go to hospital then go to hospital. But, having had a home birth with DD2 after much careful research it is very, very annoying to be told I was putting my baby at risk through my selfish and dangerous actions when actually I was planning and hoping to give her a really good start in life. Those critical of home birth have rarely read the research and instead rely on anecdotal stories, often told in a very patronising manner.

newstart1234 · 07/04/2021 17:41

The stats can be argued either way clearly. For example obstetricians may have their dc in hospital partly because they feel more comfortable in that environment than the average person, not because of any risk benefit analysis. The chances are though, a FTM will more likely than not have their baby/ies in hospital, so it is a good idea to plan for either outcome practically and psychologically, like for example visiting the birthing unit and familiarising yourself with that environment even if you plan a home birth 🙂

Historytoo · 07/04/2021 17:42

@MayorGoodwaysChicken he was an anaesthetist not an obstetrician, there is a difference... And the midwife was there to help the birth.

Historytoo · 07/04/2021 17:45

Bowing out now, as always with these debates this becomes a polemic, and there are those who will not ever respect the views of those who want a home birth and who continue to post without ever bothering to read the research.