People who know about rights to homebirth over here please

[PetitFilou1]

I've just moved and the surgery I've registered with, has in its leaflet under antenatal care 'we do not do home confinements' Can they say this or are they just saying that their GP won't come out and deliver your baby? Obviously I am not expecting the latter. I have a 2.8 dd and 4 year old ds and dd came in 2 1/2 hours. Nearest hospital is up to 45 minute drive away or longer in bad traffic and I am quite concerned that I just wouldn't get there in time (apart from just not wanting a baby in hospital again.) Advice please?

Legally I don't know where you stand, but I am sure I've heard that they cannot refuse to offer a homebirth. Are they the only local surgery, or the nearest?
Scary having the hospital so far away.
Good luck with your homebirth - I strongly recommend them!

I think it just means that your GP wont deliver the baby, though you probably didnt want that anyway!

How really peculiar. I do remember reading somewhere that GPs used to deliver babies, so maybe it's a throwback to that. As far as I know it's not their call where you give birth, and even if you're going for a home birth you're 'under' a hospital.
Good luck!

Have you had your booking in appt with your new midwife yet? Has she shone any light on your options?

Most GPs have opted out of maternity care and are not involved in homebirths at all.

Home births are attended by midwives.

you need to see www.aims.org.uk you are legally entitled to a homebihrt, and the PCT are obliged to make sure you have care. GPs don;t deliver babies, ever! only MWs. and there should be community midwives available. on the AIMS site there are examples of letters to write when you are refused a homebirth. it is nothing to do with the GPs where and how you deliver.

Some GPs will kick you off their register if you insist on a homebirth, happened to a friend, actually, and another said she was threatened with de-registering if she insisted. They may take that attitude at surgery in question, you really have to ask at your surgery...

After a homebirth, the GP is asked to come and check the baby over, (in a hospital the paediatrician would do this). My GP was not happy about doing a home visit, but I had a great independent midwife, who politely insisted that I was not going to take a newborn baby into a germ ridden doctors surgery. GP reluctantly arrived! Might have something to do with them not wanting us to have home births.

Hi Petitfilou My GP surgery is not connected to the local community midwife team and I was really confused earlier in the pregnancy as I wanted not only a home birth but to see the same midwife throughout. I rang the head of midwifery at my local hospital and she fixed me up with the community midwives who have a clinic at another nearby surgery. I now have an assigned midwife who is happy to attend a homebirth. The AIMS website is wonderful and sets out your rights etc. Good luck.

Our GP had nothing to do with our HB, baby check was carried out by a specially trained midwife, and when a small issue was found we had to go to hospital.

hi I agree with hypnobirthingdoula and others, it's probably to do with the new baby check as opposed to the birth - after all, you wouldn't expect the GP to be present at the birth whether you were in hospital or at home.

My current surgery doesn't have a good record for doing new baby checks for home births. They refused to come for both myself and my neighbour, saying we had to take our newborns to the hospital. At one point I really thought we would be reported to social services for not attending the appointment they had made for us! This time round I'm still with the same surgery and although my midwife sent them a letter ages ago, I'm not expecting anything, and might even pay for a private GP to come to the house and do the checks.

So much for choices in childbirth eh? But it's not going to stop me having my baby at home. Our local hospital has an awful record. It's always in the paper for coming bottom in whatever tables have been devised that week. I'd far rather be in my own home and with my trusted and experienced midwives.