Home Birth suspended

[OneLilacAnt]

I am just after a little bit of reassurance…

I am 39 weeks pregnant and had planned a home birth however I have just had a phone call to say that all home births (in my area) have been suspended for the foreseeable.

One of my main reasons for home birth was because I had a very quick labour with my first child (5 hours from start to finish) and I live an hour away from the hospital. My midwife encouraged me to have a home birth as I am low risk and she also felt it was the safest option due to where I live. I also have to think about logistics of childcare when I go into labour.
I am worried I will end up having the baby in the car!

Has anyone else been in this situation? Did anyone else have a quicker birth second time round after a quick first birth?

Any responses would be appreciated- thank you!

1st birth from start to finish was 1h42 (prem baby) and 2nd birth from start to finish was 1h47 (another prem baby). Hospital was 45 minutes away and they were worried my second would be quicker. With neither I went to the hospital in labour 🫣 I had a stillbirth and had extra checks and with both (whilst i was having one of these checks), I was told "you are already in active labour". I had no idea 🤣 hardly had pain until the pushing part and didnt need any pain relief. Both children however needed resusitation and immediate medical attention.

I’m currently training with a local charity to be a doula. It may be worth looking to see if anything like this is available in your area.
Doulas are not medically trained but can be a great support in situations similar to yours and would be on call to attend as soon as needed. We also always advocate for a woman’s right to a home birth. It’s a very safe option and I’m really sorry it’s not available to you OP!

I was 4hr 20 then 4 hr and live far away. Organise childcare which you would still need even for home birth
Leave at first contraction to give you time to get there

With my second I had a planned home birth and was only told whilst I was in labour that home birth services had been suspended, and to go to a hospital that can be a 2 hours drive away. I was also had a go at by the midwife on the phone even though i should have been told this during my prenatal appointments. My local hospital (a big city one and only a 20minutes drive) was also shut for births.

I had a precipitous birth of 1 hour with my first and an absolutely horrific experience with NHS care....no way I was going to risk having him on the side of the road or a repeat of the trauma in an NHS hospital

We ended up paying £5000 for 2 private midwives to facilitate a homebirth, who came out immediately when we explained the situation.....good job too I went from 4cm to a 9lb 8oz baby in 40 minutes!

Had the perfect waterbirth experience, and if your budget allows definitely look into it. They also gave us a payment plan so it wasn't a big chunk all at once. They also did all the postnatal appointments at home so I didnt need go leave the house for anything.

Also talk to the the charity birthrights as they will give you all the legal jargon to use if you wish to fight them on it. As they are supposed to rule out independent midwives and bringing retired ones back before suspending services.

Very similar here as I had a similar first birth and no childcare except my home birth was cancelled as I had a breech baby and although I wanted a vaginal birth they did NOT want to do this at home.

My experience was that the second time around you are MUCH more aware of those early contractions. My first one I just thought I had been uncomfortable the day before and achey / fed up. This time I knew it was coming that night then once it got going it was quick again but I definitely had enough warning to make sure I got to hospital.

Oops sorry didn't mean to quote -

OP if your contractions are fast and intense can you just call an ambulance? If you feel they're ramping up quickly?

I had my third (and last) baby in May 2020, so in Covid lockdown. I had booked an NHS home birth from the get-go but my local team suspended.
We employed a private IM and it was the best decision we ever made. Absolutely incredible and so very different to my two previous hospital births. My husband was there for the birth of his first and last baby which meant so much ❤️
100% recommend if it is an option.

You might find this interesting, to understand why they’ve taken this disappointing decision.
https://birthrights.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/ExecutiveSummary_AccessDeniedHomeBirthReport-1.pdf

I'm not sure 5 hours counts as 'very quick' does it? It certainly wouldn't have raised any alarms here.

My second appeared in around 85 minutes, after 27 hours with my first. As a result i was being watched for precipitous labour again with #3 and actually booked for an induction a week early to avoid it. (And various other factors)

I would probably get a camp bed for the childcare, and start watching my body very carefully. Look into a hotel nearby perhaps, and make sure that you have everything you need indoors just in case.

@AnotherVice Shocking.
What would people say if, for example, we denied pregnant women the right to choose elective C-Sections?
I was lucky in that I could afford to employ an IM but had I not been able to I don't know what I'd have done? I don't feel NHS hospital births are safe.

Oh OP this is so shit for you.

I had both my babies at home. First was very long back labour so loads of time and build up. Second was 2.5 hours start to finish and the midwife arrived literally as I pushed the baby out so we did most of it alone.

What a PP said about being more sure when it’s happening is true in me experience, I had lots of braxton hicks second time but I absolutely knew when it was the real deal even though I didn’t expect it to progress so fast. We called an ambulance when I realised the midwife might not make it so that we had some medical support and the paramedics arrived a couple of minutes before the baby which I was glad about in case the baby needed any assistance when born. If it feels like things ramp up extremely quickly I personally wouldn’t want to be giving birth in the car on some random country lane so would probably call an ambulance and stay put, but obviously that depends a lot on how possible you think the journey to hospital is.

If a private or independent midwife is out of the question, I would hire a doula and freebirth x

I would also push for an induction. My second baby , labour was less than 3 hours and they arrived shortly after getting to the hospital. I spent the duration of my 3rd pregnancy worrying over giving birth at home or in the car. I couldn’t have a home birth due to being high risk but the consultation agreed to an induction at 39 weeks after discussing my concerns about another fast labour. Induction was absolutely fine thankfully and it was another very quick labour in the end so I was confident it was the right decision. I hope everything goes well for you.

First labour - 14hrs, second - 4hrs (but that was from first twinge. Active labour was 1hr). But what i came to say was that my consultant midwife told me to just bring DD1 with us, and have our childcare collect her from the hospital. Could you talk to your midwife about that as an option? If things were getting down to the business end, our plan was DH would sit with her in the waiting room whilst I was with the midwives.

My first was just under 1 hour then my second was 4 hours and third 2.5 hours. So all fast labours but not increasing each time, my third was an induction which you'd expect to be slower. Try not to worry, each is different and honestly with all the articles about home births at the moment, I'd be more worried about having one xx

Is an independent MW an option? I would post this on homebirth community UK fb page where you will get more specific advice

Homebirths were suspended in our area due to Covid in 2020 but my Labour progressed very quickly (overall 4 hours for first birth) and they did just about come out in time and make the birth, having told us continuously not to come in yet each time we called. They can and will come if they need to even when the service is officially suspended. There will be occasions when women can’t get to hospital on time, and community midwives will be able to support.

That was the first Labour.. second was 1 hour from first twinge. 100% I would not have gotten in a car and we only had a 20min commute to hospital, too uncomfortable in advanced labour and also far too risky (I’d much rather be at home than roadside). We had a planned homebirth for this exact reason. Quite often (certainly in situations like above) they are the safest option for all involved so it’s a real shame this is not being accommodated for you.

Birthrights were outstanding during the covid period, I’d echo above posters about getting in contact with them to understand your rights and the trust’s responsibilities.

First birth 36 hour labour, large hospital. 2nd birth 3hrs 30!! 2nd was at home, 2 midwives and my gp as he happened to be on his afternoon off. I really sympathise with you. Its a big change of plan so late. I think you may have to call an ambulance, that would be safer than your own car.

What do you think happened until relatively recently in history?

Most women who give birth at home do so unintentionally and have either nobody or someone with no training whatsoever, until an ambulance arrives - if one turns up.

Fwiw I think it's beyond cavalier deliberately setting out to deliver at home. But if someone is determined to do so and can't get a licenced midwife either NHS or private then a trained lay person is far better than nobody.

This is not illegal provided mum is acting under her own volition and fully aware the individual is unlicensed. This also means they have no license to lose and are not under the jurisdiction of the NMC.

If things go wrong a trained birthing assistant would be able to spot trouble earlier, perform basic intervention and summon professional help promptly and coherently whereas partners or family cannot always distinguish normal labour from impending disaster and then panic.

No, it wouldn’t. If they can’t safely staff it, then they can’t offer the service.

@Charliede1182 We died in labour or of post partum infection is what happened.

My relative who nearly died in childbirth and whose baby died during the labour of placental abruption is a midwife, birth takes no prisoners. If she had been at home she would be dead now. Wasn't even her first birth.

A complaint is unlikely to change anything, the decision is likely do to staffing issues.

The NHS can't force Op to go to hospital.

But they can refuse to send midwifes to her. So she'd end up with emergency ambulance and the current questionable speedy or not so speedy response from them and a paramedic who's not as specialised as a MW.

Far safer to go to hospital anyway.

It might not be illegal for a MW to assist at a home birth as a favour but its a huge favour

Would you ask any other professional to do you a favour?
I can't be assed paying legal fees for my house sale so I'll just as around see if someone will do it as a favour?

Then take into account if something goes wrong, either the mother or baby dies. The MW would need to defend herself in court. Who's paying their legal fees?
Can she still work while under investigation?

There have been a couple of cases in court recently where MWs have attended homebirths that have gone wrong, including one with the Mum wanting dim lights, and a dula preventing them doing their job. The two MW were left traumatised by the death

Off duty nurses have been advised not to let people know they are nurses, in emergency situations as nurses have been sued for helping at accidents.

Nobody in their right mind would take that risk for a loose acquaintance