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!

Midwives do indeed save lives! It is a shame that they cannot be present for every birth, including the ones that simply happen too quickly. For those of us like the OP who sometimes labour faster than a car can reach a hospital, we sadly must prepare for the reality of birthing without professional assistance.

I am a big advocate for women choosing when and where to birth their babies no matter how long or short their labours are, and this includes the choice to birth without medical professionals present. I don’t think there is anything irresponsible about advocating for informed choice and birthing where you feel safe and comfortable. ♥️

@Needspaceforlego That of course doesn't mean all home births are unsafe, however. The lady in that case was warned of her personal risks due to past obstetric history but ignored medical advice.

@mshopeful Totally agree! If a woman can opt to have an elective C-Section then a woman should be able to choose where she has her baby. Personal choice shouldn't come into it for one but not for the other.

@FamilynotMaiden you missed the point. She birthed in hospital but still lost the baby.

There is a whole push for 'natural' births and choice but women need to be aware of why in the last 80 years hospital births have become the norm and what the risks really are.
Its almost like the hospitals have been doing such a good job that people have lost touch with the reality that giving birth is a dangerous thing to do. And being born is also a pretty risky business.

It's quite shocking the there has been two Fatal Accident Enquiries into home birth deaths this year. Both mothers however they do tend to make the news more than babies deaths.

@mshopeful So how would the midwife get there in time if the car journey is too long to the maternity unit? Is the midwife handily in the next village just waiting for the call? Being far away from services does not suit anyone but there was no guarantee of a midwife so op needs plan B. Not that unusual.

@Needspaceforlego And I can guarantee pretty much that both of these home births were advised against on medical grounds/past obstetric history.
Correct
And I absolutely disagree that the NHS have been doing a "good job" in terms of midwifery services.
Also, giving birth is not an inherently risky process, and especially not with sound professional support.

I agree. I think there’s also a tendency to think if something bad happens during homebirth that it’s because of the homebirth and things would have been fine in hospital, whereas when something goes wrong in hospital it was inevitable and the hospital did everything possible to avoid it.

While those things can and will be true sometimes, it’s also the case that harms can be caused by unnecessary interventions and hospital approaches, and that sometimes inevitable and unavoidable bad things happen at home and being in hospital would have made no difference.

Women have to make the right choices for
them. You can’t eliminate all risk all the time. Everyone’s circumstances are individual. There will be women who chose induction based on medical advice who had bad outcomes as a result. There will be women who chose homebirth against medical advice and had good outcomes. And there will be every other permutation in between. But if women are informed properly of all the risks and benefits (including of induction, which i don’t think happens properly at the moment) then it is up to them the decisions they make.

Also some anti-homebirth people on this thread seem to be missing the fact OP has been medically advised to plan a homebirth.

What about the logistics of a home birth emergency and needing to be transferred to the hospital which is an hour away?

also if this did happen, what would have been your plan for childcare? Even home births need back up plans!

If home births are suspended due to staffing issues, I’m not sure they can just magic up a midwife to attend just because you refused to listen to their advice. I’m sure they didn’t make this decision lightly.

I don’t think it’s always that straightforward. In my area there is a dedicated homebirth team but when I was in labour with my first, they had one homebirth midwife and one MLU midwife attend as there was no one at MLU. I know of quite a few people who have been told there’s no homebirth service who then are unable to attend hospital and a midwife is found to attend them at home. The NHS would obviously from a staffing perspective prefer everyone to come to hospital, because there fewer midwives can cover more patients, compared to at home where the policy is two midwives per birth.

I think you have a couple of options.
Either head to hospital at the first sign of anything, or stay home.
If staying home you would probably be told to call an ambulance (which is of course your choice) to assist.
heading into hospital isn’t a very appealing thought once you’ve planned a homebirth, and of course you still risk giving birth in the car which is not as safe as just staying home.

I had this with my youngest. Planned a homebirth and all prepped for it, only to be told the service was suspended due to lack of available ambulances (they have to have one on standby in my area for the homebirth team)

BUT we knew it was a highly possible scenario so we have a plan B and C in place. The homebirth midwife team was already prepped for my quick labours so I was to call at the first twinge (good thing I did). They attended straight away to assess me. Straight to the hospital. They were prepped to open the birth centre (I refused to go to labour ward) and it was also closed due to lack of midwives. We had a emergency kit for the car (towels, blankets, water, medicines etc) in case it happened on the way.
Plan C was baby arriving at home with no midwives around if it was that quick. My friend had her second at home within 10 mins of waking up int he night. Her DH delivered the baby before the midwives or ambulance could get to them.

The only reason I didn't have my youngest in the car was because I was in a seated position (deliberately). My waters broke as I walked into the birth centre and she arrived 10 mins later.

@Nomnomnew You are somewhat overlooking the point that home births are supposed to be for likely uncomplicated births. The hospitals see virtually 100% of complicated births. So it’s very difficult to compare.

When resources are stretched I don’t see how 2 midwives travelling 40 minutes plus is a good use of resources. Surely we need them for all mums and not create shortages by being dogmatic about a home birth? We should be wanting safe births for all babies and accept we cannot hog resources.

Homebirths are cheaper for the NHS than hospital births.

Results show that for low-risk women having a second or subsequent baby, the most cost-effective planned place of birth was at home. For this group of women, planned home births were safe for the mother and baby, resulted in fewer expensive obstetric interventions and cost the NHS less than births in other settings.

https://www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/birthplace/cost-effectiveness-results

First birth was 4.5 hours, second birth was 10 hours. I had exactly the same worries but a very different labour. Both straightforward with no interventions needed, but the second was significantly less frantic.

@HampsterCheese90Yes - because they were easy! It’s not cost effective if you have a shortage of midwives! How can it be? It might work in a city, but in remote country areas it’s costly. Even more so if an ambulance is needed. Most hospitals have to look at staffing levels and midwives going out could leave other women very vulnerable. Costs of home birth might be cheaper if there’s enough midwives to go round, but if not, it’s a very different situation. Plus that report doesn’t make great reading about the outcome for babies with a first birth at home. Cost isn’t everything.

If you’re against homebirths I don’t really know why you’re on this thread.

I'd prep an emergency home birth kit abd hire a doula.
Don't try and drive to the hospital if you know the baby is coming fast. Just call an ambulance. Best to give birth at home in an open space with your doula and partner, than in a car seat with no one to help because they are driving.
I think its awful they've suspended home births. The biggest issue is you'll have no pain relief on hand if you do end up giving birth at home

@Parrotstwice In rural areas you would be waiting a long time for an ambulance though. Quicker to jump in the car!

Was about that with pfb - next two births were faster though know other who went other way with back to back labours.

Last one mix of really bad MW service and very fast birth it was just DH and I - scary as hell and lucky she came striaght out no problems.

I would talk to MW about concerns - about not getting there in time - see what they suggest - maybe they can have you in or induce or make an exception.

A friend end up giving birth in hospital car park as first labour was long and everyone thought second would be same so were fannying about.

I'd ask any lcoal mothers that might help with childcare - at least till have time to get to more permanant childcare.

Would be interested in an update when baby is here! Hope all goes well wherever you give birth. Some things can’t be helped, like having a birthing plan….babies do their own thing in their own time!