Pregnancy Forums

Posted: 26 March 2007 at 11:11pm | IP Logged

A friend of mine had a home birth. I've been meaning to drop a madmums leaflet into her but havent had time but I'll ask her to come on and put some info down. She hired a birthing pool and it was a lovely experience.

My ex boss and his partner had once too, she was an ex midwife so she had experience but both were 'older' when they had imogen. She said it was an amazing experience and they 3 of them (mum/dad/baby) were sat in bed drinking champagne within minutes of the birth!

I know LittleP had one - hopefully she'll have some more to add.

Posted: 27 March 2007 at 1:07pm | IP Logged

I have wanted a homebirth since i found out i was pg this time.. i was semi tempted with Sophie too, and after having not such a good time in the hospital with Sophie i am sooo not wanting to go back (fingers crossed it goes ok on thursday)

My mw is commin round in April to go over things and give me a homebirth pack which i think is loads of those bed pads etc..

I do have slight doubts tho which i did bring up when i saw my mw last, if something goes wrong etc.. she basically said i will show signs if anything isn't right, and she can have me in the hospital faster than df driving me there (its a 5 min drive)

Roll on May!!!!

Posted: 27 March 2007 at 6:21pm | IP Logged

Ooh i have a story  - a very long 1 oops

I wanted a homebirth from the second i found out i was pregnant - i never really considered having a hospital birth, much the same way that most people dont really consider a homebirth

I got mixed views from everyone - my mum was totally against it from the start, my main mw was lovely & really excited about the idea of the homebirth but most other mws turned their nose up at me. In general most people said i was brave for having a homebirth & nearly everyone said they wouldnt cause they were worried about the mess - all i can say is either there was no mess or my mws r also great house cleaners lol

The 1st specific homebirth visit i had was at 4 months - this was just to check if my house was suitable (accessable to ambulance if needed, had an internal phone line incase of emegency, contained running water etc) basically the mws cant refuse u a homebirth on wot ur home looks like or the size, afterall people give birth in cars etc lol

I was given all the regular pregnancy checks, nothing special that i know of. Once i reached the end of my 37th week a homebirth pack was delivered (3 huge boxes) - i was shocked at how much there was, everything for any possible situation including oxygen masks, stitching stuff, injections for after the birth & all the stuff you'd expect to see in a hospital room really

Once i was nearing my due date me & my mw discussed the possibility of a hospital birth - we decided that as long as my pregnancy continued to be 'normal' we would still go ahead with the homebirth up until 21 days overdue

Once i reached 7 days overdue i was given a hospital appointment for a scan to check the fluid in my womb wasnt reduced, i went for this scan the following day and everything was fine i begged them to tell me the sex of lo who i hadnt seen since my 12 week scan, they wouldnt tho. I also got a little trace (belt thing on my belly) & then i asked mw to do a sweep (where she loosens the mucus membrane at ur cervix) she was happy to & told me i was already 2cm dilated & she wouldnt expect me to last more than 48 hours before labour started but booked me in for another check up 2 days later anyway (this was again to check the fluid & would continue every 2-3 days until lo arrived).

2 days later at 6am my contractions started but i wasnt sure so still went in for my hospital appointment at 11am, after 2 hours of routine stuff including another scan a mw said 'u do know ur in labour?' well i did then lol, i was 5cm dilated. So i was sent home & on the way out of the hospital i bumped into 1 of my mws that i really hoped would b at the birth, she said she was on her way 2 fone my other fav mw & they'd b waiting for me to fone when i felt i needed them.

About 2:30 my contractions felt really strong & close together so i panicked & called the mws who came right away. From the second i got home from the hospital id been rushing about like mad - i changed my bed, put the protective stuff on it, made up the steriliser, set out 2 cups for mws tea, set out a plate of biscuits, told all my internet friends i was in labour & talked to my mum on the fone. All in less than an hour so was no wonder contractions got faster.

The mws arrived just before 3pm & gave me a quick check over, everything was really relaxed tho. There were my 2 fav mws & a student (who id agreed i was happy with having at the birth beforehand). Everyone had a look over my birth plan to save me answering 2 many questions between contractions then we just had some nice chit chat which was great, i felt like i just had a few friends over for tea not like i was in labour

1 mw set up the gas & air as soon as they got there but i didnt feel i needed it, i was really tired & they kept telling me to sleep if i wanted but i was too excited, i had ran a bath but ended up not going into it

By 8pm i was stuck at 9cm so they had discussed with me about breaking my waters to help labour progress, after this everything went really fast. I had to have a bath after they broke my waters just to prevent infection, i hated being in the water tho so got out soon after i got in, not easy in labour

At 9pm i decided the pain was 2 much & told them i needed an epidural, i hadnt even tried the gas & air but was certain it wouldnt be enough for the pain i was in lol. after many attempts at persuading me to try the gas & air the mw called for an ambulance knowing fine well i was 2 far on to have an epidural anyway. So i got all my clothes on, bags ready & sat on the bed thinking that labour would stop until the ambulance arrived - then the mw told me i could b a long time (since it wasnt an emergency case & it was a friday nite) so i gave in & tried gas & air - the miracle cure, i told them to cancel the ambulance but they said they couldnt so unless i pushed the baby out before the ambulance got here id be spending the nite in hospital. So 2 hours of pushing later Ryan arrived & so did the ambulance lol, the mws sent them away & i got to keep my baby at home.

If i was ever to have another id do it at home again although my new dp isnt so keen

Posted: 27 March 2007 at 8:37pm | IP Logged

When I found out I was pg with Ella, I really liked the idea of a home birth. I HATE hopsitals, absolutely distest them, so it really appealed to me but when I had my booking in appointment, I was told I couldn't have one because of my asthma and the time it would take to get me to a hospital (30-40 mins in an ambulance) if I had an attack whilst in labour.

As it turned out, I wouldn't have been able to have one anyway as I ended up with an emergency section.

I really do admire women who have home births. I think its a wonderfull way to bring your baby into the world and really wish I'd had that oportunity.

Posted: 27 March 2007 at 8:42pm | IP Logged

my friend had 2 homebirths one with a birth pool and one without

she loved both experiences

the mw wanted me to have a homebirth when she saw i was 6cms but i refused cos i wanted a waterbirth and i had 'just cleaned the bath and changed the bedding!!' yes that is indeedy what i said!

not for me i m afraid

i an interesting nct video on homebirth  

Posted: 27 March 2007 at 9:20pm | IP Logged

Iv read about women with gbs having successful homebirths & also women with asthma having homebirths

Really if ur adamant ur having a homebirth theres nothing anyone can do about it - only u can weigh up the pros & cons of ur own situation

My nana had 9 of her 12 children at home - the other 3 were her 1st because they told her new mums must deliver in hospital & her last 2 cause she was over 35 so was again told she had to. But really theres no reason why she had to be in hospital cause she had no complications with any of her births