1st time mums-Home Birth or not??

[Pilot]

Pilot, I hope I didn't sound like I was suggesting you are against them, that part of the comment was a lot more general. I do understand what you mean, but having had bad experiences rather than good myself, my mind has been pushed the other way.

Not at all! This is what discussions are for. Can't have everyone agreeing with flowers and glitter on everything (even if disagreeing wasn't an issue here!)

If I HAD to give birth in hospital for any reason, I'd still want to do it as naturally as possible as you say, mainly because I feel that this is what our bodies are designed to do, so why not let them get on with it? x

Exactly! But I'm not going to drag that saying too far until I have actually experienced it

 

[blahblahblah]

I think there is, or should be, more to a decision like this than just not wanting to be in hospital. I live in an area that even with blue lights would take 30mins to get to the nearest hospital, there is a shortage of midwives around here, and a baby boom to boot!

If I had wanted a homebirth, there would have been no guarantee of having a midwife available, and no guarantee of reaching the hospital in time if I needed it.

Thinking through all the recent mums I know personally (quite a lot), of those about three quarters of those needed intervention with their first babies. On the second baby, third and beyond most of them sneezed and they fell out!

I would never say never to homebirth myself, in the future it may suit my circumstances. But if you don't have a hospital on your doorstep or certainty of a midwife being available, I think the risks outweigh the benefits.

 

[mandaa1220]

Home birth definitely as long as it's a un-complicated pregnancy.

 

[Princess_LV]

Blah, I think if you take a look at the back stories of Pops, Trumpetbum and Celesse, who have all had, planned or are planning homebirths, you'll see that you are absolutely right; there is a lot more to the decision than simply not wanting to be in a hospital setting. For me, it is about not seeing the NEED to be in hospital for a natural, not medical, event.

 

[trumpetbum]

I think there is, or should be, more to a decision like this than just not wanting to be in hospital. I live in an area that even with blue lights would take 30mins to get to the nearest hospital, there is a shortage of midwives around here, and a baby boom to boot!

If I had wanted a homebirth, there would have been no guarantee of having a midwife available, and no guarantee of reaching the hospital in time if I needed it.

Thinking through all the recent mums I know personally (quite a lot), of those about three quarters of those needed intervention with their first babies. On the second baby, third and beyond most of them sneezed and they fell out!

I would never say never to homebirth myself, in the future it may suit my circumstances. But if you don't have a hospital on your doorstep or certainty of a midwife being available, I think the risks outweigh the benefits.

I agree that it is definitely a decision which needs to be made on an individual basis. There are definitely situations in which I would opt to go to hospital. I worked on the labour suite that would be my back up recently and I am happy that it is there if I need it, but I also have the luxury of being a ten minute drive away at most, so I appreciate that for those in a more rural situation it may not feel like such an obvious option.

 

[trumpetbum]

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My reasoning behind being pro-homebirth is that hospitals intervene, and a lot of the time they do so unecessarily. Once that first intervention has been made, another is more likley to be needed, and so on until the whole process becomes completely medicalised and in a lot of cases, rushed. Whereas, if you give birth at home, things happen the way that they should do, at the speed that they should do.

I agree. A lot of intervention occurs because you are in the hospital in the first place. If you'd been at home the need for intervention may never have arisen.

That said, we have a lot of wonderful maternity hospitals with great midwives who advocate natural, calm births so we are lucky to have these options

This is very true, my last homebirth was a delivery of a 9lbs 3oz posterior baby, no stitches, not even a scratch down below. Perhaps it was inappropriate of her to say, my midwife wasn't the most tactful or the most pro-homebirth (due to the area she worked in making it VERY inconvenient for m/ws with families to come out and attend them.) but she stated that she was sure the baby was big as soon as she came in and saw me, that I was a little slip of a girl (UK 8) and had I been in the labour suite where she worked, laboured for the same amount of time with baby remaining posterior, I would have been advised to have an epidural (just in case), continuous electronic monitoring (just in case) and would most likely have been given a C-section for 'failure to progress' due to time constraints, hospital policies and the medical involvement that my non straightforward birth would indicate in hospital. If my baby had been born in hospital, might I have been telling everyone the story of how my baby 'could have died if I'd been at home as I NEEDED an emergency C-section'.
A good midwife who knows the difference between when medical intervention is needed and when time and good midwifery skills are needed are a must for me.

 

[dragonhawk]

Oh poo.... My comment was taken in the wrong manner, it would seem.

My thinking is that if possible, at this time when we're WTT although home birth would be good, I can see that the potential for me to actually need to go to hospital is potentially quite high. (Family history of issues.)

I'll wait and let you know exactly what we decide on, because I can see a potential for a more relaxed environment at home. Really I think that we'll be led by what those in the medical profession believe to be the best thing, at that point in time. Their advice and knowledge will be far greater than DH and I. Plus they'll have experience in the field, particularly if, for whatever the reason, Jellybean decides it's coming early or even worse doesn't want to come out.

Basically, the decision, surely has to be made on a case by case assessment and take into consideration the medical and personal preferences.

Each to their own, and I reserve my right to change my mind multiple times between now, conceiving and giving birth.