1st timer planning a HB? Fancy being interviewed for Pregnancy & Birth Magazine??

[Mervs Mum]

Pregnancy & Birth magazine are looking for a pregnant mum planning a home birth for their first baby for an interview, preferably someone facing a struggle with NHS HCPs.

"Need a pregnant mum expecting first baby.

Interview over phone and go to photo shoot in London April 6th, travel
paid, clothes organised."

If you or someone you know is in this situation drop me a PM and I'll forward contact details to you.

 

[earthquake]

Whats a HCP?

 

[Bournefree]

Health Care Professionals
Xx

 

[chuck]

I'd be up for it...now how to hide the CS scar and child LOL!

 

[Bournefree]

Hahaha! Me too. Where shall we hide them?
Xx

 

[earthquake]

Okay thanks. That's me out I'm afraid. : ( I'm expecting my first but my midwife has been really supportive of my homebirth. She even offered it me before I could ask at booking appt.

 

[Eliza_V]

PM sent

 

[Mervs Mum]

Hey earthquake I'd rather be out because the mw was super supportive than being interviewed because they're not!

 

[earthquake]

Yeah I am so glad I haven't had to fight for it. My whole area seems really into natural birth tbh. They have a pool at the hospital and the antenatal classes they offer through midwives even have a whole session on active, water, and home births. I was pleasantly surprisednas itsna very working class town and I was expecting the opposite.

 

[SmokyJoe78]

Lol me too Chuck and Bourne

I particularly fancy the photoshoot and trip to London!

 

[chuck]

I ricken us VBACer's and HBAC'ers should get a magazine article of our own...I fancy a nice day out in London being pampered.

 

[rachiedata]

Ha I would be well up for this too, but also had supportive midwives and no struggle, never mind because I'm sure I could blag the time off work as some sort of antenatal appointment...?!

 

[RaspberryK]

At what point did your midwives talk about the birth? Mine asked me at my booking in appointment which hospital in my area I wanted to give birth in and I said I had been thinking about a home birth and she just said oh well we have to assign you to a hospital and said nothing else about it.

x

 

[rachiedata]

First person I saw medically when pregnant was my GP, who referred me to the hospital for antenatal care - wasn't given an option one way or another, he just filled out the form, but here all the care is centred around the Womens hospital, so it was the obvious (I would say only?) thing he could have put on the form...

Midwife at booking appointment discussed it with me when I said my preference would be for a natural hospital birth. She gave home as an option for me, but said it was still early to be thinking about it, and I would be at liberty to change one way or another until very late in pregnancy.

By the time I had made my mind up, I had my 25 week check and said to the midwife then that I would like to give birth at home, she wrote it in my notes, and that was that. I saw the same midwife (4th so far, 5th midwife at next appointment!) at 31 weeks, and she said she would formally change my booking at my 36 week appointment all being well still, and they will then drop off kit/give me on call numbers etc. at 37 weeks, and be on call for me from then onwards.

I've really found that unless you mention it to them - at 25 weeks with me I made a real point of saying I wanted to be at home, then at 31 it was more casual like "oh, well
I will be having him at home..." hint hint! - then they will just assume you will continue with hospital as at booking. I really don't think it is too late to plan and discuss and confirm it with them, up to about 36 weeks. If you get a nice midwife, either your usual or a stand-in, bombard them with questions and get it set up and confirmed as soon as you like!

 

[RaspberryK]

Thanks. I can't really seem to think of any questions other than the home birth and she didn't seem to want to talk about that at the time. Mostly she was telling me about the 12 week and 20 week scans, blood tests etc and went through the form.

x

 

[rachiedata]

Plenty of time for it yet mate, but you need to be proactive about asking them the questions and making sure your preferences are noted

 

[Eliza_V]

Mine kept putting in my notes that I was birthing at the hospital, despite telling her when I was 5 weeks that I wanted a homebirth. I made her write it in my notes. She then started citing a lot of rubbish reasons (IBS, depression and migraines) that allegedly made me "high risk" for a homebirth (seriously.. IBS? :S) and sent me to a consultant (The "Teenage pregnancy" one too, which was an insult given that I'm in my early 20s). When I came back I asked if we could discuss it some more and she said "Oh no we've got other things to talk about first. You will be breastfeeding yes? It's best for your baby" and I said that I've got until my baby is in my arms to decide; I'd like to plan how it's getting there first!! Then she gave me a breastfeeding DVD and said "see you in 10 weeks" :/

I'm seeing her next week since I've had all-clear fom consultants to tell her that I'm ordering my birth pool and there's buggar all she can do about it, lol. See how she likes that! She can't just say at 36 weeks "Ok you can do it now" .. After all this things take planning!

 

[Bournefree]

Oh my goodness Vixie.. IBS contra -indicates home birth??! That is so funny, litterally laughable!!!
XxX

 

[Eliza_V]

I know lol!! I was ranting to DH about it (in my crazy hormonal way) and saying "What is she worried about, me having a BM in the pool when pushing? Not being funny, but they supply a sieve in the kit.. Use your imagination!!"

xx

EDIT: Oh also she started writing in my notes "cardio symptoms" when I mentioned that I WAS being seeing in the cardio clinic a year or so before, but was discharged as it's nothing that will affect me until I'm much older, if ever actually (and I was told it would pose no problems in pregnancy and birth). This of course set off a chain reaction when I went to see the "teenage pregnancy" consultant *cough* registrar *cough* who understood NOTHING about cardiology, and so made ANOTHER referral to my old cardiologist (wasting his time), which showed up on the system when I ended up on delivery suite with terrible BH contractions a few weeks later so I got changed to the combined cardio antenatal clinic too, which then meant I then had to go for futher (repeated) unnecessary tests for both cardiologists which caused undue stress to myself and the baby! (I ended up having extra scans as they started thinking something may wrong with the baby's heart if there was something "wrong" with mine) and it's all clear! Yes I have ectopic beats with extra systoles and a resting sinus tachycardia, but it's harmless as has been shown before! The stupid thing is, if I had said "hospital birth" I would be having NONE of this!