has anyone had their first at home?

[butterfly5]

Hi Ladies I have tokophobia and hate hospitals. I spent all day yesterday at the epu with mild brown discharge but all was well and saw baby heartbeat.

The hospital was great but whilst there I felt terribly uneasy at the idea of giving birth in such a clinical environment.

My grandmother had all 7 kids at home and so did my other grandmother.

So....has anyone done it? If so how did it go?

 

[MindUtopia]

I can't say yet how it went but this is my first and I'm planning a home birth. Like you, we have lots of family who've had home births - my husband's mum and sisters were born at home, as were several cousins. Several close friends of mine have also had their first (and well, all) babies at home and said it was an incredible experience. They had really great, manageable, empowering births surrounded by the special people who were supporting them and said they were really thankful they made the decision to have that first baby at home. They said it helped them to avoid the unneccesary intervention that could have caused fear and complications in future pregnancies and births.

So if you're healthy and you feel it might be the right choice for you, definitely explore it more. The way I see it, I'd rather plan a home birth so that when the day comes and I am managing well at home and feeling great then I can stay at home, or if not, then I can choose to go in. If you plan a hospital birth, but get there and realise it's not right for you or the environment stresses you out, you can't as easily just get up and take yourself home. But with a planned home birth, you can always make the decision on that day if you would feel more comfortable in the hospital if that's what feels right for you.

I'm sure there will be lots of other ladies who've had their babies already who can tell you about their experiences specifically, but that was my rationale. Plus, like you, I just really don't like hospitals. So I always knew being at home would feel safest and best for me. Baby is due next month and I'm really looking forward to it.

Do you know if there is a home birth group in your area? You might do some searching to see where the closest one is. My husband and I went to our local group a few times early in my pregnancy and they were really helpful and supportive and made it an easy decision for us. We're also getting our birth pool on loan from them as well.

 

[fionar]

I had my son (my first baby) at home and it went REALLY well. He came super quick, and it was so calming not to have to worry about getting in to a car (I can't imagine being in a car in labor... ugh) and going to a hospital, but just being able to be around my own house in my own living room/bath tub/bed/chair. It was a very smooth transition from non-parenthood to parenthood and just... I can't say enough good things about my experience. Even with only that experience under my belt, I can't picture being in a hospital to give birth.

 

[butterfly5]

thanks ladies I really like the idea of a birthing pool at my in laws of all places we live 2 mins away and it is my second home as I have known them for 13 years and I am closer to MIL than mother.

Their home is really large and the front room is mega relaxing and I can imagine OH and his dad having a chilled beer in one room some times whilst me and MIL and midwife all get on with it knowing OH can be there whenever I want but he is also chilled. My bro in law who is gay and hilarious and so dramatic will be there too to help me with some humour.

It would be for me the perfect birth

 

[PrincessKay]

I had my first at home and it was amazing, she came really quick, it was so relaxing. Although i did have to transfer to hospital about an hour after she was born due to a PPH.

 

[Feronia]

I had my first at home 2 and a half weeks ago! (The birth story is in my sig.)
It went amazingly well and I never had to transfer. Like you, I found that I hated being in hospitals whenever I toured them to see where I wanted to register. I just wasn't able to picture myself being comfortable giving birth there, so home was the best option for me.

 

[rachiedata]

I had my first at home, wonderful experience. Had a much, much, MUCH better experience than a lot of my same-age friends who have had babies over the last couple of years. I mean normal, healthy women in their 20s having their first child in hospital and all kinds of ventouse/forceps/induction/caesarean/total lack of breastfeeding support horror stories. Avoid hospital unless circumstances dictate you must, because assuming you have no emergency situations, home is safer.

Agree with the above poster who says it smooths the transition to being a parent - it feels normal, because it happens at home, and home = normal!!

 

[solitaire89]

I had my first at home, and it was a fantastic experience. I loved the fact that I could do what I wanted when I wanted. If I wanted an ice lolly from the freezer, I could just go grab one, without the palava of sending oh out for one which would, no doubt, have been the wrong make, or they were out of my fave flavour etc... I could also get into whatever position I wanted. I can't imagine saying to the nurses "do you have a sofa and tv I can curl up in front of please?"!
I agree about the unease at giving birth in a hospital... I can't tell you what was wrong about it, I just didn't like it. I was in 2 minds about a home birth until I did a tour of the labour unit. At that point I knew the right choice for me was a home birth.
HTH

 

[SarahBear]

Hi Ladies I have tokophobia and hate hospitals. I spent all day yesterday at the epu with mild brown discharge but all was well and saw baby heartbeat.

The hospital was great but whilst there I felt terribly uneasy at the idea of giving birth in such a clinical environment.

My grandmother had all 7 kids at home and so did my other grandmother.

So....has anyone done it? If so how did it go?

I had my first at home. It was great. I'm concerned about where I'll likely be when I have baby number 2 as there won't be so many home birth options. I may rent out a second place for my last month of pregnancy so I can be in an area where home birth is an option. If hospitals make you feel so uneasy, I'd suggest you do look into home birth. Do be open to transferring if it's necessary for the health of your baby, however. But if all is going well and you're with a trusted midwife, there's no reason to be in a hospital.

 

[fides]

I had my first at home, and it went well. It hurt worse than I had imagined it would, but it was the water birth I had hoped for, and so I am hoping to do so again this time around.

Good luck!

 

[Lois22]

Yep I had my first at home 5 months ago . It went perfect! Go for it

Xx

 

[Lois22]

Oh I did also because I hate hospitals and have a phobia of being sick. J didn't want any pain relief for that reason. I even refused they bring as and air in to the house!

Xx

 

[misspriss]

I am planning to have my first at home. I was born at home, and it was a great experience for my parents. I initially planned a hospital natural birth, but when I realized I was going to have to request SO many changes to "standard procedures" I realized I didn't want that headache in addition to labor! It just made so much more sense at home. Also, I have the luck to be using the same midwife that my mom used with me.

 

[Badswan]

I tried for a home birth first time around but ended up with a c-section BUT I would still thoroughly recommend home birth and am trying for a home VBAC when I'm due again in April.

We are using an IM - maybe an IM or a doula would be something which would be beneficial to you if you have fears about childbirth and want to ensure minimum interventions/medicalisation - IMs and doulas are all about support and that can't be a bad thing!

Good luck!

 

[sunnylove]

I am planning to have our first baby at home (hopefully). At first when we talked about it years before I got pregnant, my husband was not crazy about the idea. At all. But he's learned a lot more about it since then and is definitely OK with the idea now. We know a woman who is a doctor that delivers babies for the Amish, and we are hoping to use her, so kind of best of both worlds. However we may go with a midwife if she can't come to our home because I live 10 mins from a hospital. She is about an hour away, so then the hospital would be an hour and 10 mins away, which doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

My mom had her last 2 at home and her last birth (5 years ago) ended with a transfer to a hospital as he swallowed a lot of blood that was inhaled into his lungs. However, we spoke with an RN who told us that had my mom been in a hospital giving birth to him, they would have immediately done a c-section, resulting in him being pulled back up through the birth canal, which would have resulted in him swallowing even MORE blood, which could have resulted in a much worse situation. So they were thankful for their homebirth.

 

[fionar]

I have the luck to be using the same midwife that my mom used with me.

That's so cool!

 

[TammyH]

I would definitly recommend a home birth. Giving birth has become so un-natural, going to a hospital, I feel you lose a lot of power to make the choices you would rather make. because as we have all come to live with when you go to a hospital or your doctors you presume that what they tell you is the truth or whats best for you. but at the end of the day I have learnt that only you know what is best for you and nobody can decide what they think is best for you.
I had my first baby at home two and a half years ago, I didnt decide that I wanted a home birth until about two weeks before he came, I wanted to try a water birth as well. my son decided to come two weeks early and it all happened so fast that there was no time for the water birth and he was born in 2 and a half hours. It was the most relaxing environment to give birth, only the people who I wanted there were there, and I believe that if I was at a hospital (a place where I am not comfortable going) that it would have been a lot more stressful and not as nice experience.
I am pregnant now, 38 weeks, I have planned a home birth. But I have medical conditions/problems that are getting in the way of everything. I am hoping that it all goes to plan and that I can have another wonderful experience at home.

 

[Impet Limpet]

I had my first at home just over a week ago, I totally recommend it, turns out it is quite unusual in our area to have a home birth, there were only two mums to be booked for one in the whole of January!
The labour was very relaxing, I was 6cm when midwife arrived,I liked the fact that the midwife was there just to attend to you and not several other people at the same time so I didn't feel like I was bothering her when I had questions or felt I wanted something checking, I work in a hospital, but I still would have felt out of control being there as a patient.

The only negative was the breast feeding. Baby latched on naturally immediately after the birth but nothing practical had been explained,even though i'd been to the workshops and had leaflets due to it being a weekend and miscommunication, we had 72hours of no breastfeeding support his weight dropped from 8lb to 7lb 2 within 5 days, if I had given birth in a hospital the breastfeeding team would have shown me on the ward. We normally would have had someone fromBF show us at home the day after but as he was born on a Friday, no one came til Monday.

However totally recommend it!!!