Home Birthers & Hopefuls!

[Cactusgirl]

Torz - welcome to the thread!

urbanpumpkin - loving the pics of your pool!! Looks like having a hot tub in your lounge!!

Pops - of course we want to see your scan pics from tomorrow!!

Laura - sorry to hear your news. All the best for the induction

All of my friends are commenting on how relaxed I am considering the labour is imminent now and I really think it is down to planning the home birth. My blood pressure taken on Wednesday is actually the lowest it has been all pregnancy which is great. I do feel really calm and given that I had some kind of panic attack end of last year when I watched that Amanda Holden midwife programme it is like I am a different woman!!

 

[trumpetbum]

Forgot to mention that I turned up for my antenatal appt this week only to realise at the door that I was a day too late so appt was made for Tuesday and then 3 weeks later I will be seeing my homebirth midwife for all antenatal appts. As i missed my appt the hospital sent my results through with HIV. Rubella imm, syphillis and Hb status through and I was pleasantly surprised to see that with all the sickness etc my Hb was sitting at a satisfactory 12.5.

 

[lauzliddle]

Thanks girls on the plus side i am not going into the unknown as i was induced for the same reasons with alfie. i just hope its not as long (46 hours) luckily i am quite a positive thinking person and at the end of the day i still have the same result at the end and that's my beautiful daughter x

 

[madasa]

I had a dream about the birth pool last night. It was huge, pratically a swimming pool, i had to use ladder to get in to it. I really wish it could have been true lol

Odd you should say this, my Aunty suggested hiring our local swimming pool for the occasion! I am reasonably sure she was joking though!

 

[madasa]

Hi girls well it has been confirmed today that i have obstetric cholestasis and will be induced in 2 weeks time good luck all on your home births

take me off the list again please lisa i wont be back this time

Laura X

Sorry to hear that, chick. Wishing you a smooth and enjoyable birth wherever you are, regardless!

 

[madasa]

Sorry Laura, hope your birth goes smoothly even if you can't be at home

Bean is incredibly active today, she's making me shake with her movements....She also has hiccups now, so I think she's getting frustrated - typically, she's decided to continue being indecisive and is laying across my belly most of the time, feet on my right, head on the left (though it feels like she might have her head up a bit...)... I'd really love to know what position she's actually in, because I can't believe she's this flexible

Nothing interesting to add on the homebirth front, just thought I'd drop in and let you know I'm still here and still looking for a darn pool!!!

xxx

I feel a bit better that I am not the only one at this stage who wants a pool but doesn't have one yet!

 

[nikki-lou25]

Torz - welcome to the thread!

urbanpumpkin - loving the pics of your pool!! Looks like having a hot tub in your lounge!!

Pops - of course we want to see your scan pics from tomorrow!!

Laura - sorry to hear your news. All the best for the induction

All of my friends are commenting on how relaxed I am considering the labour is imminent now and I really think it is down to planning the home birth. My blood pressure taken on Wednesday is actually the lowest it has been all pregnancy which is great. I do feel really calm and given that I had some kind of panic attack end of last year when I watched that Amanda Holden midwife programme it is like I am a different woman!!

I love this!!!! Go you! I'm excited for you

 

[Pops]

Morning girls, just a flying visit this morning but wanted to share some pics of yesterday. Missy is perfect and beautiful I'll be back later to catch up properly.

https://i385.photobucket.com/albums/oo300/Paula1b/Baby%20Things/PAULARESTRICK_17.jpg

xxx

 

[Mervs Mum]

She's perfect x

 

[reallyready]

Dear Homebirthers and Hopefuls

Homebirth in NYC is in jeopardy. Due to the close of a recent hospital (St Vincent's) many midwives are finding themselves practicing outside the law. Many families are finding themselves looking for new care. Please sign this petition to help in the matter to keep homebirth a viable option for families in NY.

https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/midwifery/

Thank you and Happy Mothers Day!

xxx

 

[gina8177]

Congrats Pops! She's beautiful!!!

Happy Mother's and Mother's to be Day to everyone!!!!

 

[Blob]

Awwww pops she's so cute

 

[nightkd]

Congrats Pops! She's beautiful!!!

Happy Mother's and Mother's to be Day to everyone!!!!

Happy Mother's Day

Lovely scan pics Pops!

xxx

 

[babybear]

I'm currently trying to talk my consultant in to allowing me to have a home birth. The thing is my little boy was a forceps delivery (he was nearly 10lb 4.5kg). I have a supervisor of midwives advocating for me but was wondering does anyone know the criteria that needs to be met (Hb etc) in the UK before a home birth will be allowed?

 

[Cactusgirl]

Pops - amazing scan pics! So cute!

Babybear - I THINK I had to get my iron levels up to 10.5 or 11 (can't remember now) for it not to be an issue

Still nothing here - 6days till dd now! I did have a really strong sensation in my lower bump earlier and I was like 'ooooh is this the start of something??' then I moved and farted! So that would be a no then!!

 

[madasa]

I'm currently trying to talk my consultant in to allowing me to have a home birth. The thing is my little boy was a forceps delivery (he was nearly 10lb 4.5kg). I have a supervisor of midwives advocating for me but was wondering does anyone know the criteria that needs to be met (Hb etc) in the UK before a home birth will be allowed?

You're in the UK right? Then you are ALLOWED to have a homebirth. No ifs ands or buts! You can birth wherever you want, regardless of your situation, and your care givers are obliged BY LAW to attend you. Drop that word (allowed) from your vocab when you are talking about birth. They can't "make" or "let" you do ANYTHING. They can advise you... and they might even pressure you, but the decisions are yours.

Actual policies about what criteria they LIKE for birthing at home might vary from are to area, but what you are "allowed" to do with your OWN body is 100% up to you

For ex.... My iron levels were low, and my MW told me that they had to be up to a certain level or "they would prefer me to be in hospital". When I asked for further clarification, she told me about the risks, and that if my iron was still "too low" by a certain time (34 wks I think, ish), then I would have to sign a form to say that I was choosing to birth at home "against their advice". I don't know if that is standard everywhere, but it is basically to cover their @rses... so that IF something DID go wrong, I couldn't sue them afterwards and say "but they never told me to go to hospital!!!"

The best person to tell you about the criteria they prefer for you to birth at home would be your MW.... because I'm fairly sure it depends where you are, some areas are much more supportive of HB than others.

PS - my iron levels are fine now btw

 

[madasa]

Oh and this has been posted before, but it's well worth posting again!

https://www.homebirth.org.uk/

Really good resource! ^ ^

It includes a lot of info on the sorts of things they might tell you make you "unsuitable" for a homebirth, and whether or not they really are an issue and why

 

[babybear]

I have life long pernicious anaemia and so I regularly run on a Hb of 10mmol/l with out being pregnant
i have worked with the Obs consultant I am under but I am still having to fight left right and centre. I will have a Home Birth at 13 weeks I'm already planning on where to put my birth pool. My partner is determined too he doen't want the farce of last time. I also have the fight to go through with my mother. I'm 27 but she doesn't agree with home births and believes I should be fighting for a c- section in case I have another 'big' baby (not going to happen mum).

I think I need to change my thinking I'm a health care professional which I think clouds my judgement. I need to remember birth is a natural process not a medical one. Your right as one of my midwives said " we can't force you to come in to hospital".

 

[urbanbumpkin]

babybear, if you have your midwife onside then I would say you are good to go - welcome to the thread! I would nod and smile at the consultant and then double check whatever they say with your midwife, and carry on making your homebirth plans with her.

Have can use the Home Birth UK website for info on a lot of the excuses and 'guidelines' hospitals sometimes use to dissuade people from having a home birth. There are of course somewhat valid reasons behind some of them, but in most cases the things being used as reasons to be in hospital would be dealt with no differently if you were at home or in hospital, or there are similar (but often unmentioned) 'risks' to being in hospital.

Intervention is also more likely to happen in hospital in near identical situations - I guess because the resources are there? At home things just tend to be dealt with differently. And transfer from home to hospital is always an option (if you need it) whereas transfer from hospital to home (if you don't) is unlikely to happen!

trumpetbum, if you want to know anything about the pool then PM me, I'll answer all I can.

Also, I saw this in Argos yesterday: Lay Z Spa which seems very similar in size and features to what I hired, but inflatable.

If anyone is looking for an excuse to have a hot tub long term, then is might make a good heated and filtered birth pool! It says the heater is adjustable and the pool fits four adults. Their own website is here, which might have more details. I'm going to look into it if I go for homebirth number two as hopefully we will have some outdoor space by then, so could use it afterwards. No idea what they are like but I just thought it was worth a mention.

 

[urbanbumpkin]

Oh, and sorry to hear that Laura. Hope the induction goes well.

And Pops, she is lovely!

And in other random news my feet have stopped swelling up. Which is nice.

Can I ask if anyone who has had a homebirth got their midwife a present? I was thinking a pot plant for her office and some biscuits to share round the team. What do you think? MrUrban thinks I am a bit nuts for suggesting it, as she is surely just doing her job. But I think it is more personal than that and will merit a little something as she has been so nice throughout.