Home Birthers & Hopefuls!

[ljo1984]

Yeh I told her I'd done alot of research and my mw was very supportive and just left it at that. Her experience of birth is very traumatic so I don't expect her to understand but I did want her to know. And in a way people who arnt totally supportive spur me on prove them wrong ha ha. Xx

 

[Blah11]

My MWs go on call from 38-42 weeks but she said if I phone up at 37+4 or something then chances are someone will come out anyway. In regards to going over 42, she said I can negotiate but I'd need to see a consultant if I refuse induction and go for scans and monitoring everyday Doubt it will come to that though. Baby is mega low today Gonna start my EPO next week.

 

[Narie]

You don't need to decide until 36/37 weeks because it doesn't affect the care you'll receive. The NHS midwives tend to do a home visit at that time to do a risk assessment and establish any access issues so they're prepared. They'll usually drop a birth pack at your house at this time too - just a box with gloves, incontinence pads, bin bags, a bucket etc so that whoever is on call the day you go into labour only has to rock up at your house without having to carry loads of crap in her car. The on call midwives exchange the emergency resuscitation and emergency drugs each time they hand over to one another each day - they bring that with them.

There's a really good homebirth for fathers book but as I'm on mobile web, I can't look easily for the name/author you (sorry). A good website is www.homebirth.org.UK - there's a section for fathers there Good luck!

Thanks for the website link. I have looked on the website but didn't realize that there was a fathers section so I will check it out again.

 

[Narie]

If he's unsure then id plan for home as its easy enough to change your mind and go to hospital. It's more planning to have homebirth.

This is what conclusion I've started to come to. That if it's planned then we can always change our minds last minute. Because DD was born so quickly (on my notes it says fully dilated and pushing on delivery). I don't want the panic of an unplanned home birth.

Whilst everyone is talking about the distance away from the hospital if there was a problem, does anyone think that 20 minutes by ambulance would be too long and to much of a risk? We were closer to the hospital last time, there is a hospital about 5 minutes walk away but with no maternity unit or neonatal care.

 

[Blah11]

I reckon we're about 20 minutes away from the hosp in an ambulance too

 

[lesleyann]

I would not be to worried about the time away, an ambulance will proberly get you there faster then you think.. Plus at hom eor at hospital it takes time to get certain things ready means when you get there everything if you needed would be fully set up..

From my current house is 10mins in the car max.. From what will be my new house it will be 20mins in the car.. My the time you can half that for being blue lighted really

 

[Celesse]

It would probably take 20mins to drive to my local hospital in normal traffic. When I was transfered in it took 25 minutes from deciding I needed to go in, until I arrived on the labour ward. Probably took them 5 minutes to get to us and at least 10 minutes was spent walking to the ambulance and refusing to get in the ambulance unless the gas and air came with me (which wouldn't have happened in an OMG-Emergency). So about 10 minute journey time through one of the busiest parts of town during rush hour.

 

[ljo1984]

I'd say I was 5 mins away by ambulance. It takes me 10 mins by car to get to the hospital I work at but there's also one closer, both having maternity services. Do you think you would get a choice at all if you were transferred in as I'd prefer to go to st james's where I work and had Imogen and it's not like it's miles away from the nearer hospital. It'd maybe be an extra min or two on journey. Xx

 

[Shiv]

I don't think you would get a choice of which hospital to transfer to. It depends on the m/w area which hospital you transfer to, a certain area will transfer to a certain hospital, or at least that is what I was told.

 

[lesleyann]

Ordered my pool today started to lose my plug forgot how eww that is lol

 

[diz]

I'm about 20 mins away from my hospital too. Yey on the pool and the plug (lol) lesleyann xx

 

[fides]

blah, congrats on 36 weeks!!

lesley, yay for the pool - will it get here in time if you're already losing the plug?

 

[lesleyann]

Hopefully lol although hopefully I'll of moved house before she turns up haha

 

[PeanutBean]

Congratulations wiggly!

Whoever asked (sorry, went away then came back again). Most hospitals say they only support homebirth between 37 and 42 weeks however legally they cannot refuse you cover nor are you obliged to jump through their hoops to get it, whatever they might say to the contrary. Of course going post-dates you might actually want to have some monitoring or discuss options, that's up to you. Remember only about 5% of babies come after 42 weeks.

 

[Guppy051708]

Hi ladies! :wave:
Well hopefully i can be more active in this lovely thread...i am very happy to announce that i will be [hoping to] have a homebirth!!! I am marked as a FSBC birth hopeful, however, due to a plethora of reasons (mainly financial reasons) we have decided not to re-up our health insurance for 2012...the reason i couldn't do HB before was bc insurance refused to cover it and so i was going to have a FBCB, however, since we are not going to reup it, i am no having a homebirth!! SO EXCITED!!!!

 

[fides]

welcome!

 

[Celesse]

I think my MIL has plans to catch this baby, or is at least secretly hopeful she will do (....not in a planned way, in a MIL's saves the day after big emergency kinda way and everyone on the estate thinks she's great and its a story to tell for years to come kinda way!!)
As our plans have now changed to hospital delivery and that hospital is nearer to MIL's I'm planning on spending part of my labour at her house. I'm staying out of hospital as long as possible, so once OH finds it hard to cope with me and LO, or if the weather is bad, or its Christmas day and OH & LO need feeding we are popping round to MIL's. MIL mentioned at last appointment about what she would have to do if baby came quickly and is being very accomodating.

Its got me wondering how long I'll be at hers for, and if I will end up too far into labour to be able to/ want to move. I'm going into hospital at the point at which I need pain relief. From last labour I'm expecting that yes,... I'll be needing gas and air. But if I get to pushing still at hers then it seems prety silly to move right? What would happen in that scenario? Call 999 and refuse to transfer? MIL lives less than 10 mins from hospital normal drive speed, so probably 5 mins blue light time.

 

[Blah11]

Call 999 yes, but i think you'd need to transfer. The paramedics can deliver a baby but they don't have all the stuff you might need if any problems cropped up Also, just because theyve been trained in how to deliver a baby, theyve probably never delivered a baby before so realy, you're better off being with a MW who has some experience.

 

[Celesse]

Could get messy couldn't it. I have an appointment on Thursday with head of labour ward and consultant, so I'll ask them what happens if I'm at home pushing and refuse transfer until after third stage. I would hope that they would send a midwife along to MIL's house but its going to add extra confusion that I'm from out of the area at an address thats not my home.

 

[Jims_Girl]

Hi,
I don't think you should pre-plan waiting until the pushing stage then calling 999... But if it happens - the ambulance crew will not transfer you if you are crowning or you pereniam is bulging. A midwife will be called to assist.
Bare in mind that the ambulance crew may not be a paramedic crew. Ambulances will carry entonox, maternity delivery packs (which are normally rubbish with bits missing) and paediatric life support kit...
I've been a paramedic for 11 years... I have delivered 17 babies - If I had the choice I would rather have my lovely experienced midwife than potentially two big burly blokes that don't have the exposure to deliveries....
If you do call an ambulance and they feel it's safe to transport you and you refuse then you will be putting the crew in a very difficult situation.
Just my two pennies worth...