Midwives

[fordy]

Hi ladies, I'm pregnant and unconfirmed on dates find out weds at my dating scan so my ticker could be wrong...

I'm in New Zealand, in a rather remote town so our choice of midwives is limited to one!

This will be my 6th child, I expressed I wished to have a home birth due to being 1hour away from the hospital, this midwife is set against it, believes I should go to hospital and at least stay there a few days

I hate hospitals!!!!! I'm always one to be home within the time I'm allow to be discharged I really would like a home birth this time labouring is a piece of cake same as birthing!!!

What would you do in my respect? Would you keep your mouth shut and labour at home til it's too late to go in?? Lol

 

[rwhite]

Fellow Kiwi here :wave:

That is a pain about the midwife and being so limited that you can't seek another one out... Is your midwife aware of the NICE's recent recommendations about home birth? https://www.nhs.uk/news/2014/12December/Pages/NICE-recommend-homes-births-for-some-mums.aspx

I would probably do what you're considering, in the same situation...

Have your other pregnancies and births been quite straightforward? Your post reads as if they have been

 

[fordy]

Hm I'm not sure if she knows about that nice... My pregnancies have been on par apart from mr 5 who was sunny side up and refused to leave lol!! The midwife was going on about my uterus, something about because I've had so many babies it may not contract afterwards Im not exactly sure as I got annoyed with her trying to tell me to have a hospital birth and ended up stop listening, she also made me feel like I was a newbie at being pregnant or giving birth...

 

[NDH]

Hi Fordy, have you considered an unassisted birth/freebirth? It sounds like your midwife is really anxious about the distance from hospital which would make me really uncomfortable about having her at my birth projecting fear and anxiety, not to mention it sounds like she'd pressure you to transfer at the slightest risk.
Obviously distance from hospital should be a factor to consider in the event of a true emergency, but it shouldn't be a decision made out of fear. You'll have to weigh the risks for yourself of going to hospital vs staying home.

For me, the known risks of going to hospital outweigh the potential risk of staying home and being too far to transfer in an emergency so I know what I would do but only you can say what you'd be comfortable with.
In any case though I recommend joining some freebirth groups on Facebook and just explore it as an option before you decide.

 

[Pearls18]

I would say to her that you're planning a home birth, she can't drag you to hospital so she has the choice to support you or be professionally negligent.

 

[RaspberryK]

Why don't you look up lynnikins, pm her or she has a journal. She's originally from nz, now in uk, has 5 children, homebirths ... xx

 

[zorak]

Hm I'm not sure if she knows about that nice... My pregnancies have been on par apart from mr 5 who was sunny side up and refused to leave lol!! The midwife was going on about my uterus, something about because I've had so many babies it may not contract afterwards Im not exactly sure as I got annoyed with her trying to tell me to have a hospital birth and ended up stop listening, she also made me feel like I was a newbie at being pregnant or giving birth...

My Mother had 6 babies and on her 6th her uterus hyper stimulated because it was so used to being in labour. She hemorrhaged and had to have emergency surgery. Maybe that's what your midwife is talking about? I'd have thought it was a small risk though.

 

[fordy]

Sorry it's taking me so long to reply but since this post I've seen my midwife again she now threatened me with requiring to give birth in an major hospital in a town that's at least 3-4 hours away! This reason is my 6th birth and I'm close to 40 in age! I'm only 33!!!! I didn't think I was close to 40 lol! I'm honestly disappointed, but in saying all that there's no way I'm making it to hospital if I have a girl, my last was 1 hour start to finish!

 

[tallybee]

That's shocking! Close to 40?! I'll be 33 when this LO is born and my mw was very positive about home birthing. No mention of age at all. Baby no.3 for me And living in Scotland. Using NHS.

There is no way it's sensible to try and travel that far if your labours are short. I would stand firm hun and if she continues to act so unprofessional there must be someone who you can complain or report her to? Good luck xx