Planning a home birth? Sorry but you're reckless and selfish...

[DramaFreeMama]

what a crappy, one sided article. i couldn't even finish reading that it was so terrible :/

 

[kiwimama]

Main thing that puts me off homebirth is knowing what im like id be running round scrubbing and hoovering and cleaning everything just before the mw got there
That and the thought of having to clean it all back up again after

All the homebirth stories I've read say the midwives bundle you and family into bed and clean up for you. It doesn't get nearly as messy as you would imagine.

 

[smokey]

Main thing that puts me off homebirth is knowing what im like id be running round scrubbing and hoovering and cleaning everything just before the mw got there
That and the thought of having to clean it all back up again after

All the homebirth stories I've read say the midwives bundle you and family into bed and clean up for you. It doesn't get nearly as messy as you would imagine.

I think that would make me worse, I cant even stand it when MIL put bleach down the toilet when shes round or tries to do the dishes.
Id be running around going "no no its my house ill clean it"

 

[Nic1107]

What a ridiculous article. If she's so concerned about babies' safety, perhaps she can research the subject and write an informative article about determining the suitability of a home birth in your situation and how to prepare to have the safest, best birth experience at home? Nooo.... because she's not trying to help, just running her self-important mouth and stirring up shite for publicity. Lame!

 

[blahblahblah]

With regard to the cleaning up thing - the MW's here recommend buying 2 each of tesco value shower curtains and sheets, then the whole lot gets chucked after. The downside is you have a little less freedom!

Personally, I never considered a homebirth. In my area there is a shortage of community midwives (although for some reason they'll still let people choose homebirths), and it's a bit of a lottery as to whether you'd get one when needed, and it's also quite a long way from hospitals with A&E or maternity services.

 

[MandaAnda]

...In my area there is a shortage of community midwives (although for some reason they'll still let people choose homebirths), and it's a bit of a lottery as to whether you'd get one when needed, and it's also quite a long way from hospitals with A&E or maternity services.

I imagine the reason the let people choose homebirths is because it is indeed a choice. There are very few things that can't be done at home that can only be done at hospital as well. Perhaps the community midwives hope that more women wanting home births will, in turn, up the number of midwives in the community.

 

[Dopeyjopey]

I planned a hb but it didn't go to plan. I had PROM, foetal distress and the cord was round Albert's neck twice. I was only in hospital an hour before ventouse delivery.

I am very happy with how things ended up - my mw said had i been in hospital from the start i would have had a section as they would have been monitoring me more. I knew something wasn't right, my body told me and i believe that's why everything turned out ok!

 

[bubbles123]

Home births have never appealed to me but each to their own. It's best not to even read the Daily Fail. It's bad for the blood pressure.

 

[TattiesMum]

Main thing that puts me off homebirth is knowing what im like id be running round scrubbing and hoovering and cleaning everything just before the mw got there
That and the thought of having to clean it all back up again after

All the homebirth stories I've read say the midwives bundle you and family into bed and clean up for you. It doesn't get nearly as messy as you would imagine.

I had my 2nd and 3rd babies at home and there was no mess at all ... my midwife reckoned it's like chefs ... some midwives just make less mess than others

What really annoys me about this article is that it was based on a study in Australia, where it was found that there were marginally more neo-natal deaths from Home Births. But Australia is a completely different kettle of fish from here Most of the mothers would have been giving birth at home because they were a long, long way from a hospital (and therefore were also a long, long way from a paediatric flying squad .... whereas I laboured peacefully at home safe in the knowledge that if something went wrong then I was only 20 minutes from the hospital by car, less by ambulance and that a flying squad could be with me within 5 minutes - which is no longer than it takes the hospital to organise emergency procedures

Here in the UK studies show that Home Birth is JUST as safe as giving birth in hospital and that they have a much lower complications rate

 

[Saywhat]

Could we expect anything less than from the Daily Mail..? They should get back to worshipping Diana and quit calling informed mothers "self obsessed" for having brain cells.
Grrr.

 

[bathbabe]

I havnt had a home birth nor did i plan for a home birth, but that was because it was my first child and i didnt have a clue how i would cope. Whenever i have my second child i am going to plan for a home birth. i think its a lovely idea xxx

 

[JASMAK]

Iw ould never have a home birth...not in a million years. Yes, *most* births are uncomplicated, but not all...and that is enough for me. For example, with my first, I had a hemorrage. It was from an atonic uterus, which means it wasn't contracting afterwards, even with pitocin added. It was caused by a large baby (9lbs 10oz). I was bleeding out really fast, and the nurse (who used to be a midwife in Ireland) said that this is why she quit being a midwife and moved to Canada...she said I would have died at home, and it is unsafe. I was lucky to be in a hospital. I almost lost my uterus that day, and at home, it would have been my life.

 

[trumpetbum]

I hear that people 'would have died' if they had been at home a lot. In reality though maternal mortality is no higher at home for low risk mothers than in hospital. I don't think that this is a mere coincidence.
The attendance of a trained health professional ie: a midwife, and the absence of many of the interventions which raise the risk of certain complications in itself makes many of these tales moot when it comes to planning a homebirth.
I'm not trying to undermine the experiences of complications which some people have in hospital, but if homebirth poses such a risk then why are more homebirthing women and their babies not dying?

 

[Dopeyjopey]

I agree trumpetbum. Community MWs are generally very experienced and know what to look for when it comes to potential difficulties and make the call to transfer well ahead of it becoming a problem.

We are the only mammal that goes into labour, goes to an unfamiliar place, surrounded by unfamiliar people for someone else to birth our babies. I'm disappointed I ended up in hospital as, for me, childbirth should be a peaceful, natural experience with the people you love there to witness it.

It's a shame that doctors have made things too clinical in the past and have taken away the trust placed on womens' intuition when it comes to their bodies.

 

[Aidan's Mummy]

I would love a home birth next time. But I am petrified of complications. How quickly can they get you somewhere if something goes wrong? For instance Aidan's heartbeat dropped dangerously low at the pushing stage and if I hadn't got him out before I did they would have had to use forceps or a crash c-sec. That's what scares me. So what would they do in taht sutuation. Or am I just worrying over nothing
xx

 

[Dopeyjopey]

I would love a home birth next time. But I am petrified of complications. How quickly can they get you somewhere if something goes wrong? For instance Aidan's heartbeat dropped dangerously low at the pushing stage and if I hadn't got him out before I did they would have had to use forceps or a crash c-sec. That's what scares me. So what would they do in taht sutuation. Or am I just worrying over nothing
xx

From deciding it was the right time for me to transfer to getting into a delivery room was 15 minutes! An hour later A was born by ventouse delivery (but would have been a section had I been in hospital from the start)

 

[smokey]

Knowing what I know now about my delivery it could very well have been done just as easily at home with just my and my husband (I doubt he feels the same though)
But I still probably will end up in hospital for the next one as I am classed as high risk.

 

[PepsiChic]

I applaude those who were both strong and brave enough to have a home birth. My LO was born in a hospital i hadnt chosen, but i was happier with it then the hospital i had picked.

Basically my OBGYN worked at a different hospital on sundays, and i went into labour 6 days late on a sunday. So we drove the extra 20 minutes to the hospital she was at, because i wanted her to deliver my baby, i didnt care which hospital as long as it was her dealing with me and the baby, it was my faith in my OBGYN that mattered to me more then anything else. I trusted her with the life of my baby and my own. That was important to me.

I probably will have my second in that hospital with the same OBGYN, the staff were great, the hospital was a LDRP room so i didnt have to move around to other rooms and the care my LO got was fist class. I felt comfortable there, and in the end i think its important to feel happy with where you are, be it at home or in a hospital.

 

[bambino156]

My pregnancy was a breeze, apart from some spd and some leukozytes, I had it very easy. I would have been able to have a home birth if I wished to, but from day 1 there was no doubt in my mind that I would rather be in hospital where there is as much drugs as I could ever need, a theatre should I need an emergency c-sec and a wealth of professionals on hand. Had I chosen to have had a home birth, my lo would not be here today - and I am not exaggerating. My labour was textbook, but within 4 mins of birth her breathing was being done for her, within half an hour she was on a ventilator. The particular ventilator she was on is not transportable, I live 30 miles from the nearest hospital, so they would not have been able to keep her alive for the journey, it was crucial that she was on the oscillating ventilator within minutes. We were actually told that had she been born at home she would have died. I know that, thankfully, most home births are trouble free and at the end of the day its another matter of personal choice. Any little problems are usually dealt with there and then or transferred to hospital asap. This is just my own personal experiance, but i'm glad I didn't have a home birth, I would never have forgiven myself

 

[Cheryl xx]

What an idiot. Sorry to be so blunt, but her opinions really aannoyed me. Women have been giving birth since time began. I think we are to ready to rely on technology to tell us something which our body already knows xx