Unassisted (Free) Birth

[JenStar1976]

Sorry if I'm being stupid, but does freebirthing go as far as not having antenatal appointments, scans, blood tests etc.? Or is it just the birth itself that has no medical assistance? x

 

[stella123]

Thank you girls for replying. Been really interesting hearing all of your opinions!

 

[KandyKinz]

Sorry if I'm being stupid, but does freebirthing go as far as not having antenatal appointments, scans, blood tests etc.? Or is it just the birth itself that has no medical assistance? x

I too would like to know what the "norm" is when it comes to free birth prenatal care. Do most people see a practioner for prenatal care and then "fake" a precipitous delivery at home... Or do they abandon all forms of care eg scans and blood tests????

 

[stella123]

Sorry if I'm being stupid, but does freebirthing go as far as not having antenatal appointments, scans, blood tests etc.? Or is it just the birth itself that has no medical assistance? x

I too would like to know what the "norm" is when it comes to free birth prenatal care. Do most people see a practioner for prenatal care and then "fake" a precipitous delivery at home... Or do they abandon all forms of care eg scans and blood tests????

This is quite a good point. If they want to do it completely alone, then maybe they do choose to not have prenatal checks/care. Perhaps it differs on personal choice, but I guess it would make sense. Think you have to be incredibly brave!

 

[Janidog]

Im happy to have a home birth but would not do it unassisted, and my hubby would not agree to it, at the end of the day he wants whats best for me and our baby

 

[winegums]

Sorry if I'm being stupid, but does freebirthing go as far as not having antenatal appointments, scans, blood tests etc.? Or is it just the birth itself that has no medical assistance? x

well freebirth is just the act of birthing without assistance.

it really varies on ante natal care etc

some women choose to have NOTHING no scans blood tests, meetings with midwives, literally nothing. (now this is where i think it's slightly irresponsible but again not for me to judge'

others are the exact opposite and have every scan blood test meeting with midwives etc even have midwives present or in the house on standby in case of complications, with the hospital notified what they are doing etc

then theres all the people inbetween!

 

[JenStar1976]

Sorry if I'm being stupid, but does freebirthing go as far as not having antenatal appointments, scans, blood tests etc.? Or is it just the birth itself that has no medical assistance? x

well freebirth is just the act of birthing without assistance.

it really varies on ante natal care etc

some women choose to have NOTHING no scans blood tests, meetings with midwives, literally nothing. (now this is where i think it's slightly irresponsible but again not for me to judge'

others are the exact opposite and have every scan blood test meeting with midwives etc even have midwives present or in the house on standby in case of complications, with the hospital notified what they are doing etc

then theres all the people inbetween!

Thanks for this. It was the Telegraph article about the lady and her twins that got me thinking. I couldn't believe that she didn't know she was carrying twins, so guessed that she hadn't had any scans. x

 

[winegums]

yeah see thats very extreme, she wouldnt allow the midwives to help her and her babies ended up dying.

Most freebirthers will except medical help if NEEDS be and often have alerted hospitals and midwives to be on standby.

There was probably some reason she was so anti medical care but it is certainly not the norm

 

[Dumpling]

As a midwife, the very idea of freebirthing sends shivers down my spine. I have had too much experience of things going wrong, even when everything has been completely normal to begin with. I was a community midwife & attended women at many (hands off, intervention free) wonderful homebirths, although I have to say I have never had anyone refuse to let me listen to the babys heartbeat & all have been willing to transfer in when recommended.

Slightly OT, but it also upsets me somewhat when I hear people saying 'Just tell them you're having a home birth, the midwives have to attend you legally' when women have complications & are recommended to have a hospital delivery because I think does nobody think of the poor midwife they are putting in that position?!

Sorry, will get off the soapbox now!

 

[marley2580]

Slightly OT, but it also upsets me somewhat when I hear people saying 'Just tell them you're having a home birth, the midwives have to attend you legally' when women have complications & are recommended to have a hospital delivery because I think does nobody think of the poor midwife they are putting in that position?!

Sorry, will get off the soapbox now!

I understand where you're coming from but the problem comes from consultants and midwives all having different opinions. Eg I chose to try for a home vbac and was advised not to by the consultant and a few midwives, whereas one or two of my CMWs were very supportive. So who was right?

 

[Celesse]

Slightly OT, but it also upsets me somewhat when I hear people saying 'Just tell them you're having a home birth, the midwives have to attend you legally' when women have complications & are recommended to have a hospital delivery because I think does nobody think of the poor midwife they are putting in that position?!

Sorry, will get off the soapbox now!

I understand where you're coming from but the problem comes from consultants and midwives all having different opinions. Eg I chose to try for a home vbac and was advised not to by the consultant and a few midwives, whereas one or two of my CMWs were very supportive. So who was right?

In an ideal world shouldn't professionals be educating women about the risks and helping them reduce these risks without bullying or pressurising them? You can't eliminate risk altogether, so any intervention is just risk minimisation. If women are truly informed and are giving, or with-holding consent based on this information then they can work in partnership with the professionals.

 

[Dream.A.Dream]

I personally would not be comfortable with this xx

 

[MikaylasMummy]

no way would i ever recomend anyone to risk it!i was only 22 when i had my lo..perfectly healthy, fit and had no diagnosed problems in pregnancy what so ever..to anyone it would have been straight forward and just the type of pregnancy they would have allowed a home birth/birth centre..turns out i had a placenta accreta and nearly bled right out..the drs were just able to save me,my uterus and stop me from going into theatre but if i was at home with no help i would have bled to death before the ambulance had time to get there!i know this is not the case with everyone but as i said mine would have looked like the perfect pregnancy!i wouldnt risk it to be honest but everyone is different!

 

[lozzy21]

Midwifes have been around for ever however alot of them have no medical traning and are just a woman who has helped out with a lot of births. They will know remedys to help with a few problems but there is no guarentee that they will work.

 

[trumpetbum]

Slightly OT, but it also upsets me somewhat when I hear people saying 'Just tell them you're having a home birth, the midwives have to attend you legally' when women have complications & are recommended to have a hospital delivery because I think does nobody think of the poor midwife they are putting in that position?!

Sorry, will get off the soapbox now!

I understand where you're coming from but the problem comes from consultants and midwives all having different opinions. Eg I chose to try for a home vbac and was advised not to by the consultant and a few midwives, whereas one or two of my CMWs were very supportive. So who was right?

In an ideal world shouldn't professionals be educating women about the risks and helping them reduce these risks without bullying or pressurising them? You can't eliminate risk altogether, so any intervention is just risk minimisation. If women are truly informed and are giving, or with-holding consent based on this information then they can work in partnership with the professionals.

Ita, also I trust my m/w 100% and if she felt we needed to be in hospital I'd be changing my plans, a bit bummed but I'd be happy to follow that advice and transfer to hospital care.
Unfortunately I might have made the decision to go against a midwives advice in my last pregnancy because of the relentless attempts to thwart my homebirth and the fact that at no time did I build a relationship with a midwife, I saw a different person every time, some of whom were very against coming out to attend me . The only thing I could trust was my instincts and the research I'd immersed myself in, which is a real shame as I feel that the attendance of a good midwife is worth its weight in gold and I'm extremely grateful that I have that wealth of experience, expertise and education to lean on this time around. I feel that if women weren't fobbed off so much, there'd be a greater element of trust and willingness to enter into discussion and compromise.

 

[mommyof3co]

I haven't read all the responses. But I personally would love to do this...but in my own home, not in the ocean or something haha. I know my body and feel that I could prepare myself to handle most situations and if something did go wrong 911 is only a phone call away. But Mark isn't comfortable with it so it isn't something I will be doing. He would rather have a professional overseeing but maybe us still doing it fully on our own with them watching just in case.

 

[stella123]

Most independent midwives takke a step back during home deliveries and will advise the woman to go with her body's initiative and only intervene if need be. But I do think its important that the baby is monitored occassionally during labour, just to double check everythings going okay. But I believe every woman should be entitled to their own birth experience - unfortuantely this doesn't always go to plan

 

[mommyof3co]

Yeah I will be a VBAC so I'm sure they'll do some monitoring but I'd like to be left alone for the most part. I don't like to be touched or talked to when I'm in labor because I kind of go inside myself I guess is the only way I could describe it, like I block everything else out so someone touching me messes that up

 

[bubbles]

I think the way a woman births is an extremely personal choice that NO ONE has the right to judge, just the same as how a woman chooses to feed their child (as much as I advocate BFing it is still a personal choice). No one knows the circumstances surrounding that womans decision, for example if a woman had previously lost a child due to medical negligence during labour/birth would people still say she was irresponsible if she chose to freebirth? I certainly wouldn't as I would understand her mistrust in the medical profession.
I personally don't have alot of faith in the MW team at my hospital due to my past experience with them not following my birth plan and leaving me to labour for so long. I don't feel they would follow my wishes this time at the hospital so have chosen to birth at home as I will feel more in control and able to speak up for myself. Although I will have a MW at my home I would prefer to birth on my own and follow my body rather than orders of when to push or not (not really what I would call a freebirth) Of course if I felt something was wrong I would ask the MW to check

 

[flubdub]

I think there's possibly a lot of legality matters, and maybe a debate on the human rights of the child getting the best healthy start. I agree that it is a bit too risky.

As you can see here, a woman has an ocean birth. At first I watched it and was like "Wow, so natural, look how the baby intuitively swims. And then my critical side creeped in "Good god, it could bang it's head on those rocks/I know the high salt in the water would kill most infection, but that's quite a risk to take"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBoc7dFvXkk&feature=player_embedded


I myself have not had children yet, but have worked as a doula and done work experience as a midwife and starting my midwifery course in 2 years once I've managed to save a bit more money - so I am unaware of how you feel mentally during labour, but I think going this far is perhaps too risky for mother and child?

saltwater is great for wounds and doesn't cause infection? many people in other countries go into the sea to give birth alone

Wouldnt the salt water sting the babies eyes? I would have liked to see that guy have a better grip of the baby tbh. It was just flailing around in the water on its own mostly!