Want a home birth but MW said I won't get the support in breastfeeding?

[Aidan's Mummy]

Hi ladies

When I had my booking in appointment I said I was unsure about whether I would like a home birth or a hospital birth. After a lot of thought and research I have decided I would like a home water birth, my pregnancy has been smooth apart from SPD and I am classed as low risk. I rang my MW (she said to ring her when decided) and told her I would like to have a home birth. She then said looking at my notes I was intending to breastfeed but was not succesful with my last son so it would and I had asked for extra support when Oliver is here. I asked why this was relevant and she said if I had a home birth then I would not get the support I require as the communit MW's havn't got time to spend ages with me if I struggle. She went onto say that if I needed support it would be better to be in hopsital as I have mw's on hand after delivery and I could stay a number of days. What do you ladies think? What was the support like for breastfeeding after a home birth etc? x

 

[becstar]

What an utter crock of sh!!

The midwives will stay to help you feed and then you have access to the community midwives all the time for a few weeks... I called them for advice at 3am and they talked me through the problem and came out the next day. I went to groups, was able to call LLL and NCT helplines, you can even turn up at the hospital and ask for help.

I had a hospital birth last time and after initially getting us latched Noone had any time for us as they were so short staffed and busy.

 

[Aidan's Mummy]

Thanks, I thought it what she was saying was bizzare x

 

[Mervs Mum]

What a crock. They have exactly the same duty of care for you at home. You can ask for extra visits too and many areas have volunteers who will come to you at home. So basically she's saying that you get better care depending on where you give birth!! Having supported hospital births I can tell you that some hospitals give bugger all breastfeeding support while you're in and anyway, they're aiming to discharge in 6 - 24 hours....are they claiming that they will get breastfeeding established in that time for everyone be they at home or hospital??!! Bull!!

 

[Mervs Mum]

I would also say be proactive in your approach to breastfeeding. Get yourself along to you r local groups - La leche league, Baby Cafe, sure start breastfeeding groups, NCT. Ask your Mw where you can find the volunteer peer supporters like Little Angels etc and find them NOW. find them in advance and debrief what happened last time so you are armed with what you need to get off to the best possible start this time. Go along to groups now and ask questions. We often have pregnant mums at our La Leche meetings who are able to ask questions etc. Build up your support network IN ADVANCE.

 

[Aidan's Mummy]

Thank you I have a MW appointment next week so I am going to quiz her on local support groups etc and get in contact with the breastfeeding peer supporters. x

 

[08marchbean]

pile of crap! i had hospital birth last time and had problems breast feeding, when i asked for help all i was told is well you cant force her to feed, if shes not hunrgry she wont nurse. Even tho she was screaming and i couldnt get her to latch properly. I ended up with cracked nipples after a few hours and a baby on a bottle coz they wouldnt help me!
I also knew nothing about bf so thought that was it and i couldnt try again as she had 1 bottle.They didnt tell me otherwise and i am still disapointed in the lack of bf support in hospital..

 

[moomin_troll]

I had a hospital birth with my first n I failed at bf as the support well I had none! The new were horrible.
With Corey I had a home water birth that was amazing and almost 6 months on I'm still breast feeding.
My community mw was lovely n came to visit us at around 5 days pp n she showed me a hold n bf became so much easier.
Ur mw sounds like a cow n is just trying to turn u against a hb!

Good luck with what ever u decide

 

[helloeveryone]

our hosptial was rubbish at giving advice on breastfeeding, they haven't got the time,
my baby had a cleft lip and i was keen to breastfeed we were just left to it. when i asked if they thought i had a good latch they said i'm sure you have and walked out..soo if you want a home birth you have one you can get support from groups and us on here..xx

 

[Kess]

Agree with Merv's Mum, preparation in pregnancy was the thing that made BFing work for me. I watched videos on YouTube showing a good latch, watched a DVD my MW lent me, and read loads of the KellyMom website (which is probably the best BFing resource ever). I also got help from LLL when my baby wouldn't stay awake to feed (he's suck once or twice and fall asleep). I now have a right little booby monster, and after watching FF relatives faff with making up bottles etc, am so glad we persevered through the sleeping and cracked nipples, fast letdown and oversupply.

ETA: Giving birth at home, the environment, lack of interventions, etc, makes successful BFing more likely.

 

[xSin]

One recurring theme that I've noticed on these boards regarding Midwives in the UK is that there appears to be a LOT of midwives in that area that push really hard for a hospital birth, and actively work to DISSUADE mothers from opting for a home birth.

I'd say that the information you were given was a rather sneaky tactic to try to persuade you to give birth in the hospital instead of at home.

 

[Angel2Fire]

I had a c-section with my son and was in hospital for 3 days. The "support" I got with breastfeeding was awful! No one had the time to sit with me, they were always rushing in and out, and one midwife forced my sons head onto my breast, with such force that it made me cry

There was one healthcare assistant that managed to get my son to latch on, and she spent about an hour and a half sitting with me and talking me through it, but no one else had the time.

As others have said, I really wouldn't listen to what your midwife has said. Its not a good enough reason for you to have to go to hospital.

Good luck

 

[stardust599]

Coming from the other side here:

I had excellent support with BF in hospital, buzzed the MWs every 20mins to come and latch my LO back on for me and they were happy to sit with me and work with us for hours. I insisted on going home when it wasn't quite right yet and it all fell apart.

I didn't have anyone on call during the night etc. to help me with latching and quite a few nights when it was 4am, my LO had been feeding on/off since 10pm with a poor latch and was still screaming her head off with hunge, neither of us had had any sleep and I couldn't calm her down enough to latch I gave in and gave bottles because I couldn't cope! I wish I'd stayed in hospital another couple of nights until we had the hang of the latch better! I did carry on in the morning when I'd had some sleep but I bet the formula interfered with my success.

The comminity MWs did come out everyday for the first 3 weeks in the morning and gave us tips, checked the latch etc. but it wasn't the same as having the on call support at 3am when you are sobbing your heart out and about to give up and really need physical/practical help right NOW.

I would love a home birth but I'm aiming for a natural hospital birth with a 2-3 night stay until we fully have the hang of our latch! xx

 

[xsadiex]

I had a wonderful homebirth but midwives only stayed a few hours and i really struggled with breastfeeding, baby got dehydrated so we had to go into hospital!! But to be honest it all worked out really well...got the amazing birth i wanted and then a couple of days later went to hospital (got a nice private room) with 24/7 midwife support and now he's feeding really well, so all was not lost in the end.

 

[Aidan's Mummy]

Hmmm it seems like the same old story really different support in different areas which is a shame x

 

[Mervs Mum]

I think that's the common theme with maternity services in the uk. I don't think it would matter where you gave birth as to what your support would be like after. I think the key is to get yourself ready before. Much easier to pick up a phone to a bf counsellor you have already met than it is to try and find someone when youve just given birth 2 days before and had no sleep etc!

 

[Aidan's Mummy]

The peer supporters here have a mobile phone and they take turns having it during the night and weekends. I would ring them if I needed to although I would probably still feel a little guilty as they have babies of their own x

 

[Sam Pearson]

Dont compromise your birth wishes. If you need breastfeeding help you are most likely to get it from a qualified Lactation Consultant - they are the experts and the best place to get top quality breastfeeding support.

 

[Mervs Mum]

Sam LCs are a little thin on the ground in the UK unless have about £90 an hour to get a private one.

 

[Aidan's Mummy]

£90.00 an hour wow thats expensive. Defiantly couldn't afford one of those x