what would you choose?

[NDH]

If you had to choose between a home birth that would cost $3000 or so or a hospital in which you'd previously had a really positive natural birth for free which would you choose?

 

[booflebump]

It would always be home for me.....what does your heart say over your financial head?

 

[disneyleanne]

If money were no object then home but the fact that you have had a previous positive experience at a birthing centre you should feel more confident to birth there.
Im going for a home birth due to negative experiences previously.

 

[Sommerfugl]

I had a really positive experience with my daughter at a birth centre, I had a natural water birth and it went pretty close to how I had wanted it.
However, this time I am hoping for a home birth. I think I will be more comfortable at home, plus I was really lucky last time to get get in the birth centre and get the pool, as the centre is only open 4 days per week and there is only one pool.
One of my main reasons for wanting a home birth is so that I'll definitely have a pool available to me.

If money was no object I would definitely go for home birth, my homebirth won't be costing much more than the cost of the pool, if it was closer to a couple of grand I think I wouldn't be too sad about settling for the birthing suite, but if I'd have had a bad hospital experience last time I guess I would feel better about forking out from all of my savings :/

 

[solitaire89]

If I had the choice (even if it meant holding off TTC until we had the funds, which is what it would be in our case), I would have a home birth every time. My home birth was a most fantastic experience. I suppose though, I am biased, as I haven't had a birth in a medical setting.

I sometimes think that we UK ladies forget how lucky we are to be able to get a "free" home birth - even though I know we may have to fight for it

 

[NDH]

I never contemplated a hospital birth growing up - it was always going to be a home birth for me. But my lovely pastors wife was a midwife and delivered all the babies I knew, and the mother of children I used to babysit was a doula and both happily accepted payment plans (until homebirths became free)
But then I moved here before getting pregnant and there was no way we could consider it seeing as dh didn't have work for 6 months of my pregnancy and we weren't entitled to any benefits at all. Plus the only midwife I could find who does homebirths was way too alternative for me to feel comfortable with and our tiny two bedroom apartment doesn't even have a bathtub or room for a birth pool.

Long story short, I have zero regrets about not having a home birth with DD, especially considering the really great experience in the hospital (seriously I didn't even give them my birth plan yet everything was followed as they asked me at every stage - she even asked if i wanted a lotus birth).
I'd still love a home birth though but really struggling with the cost when it could be free (even if it was free i'd not have one where i'm living though)
But I suppose by the time #2 is on the way it might not even be an option to consider if things continue the way they're going with the threat of home births becoming illegal here

 

[Mervs Mum]

Fortunately in the UK we don't have to make those tough financial choices. A client asked me the other day, if my baby were breech would you have a vaginal birth in hospital? I thought and said no, I'd find the £4000 from somewhere to have experienced mws support me to birth at home. So I guess that's my equivalent choice. We definitely don't have that type of money to hand but I'd find a way. If its important then you make it happen. I guess you can't put a price on somethings. Listen to your heart. You already know the answer...it's in there.