When do you have to decide about hb?

[Essie]

Hi ladies,

Quick background, this is my first baby. Normal pregnancy, apart from slight bleed at 6 weeks. Am under consultant led care because of bmi but GTT, BP etc have all been fine so far. I'm having a growth scan and next consultant appt on Monday.

At my booking in appointment my midwife asked where i wanted to give birth, and i said hospital (as i didnt really know anything about any other options) and she said "good, i wouldn't recommend a home birth to you"

I hadn't really thought about it, but i'm now 31 weeks and have been doing a lot of research into HB and it really appeals to me. I'm just wondering if i've left it too late to discuss it with my mw (have changed midwives since booking appt as i moved house). I have my next appointment with her on thursday so was going to ask her then. I'm also wondering if they will just say no based on bmi, i've seen there are other threads on that so i'm off to search them now.

Any input/advice greatly appreciated x

 

[chuck]

By law you decide to HB when you're in labour as in the UK your health care trust are duty bound to attend you HOWEVER it may be better to talk it through with your team.

You are allowed to change your mind and you do not need permission to HB if you want to.

having a higher BMI tends to mark you as being higher risk however if you have had no complications etc then there should be no problem.

I attempted to VBAC at home on Friday and my MW team and health care trust had no issue in supporting me thankfully.

You might be surprised by the response you get as long as you let your MW know you have done your research and are happy.

 

[Kess]

Hi ladies,

Quick background, this is my first baby. Normal pregnancy, apart from slight bleed at 6 weeks. Am under consultant led care because of bmi but GTT, BP etc have all been fine so far. I'm having a growth scan and next consultant appt on Monday.

At my booking in appointment my midwife asked where i wanted to give birth, and i said hospital (as i didnt really know anything about any other options) and she said "good, i wouldn't recommend a home birth to you"

I hadn't really thought about it, but i'm now 31 weeks and have been doing a lot of research into HB and it really appeals to me. I'm just wondering if i've left it too late to discuss it with my mw (have changed midwives since booking appt as i moved house). I have my next appointment with her on thursday so was going to ask her then. I'm also wondering if they will just say no based on bmi, i've seen there are other threads on that so i'm off to search them now.

Any input/advice greatly appreciated x

Re. the bolded, they can't. It's not up to them it's your body and your baby. They may be less than supportive, but HCPs have this horrible habit of throwing around words like "allow" and "you can't" when they need to realise it isn't their decision, they cannot "allow" you to do something or tell you "you can't".

Have a read of "Can I have a homebirth if...?" on https://www.homebirth.org.uk/, there's a section on women with high BMI and links to other sites.

As Chuck says, you can make the decision to birth at home as late as when you're in labour if you wish.

 

[rachiedata]

Your BMI alone shouldn't be a barrier to a HB - with a higher BMI the concerns they would have I imagine would be gest diabetes and mobility concerns, but if your GTT was fine and you've no mobility issues (she may have filled in a form for this during booking) then there's no reason you can't stay at home. I'm surprised you're under consultant care as well, if that's the only thing they've got to worry about is your BMI then I'd say that's a pretty good pregnancy!

Definitely not too late to talk to them - they like to make it all official, but there's no reason you can't "change your booking" (ie. tell them you're staying at home and ask for the on-call procedure/birth kit if its provided) right up until the last minute. Bit naughty of your original midwife to say that, without you having even asked. However much some midwives and authorities genuinely do want to increase the home birth rate, there are others who it seems would do anything to reduce it.

Let us know how you get on!

 

[JenStar1976]

I changed my mind and decided on a HB after I'd finished my NCT classes at 35 weeks - I too was worried that I'd left it too late. As I wanted a water birth, the only "stress" I had was making sure my pool was delivered in time as I was paranoid about going into labour early (don't know why!!)! As it turned out, Alex was born on his due date! xx

 

[nanomey]

here, you cannot book in to have a homebirth untill you are 37wk preg - you can tell them all the way through you plan to have one - but you are booked in to a hosp until you hit 37weeks. you can also change your mind at any point - even if you started going into labour and thought 'attually i want to go to hospital'!

i decided to have a homebirth before i was even preg lol -and so at m booking in my midwife knew from then as long as everything went fine through the preg thats what a planned to do.
after the homebirth went great i decided that 'if i was ever to have another one....' so i ended up having another one last dec lol.

talk to your midwife but its not too late & she will advise you

 

[Essie]

I spoke to my midwife and she was quite positive about hb. She said BMI wasn't really a concern, since i'm only 0.6 over the limit for consultant care anyway, and GTT, growth scan etc have all been fine.

She did say that HB is first come first served, ie if another lady was in labour already then i'd have to go to the hospital. She gave me a leaflet about it and said we can discuss it again at my 34 week appt, which is next week.

 

[BritAcrossSea]

Good news about the hb. We only decided that hb was the route for us after our antenatal class at 36wks. At 38wks (last Sunday) we had our hb risk assessment with our mw (she had to come round the house) and got the go ahead. She also said the same to us about first come first serve so I'm just hoping that I'm that first when baby decides to make an appearance.

 

[lesleyann]

I spoke to my midwife and she was quite positive about hb. She said BMI wasn't really a concern, since i'm only 0.6 over the limit for consultant care anyway, and GTT, growth scan etc have all been fine.

She did say that HB is first come first served, ie if another lady was in labour already then i'd have to go to the hospital. She gave me a leaflet about it and said we can discuss it again at my 34 week appt, which is next week.

The bit i have bolded is wrong, they cannot make you go to hospital because of their staffing issues it is their job to send someone to you even if they have to call on bank midwifes, they seem to use this staff issue as a cop out when you have the right no matter what and they HAVE to send someone

EDIT::

https://www.homebirth.org.uk/

Can i have a home birth if? staff shortages and continue though there

 

[ShireLass]

This thread is relevant to my interests

At this stage I would like a home birth, non of my family is supportive yet. My midwife wrote hospital on the booking form without asking me if I'd thought about it yet, she also put me straight under a consultant for my asthma and said my bmi was high at 31. So it doesn't look good at this point.

Can you have a homebirth if you're under a consultant? How do I ditch mine? (Haven't even had an appointment through yet lol )

 

[Bournefree]

Just tell your MW you don't want consultant lead care. Job done. They can only recommend - though can sometimes seem in the language that is used, that you don't have a choice i.e "I've booked your scan for you".. rather than asking if you would like a scan. As you don't have to accept any type of care if you don't wish to - and the MW still have a duty towards you and they have to enable informed choice and support your choices.

I had Gestational Diabetes with my first pregnancy and had a home birth. Your high BMI shouldn't be a barrier at all or asthma. I'm not saying it will be straight forward, as I'm sure that your MW will want to make a plan of care with you for home birth (which might seem like it is a pain, but they should be helping to facilite your birth choice)
All that matters is how you feel, and you are entitled to get want you want. Birth is only a personal choice, noone elses.
XxX
XxX

 

[indigo_fairy]

This thread is relevant to my interests

At this stage I would like a home birth, non of my family is supportive yet. My midwife wrote hospital on the booking form without asking me if I'd thought about it yet, she also put me straight under a consultant for my asthma and said my bmi was high at 31. So it doesn't look good at this point.

Can you have a homebirth if you're under a consultant? How do I ditch mine? (Haven't even had an appointment through yet lol )

My BMI is also 31, and I'm under consultant led care because of a previous ceasarean. They didn't ask me what I wanted to do either, just put hospital too. When I went to see my consultant for the first time he just mentioned that they wouldn't allow me a homebirth because of x, y & z.

This got me thinking and within a day I had decided to plan for a homebirth. I'd wanted one with my first and regret it a little because of the way things turned out. Since then it's been a bit of a battle, but I'm still going ahead with my home birth, even after the consultant writing 'strongly advice against homebirth' on my notes. It's totally up to you, as Bourne says, the way they words things makes it seem like that's what you have to do, but it's so wrong. I did go and see my consultant, but don't plan on making any further appointments with him as he's requested at 41wks, and you have the choice to 'ditch' yours anytime you like!

By the way none of my family are supportive either, but I haven't shared my plans too openly with them to avoid negative comments (which happened last time). My DH is 100% supportive, as is my doula, so when I wobble they help me to remember why I want this, and the lovely ladies here of course, couldn't have done it without them

 

[Bournefree]

Now where is that advice from the Nursing and Midwifery Council on home birth choice from July 2010??


... Ahh here it is..

https://www.nmc-uk.org/Documents/Co...e2SupportingWomenInTheirChoiceOfHomeBirth.pdf

Have a read, it will boost your confidence in the rules your MWs have to work to and follow to enable your birth choice.

I would also recommend the following book for anyone experiencing difficulties in their birth choice of a home birth and starting to feel a bit militant!

Home Birth; the politics of difficult choices. M Noland
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Home-Birth...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1307811323&sr=8-1

lots of it will chime with you I'm sure (what is sad about most of the women and their families featured as cases, felt SO appalled at the way they were treated, and their feelings towards the "system" so soiled with grief, they opted for independent MWs) The fact they choose to opt out shows how damaging bad relationships with women can be, and is a terrible incitement to the MWs involved in their care - but it really doesn't have to be that way!!! You can get great care in the NHS - you are entitled to it! STICK WITH IT (Especially if finances don't enable any other choice)
XxX

 

[NaturalMomma]

I decided to HB a year after ds1's birth. I didn't get pregnant with ds2 until a year later. You can decide to HB at any time through your pregnancy.

 

[cranberry987]

I wondered what you actually DO to book in. I called my consultant team/Hospital MW (I dont even know who it is tbh, just ppl I see to tell me all is fine it seems) and they said they dont book HB in per say.

Is it always the community MW who books you in, what do they actually do? Put you in the diary or something?

 

[Mervs Mum]

They just take a few details and make sure the community team are aware of you having a home birth. They will arrange for a kit for you (if that's procedure locally - not all areas drop off before) and just go through the general stuff with you. It takes very little actual arranging so you can even decide on the day you want to stay home!