Home Delivery???

Question

I am 13 1/2 weeks pregnant I live in the east midlands in England my midwife keeps going on about me having a home birth, she says they are quite safe nowadays and you can still have pain relief. I would like a water birth in hospital. What do you think about home births and can any one share their experiences of home deliveries?? Thanx

Answer 1

I am a midwife, and personally, although I know, I know, I know that giving birth is "the most natural thing in the world" etc and for some women it's really easy, up until very recently (the last 75 years or so) it was also one of the most dangerous things in the world a woman could go through.

Medical science has come a very long way over the last 75 years, and a lot of very smart people have invested a great deal of time and effort into making childbirth much safer than it has ever been at any time in history, for mother and babe.

Doctors and midwives also know today that mothers, fathers and babies both benefit from being near to each other as much as possible, so long gone are the days where dad is banished to the waiting room to pace around and hand out cigars, or the baby is whisked away from it's mother immediately after a normal delivery and taken to the nursery.

We endeavour to marry up the very best of sound medical care while still allowing the process to be as natural as possible, if that's what the mother wants, and I feel that for the sake of mother and babe the best option really is to give birth in a hospital or birthing centre. Patients are given a lot of options these days about what they want when they are labouring - they can usually do pretty much as they please, they can watch TV, walk around, shower, bathe, whatever they want. They also have access to pain relief that is not available at home if things become too much. But bear in mind when you are labouring, anything can happen and it can happen quickly. Having expert medical help and equipment on hand during the delivery, or expert neonatal care on hand for the baby immediately after delivery can honestly save lives.

Of course, to each his own. If a patient does not WANT to give birth in what they imagine is going to be an medical environment with all sorts of intervention they also do not want, then a home birth may be more suitable, but it has to be the patients CHOICE. I do not agree that a midwife should EVER "keep going on" about a home birth if the patient elects to give birth in a hospital or birthing centre.

I have first hand experience home birthing (both as a patient and a midwife) and delivered babies for awhile in patients homes but only if the patient insisted and only if I believed that it was a low risk endeavour, considering the patient's prenatal history. Often first time mothers who have never experienced a birth before have a very set idea on what they want and what they think it will be like but honestly, no one knows until they are there. And I always maintained a back up plan to transfer the patient to hospital should I even have an inkling that something may go wrong.

Not sure what she means by home births being quite safe "nowadays" (as opposed to when?) or why that would be so, since at home, although your midwife may have a lot of equipment, they will not have access to all of the equipment they would have access to in a hospital or birthing centre.

Like I said, for some women it's their choice and that's fine for them. But if it's not the way you want to go your midwife should not pressure you to do so.

Answer 2

i have had 2 hospital births and 2 home births baby #5 is due in the next couple of weeks and i plan on having him at home.
personally i found the home births a lot better than the hospital,
i was free to do as i pleased in the privacy of my own home. i had my other children here ( not in the room when i delivered though ) and was so very relaxed, i kept having baths and walking round my garden etc
i do tell everyone home births are great but it has to be a personal choice!!
you have to keep an open mind if things are not looking good you have to be ready to go to hospital,
if at any point im told i have to be transferred ill go it is not worth putting the baby or myself in danger.
but i do believe home births are just as safe as hospital births the midwives have EVERYTHING here that they use in hospital and if you need to move to hospital ( an ambulance may already be on stand just incase i know 1 was for my 1st but not sure after that!!! ) by the time you arrive there they are ready for you either with an operating room prepared or just the doctors you need.
if you really feel a home birth is not for you then just say no, they wont force you.
it wont be just 1 midwife she will call a second midwife/doctor before the baby is born so there is 1 for you and 1 for baby.
good luck with what you decide x x x x

Answer 3

If this is your first child, DON'T.
You have no idea what you're like at birthing, or if you need emergency help.
I don't want to scare you, but my last baby would have died if I was not in a hospital. An emergency can develop quickly and without specialist help and equipment, you could be putting your and your baby's life at risk.
Also, the best prenatal classes may not prepare you for the actual event. Some people birth easily and relatively pain free, some, including me, go through inhuman kind of labours that even the midwifes talk about. Point is, you don't know what kind of person at birthing you will be.
Have your waterbirth at a hospital. I went into a bath with my second, but quickly discovered I hated it as I found I could not control my pain at all in that situation. Sounds weird, but I almost 'lost it' and couldn't get out fast enough..
You, on the other hand, my absolutely love it. But have it at hospital, where help, including pain relief options, is readily available.
Congratulations and all the best!

Answer 4

Well, I myself DO BELIEVE that YOU are right in your way of thinking. You should have the birth at a hospital. If ANYTHING, ANYTHING at all goes wrong you WILL BE better off at a hospital. Even with a midwife, this person does not have what might be needed if there are any problems in the delivery. While at the hospital they are much better equipped to handle ALL problems that could arise. I myself have delivered one baby at home. While this birth was totally unexpected the baby was unaware of this. It was a delivery with no problems at all. The woman had a healthy baby girl, that I can say I delivered for her.
I later discovered that the doctor was upset as he could NOT charge this woman a delivery fee as I had done everything in the process. (includes the afterbirth) If all this is done before arrival at hospital then a delivery fee canNOT be charged. (here is MA USA)

Answer 5

Im not trying to put u off and can only speak from experiences that I personally know of. My best friend had her 2nd child at home. she was given pethedine and gas and air. All was going well until the babies head was out. Due to the drugs she was out of it and pulled up instead of pushing. It took the midwife to screamin her face that, unless she started pushing, the baby would sufforcate and die!! she nearly lost her baby that day. Now, Im not saying it was because she was at home, but had she been in hospital then the situation may have been different. she was adamant she wanted a home birth, not she says she would never do it again. Also, she got no real rest period, even for a few hours, because she was at home. she suffered phisically for that for weeks afterwards. i, like u, would like a water birth in hospital. The only thing that puts me off hospitals are all the nasty bugs in UK wards at the moment. But that said, Ive asked for a waterbirth when my time comes. Im 29 weeks this week! Good luck.

PS don't listen to what the midwife wants, do what U want. its your baby and your birth

Answer 6

Although it's ideal you unfortunately have to be prepared for the worst. I know that I sound like a pessimist but anything can happen. My first labour was long and hard and she got stuck.If I wasn't in hospital I dread to think what would had been the outcome. You can still have plenty of control in a hospital and you don't have to have any intervention but it's good to have backup if it's needed.
Good Luck-whatever you decide!

Answer 7

If this is your first baby, I would advise you to deliver that precious baby in a hospital. I know home births are usually done in underdeveloped countries whose people are too poor to afford hospital births. I am quite surprised to hear about this in the UK.

Answer 8

Re. "Not sure what she means by home births being quite safe..."

Yeah, it's a big mystery. Nobody's ever studied it or anything.

http://www.homebirth.org.uk/ has a lot of information and studies. Yes, it's safe, if you're healthy and it's a planned event with a midwife in attendance.

More: http://gentlebirth.org/ronnie/homesafe.html

No first-hand experience to offer, but I'm planning one and quite happy to have the option to do so -- safely. I don't want to risk the iatrogenic complications that occur in hospitals, for a start. I don't want my labour 'managed' according to arbitrary timelines. I want to be free to move around anywhere I please, order pizza and blare music if I please, curl up in a ball and sob quietly if I please, etc, etc, etc.

Useful books:

http://www.hencigoer.com/betterbirth/
http://www.sheilakitzinger.com/Books.htm

All that said, if YOU want a water birth in hospital, HAVE a water birth in hospital. It's worth reading up on why women do, though.