Home Birth

LavaLamp

Hi everyone. Having had my first scan yesterday I'm finally convinced that there is in fact someone in there who is due to be born in May Now, I love the idea of a homebirth, and the student midwife I spoke to yesterday said it's a great idea (and gave me the name of a possible midwife who I need to track down), but the hospital won't offer any support regarding it so it is all down to me, which is fine.

I just wondered if anyone on here had had a home birth and could share any nuggets of wisdom etc. on the subject, it seems really hard to find anything on the internet....?

Squiggler

We're planning a homebirth. First baby is due around the end of March.

http://www.homebirth.ie/ is a good place to start, some very helpful advice on there, and a list of midwives throughout the country. If you are based in Cork or Kerry there is a lot of support available, Dublin is also fairly well served.

The most important thing is to call midwives as soon as possible, as they have to provide a very high level of personal care they limit the number of clients they take on for any given birth period.

It will be necessary to register with the HSE, but your midwife will talk you through all of that.

Is there anything you're wondering about in particular?

LavaLamp

I was wondering where to start really, which I guess is going to be finding a midwife near me and contacting her. I'm in Clare, and there seems to be very little support round here that I can find.

Great to know you are going to have a homebirth though, I really love the idea, hope it will all work out!

cynder

My sister in law had a home birth.

She lived in cork city, it was her first baby.

Her contractions started they contacted the midwife. She got to 9cm dilated and the next time the midwife checked she was 4cms dilated after an hour nothing happened baby got distressed and an ambulance was called, she was rushed to hospital and given an emergency c-section. The baby had swallowed his own poop and was critical, he spent 2 weeks in the special care baby unit. Lucky she lived close to the maternity hospital otherwise he might not be the healthy 9 year old he is today.

If you live in the back end of nowhere like loop head i would advise against a home birth incase something goes wrong.

Squiggler

LavaLamp wrote: »

I was wondering where to start really, which I guess is going to be finding a midwife near me and contacting her. I'm in Clare, and there seems to be very little support round here that I can find.

Great to know you are going to have a homebirth though, I really love the idea, hope it will all work out!

Start with the homebirth association and finding a midwife. There are conditions you will have to fulfil to be eligible for a home birth, or rather there are contraindications, but your midwife will go through all of those with you.

It is a good idea (not necessary, but very much advisable) to have a hospital back up plan. I have registered with one of the maternity hospitals (with it "on hold") so they have me on their records if a hospital transfer becomes necessary.

Don't listen to scare stories, that's general advice, no matter what you decide to go for. Home Births are not statistically any more dangerous than Hospital Births. In fact, in terms of post birth complications (infections, superbugs etc) Home Births are safer.

Having all of the antenatal visits in the comfort of your own home, with consistent care provided by one individual, is wonderful. It eliminates the stress of having to drag a body increasing in size to a maternity clinic, not to mention the stresses that can cause (having to listen to what is going wrong for other people in such a stressful environment is not pleasant).

My mother had my two younger siblings at home, the birth experience was incomparable. The level of control that you can have in a Home Birth situation, together with the familiar environment and the freedom to do whatever you feel like during labour, are invaluable. Additionally there is no sending away of OH, or any other family or older children you might want to be present at any stage. Actually, they are included in the entire pregnancy and process from the beginning. I assisted at the birth of my youngest brother when I was 7. It was a wonderful experience and one that I wouldn't trade for anything.

Whatever you decide, best of luck. If you do have any specific questions please feel free to PM me.

January

Always best to be registered with a hospital, the midwives encourage it, and they also encourage going to the hospital for at least two appointments (12 week for bloods and 20 week for anomaly scan). The bloods done in the hospital are good to have on hand for them if anything does go wrong and you are transferred.

Squiggler

The hospital bloods also provide the Home Birth Midwife with valuable information, and you with valuable reassurance

Ayla

grindelwald wrote: »

...If you live in the back end of nowhere like loop head i would advise against a home birth incase something goes wrong.

Well, I'd half-way agree with *that* part of your post...into scare tactics by chance?

OP: I would have *loved* a homebirth with my two girls, but the logistics (ie: no midwives in our neck of Donegal) and the associated costs (ie: you have to pay for most of the services yourself, even if you have health insurance) were prohibitive for us.

I would *highly* recommend reading "The Guide to Childbirth" by Ina May Gaskin. She's a long-serving midwife in the US who has helped deliver over 3,000 babies in a self-sufficiency community in Tennessee. Fantastic book, very inspiring, and very encouraging to finally read something that doesn't treat childbirth like a horror flick.

Yes, of course there are chances that *something* could go wrong, and yes, you have to weigh that possibility against the (greater) possibility that nothing will. But, overall, statistically speaking, homebirths (with the right support structures in place) are safe and amazing life experiences. Good luck!

LavaLamp

well I'm already registered with a hospital, as had no idea whether home birth was an option, and the lovely student midwife I saw said I could stay with the hospital for the duration if I wanted. I really don't like being prodded and poked at (who does!), so am not worried about not going to a hospital. Would be nice to have my next scan (which is in 13 weeks) just to see all is OK, but I'm not convinced they are particularly good for baby anyway.

grindelwald - I do realise there are risks, however that could just as easily happen in hospital, and it can take up to 30 minutes to prepare surgery - those 30 minutes would be spent travelling to the hospital by ambulance. However, can I just chip in with this fact:
"[FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial,san-serif]In the UK, the perinatal mortality rate for home birth is in the region of four per thousand, compared to around 9 per thousand in hospital environments. Similar studies in Holland and Australia have confirmed these findings, which appeared in the 'British Medical Journal' back in 1996.[/FONT]"

I just feel that giving birth is the most natural thing in the world to do, and would really rather not have to go into hospital. Of course I am not going to put myself or our precious baby at risk, and I really feel that having a completely stress-free birth at home, where I am comfortable and can have OH with me at all times is how it should be done.

It's great to hear other peoples opinions though, even the scare stories!

cynder

LavaLamp wrote: »

grindelwald - I do realise there are risks, however that could just as easily happen in hospital, and it can take up to 30 minutes to prepare surgery - those 30 minutes would be spent travelling to the hospital by ambulance. However, can I just chip in with this fact:
"[FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial,san-serif]In the UK, the perinatal mortality rate for home birth is in the region of four per thousand, compared to around 9 per thousand in hospital environments. Similar studies in Holland and Australia have confirmed these findings, which appeared in the 'British Medical Journal' back in 1996.[/FONT]"

!

I don't doubt that one minute as i know people who knew their babies were going to die straight after birth (heart defects), and had them in the hospital.

Also i did say back in loop head which would mean at least a 1 hour and 30 min drive by ambulance, Ennis would only be a 20min drive by ambulance. Like i said my sister in law lived in cork city if she lived 1.5 hours away chances are she would have given birth to a dead baby in hospital. That was the reason she chose to have a home birth because if anything did go wrong she was only round the corner.

I've heard of a good few mothers that have had their babies en route from west Clare and some even had them at home as ambulance didn't get there in time, all babies were fine.

* except the mother who prematurely gave birth to twins at the cliffs of moher, both babies died, air ambulance never arrived in time (they probably would not have survived if born in a hospital).


If you choose the home birth route best of luck,

Squiggler

Grindelwald, lets make a deal. I don't fill the hospital birth threads with all the horror stories I've heard from family and friends, with stats about the high level of MRSA contracted by infants in hospital etc. Even my own recent negative maternity hospital experiences were deliberately kept unspecific with regards to the Hospital in question. Your anecdotes here are not helpful.

Any mother considering a Home Birth needs to make an informed decision, and will be fully versed about any risks by her healthcare providers and by her midwife.

Your hospital experiences, as described elsewhere in this forum, don't exactly sell hospital births.

cynder

Squiggler wrote: »

Grindelwald, lets make a deal. I don't fill the hospital birth threads with all the horror stories I've heard from family and friends, with stats about the high level of MRSA contracted by infants in hospital etc. Even my own recent negative maternity hospital experiences were deliberately kept unspecific with regards to the Hospital in question. Your anecdotes here are not helpful.

Any mother considering a Home Birth needs to make an informed decision, and will be fully versed about any risks by her healthcare providers and by her midwife.

Your hospital experiences, as described elsewhere in this forum, don't exactly sell hospital births.

Than let her ask them, she asked boards and as a member of boards i answered, im not FOR or AGAINST home births. Im not trying to sell hospital births, im not sugar-coating home births just as i am not sugarcoating any experience i have had(or my family or friends have had) with hospitals.


I am just saying its safer to be near a hospital in case anything goes wrong if your living in a hard to get to / or a far away area then you need to take that into consideration when choosing if you want a home birth or hospital birth.

tbh when i first fell pregnant at 18 i thought something was going to go wrong and i took out life insurance of £90,000 so she would be looked after if i died. Think i look at some aspects of life as 'better safe than sorry'.


As for negative info about hospital, where did i say anything negative? Limerick hospital is fantastic, why did i have my 3 kids there if i had a negative experience, if you talking about the midwife shouting at me thank god she did otherwise i would have had a 4th degree tear, if she hadn't of shouted i would not have listened and would be paying the price 4 years later. If i were to have another one i would go back to limerick. I have not 1 complaint.

Squiggler

The OP asked for information and advice as to how to arrange a home birth, advice about where to go for such information and for first-hand experience.

Giving birth is one of the most natural things in the world, not something to be feared, or vilified, and certainly not an illness or medical condition.

I don't advocated planning to give birth in a field with only the birds to assist.

A planned home birth will be supervised by a midwife who has practically become part of the family by the time of delivery, who is almost as familiar with the mother's body as she is herself and who is very well placed to make decisions as to whether a hospital transfer is advisable or required in a timely manner.

There are stringent criteria that must be met by the mother in order to qualify for a home birth, which make it impossible for anyone who could be considered to be at high, or even moderate, risk of complications to qualify.

cynder

LavaLamp wrote: »

It's great to hear other peoples opinions though, even the scare stories!

I dont wish to scare you and i do wish you the best of luck with it

Squiggler wrote: »

The OP asked for information and advice as to how to arrange a home birth, advice about where to go for such information and for first-hand experience.

.

see above:P