Girls, would you consider having a home birth?

[Mary]

Would you? Share your experiences and thoughts.

[Mary]

Bump for more opinions.

[arcticwolf]

Mary where have you been? Germanicus really missed you. Let him know you're back, I think he's very fragile right now! :D

[Mary]

Mary where have you been? Germanicus really missed you. Let him know you're back, I think he's very fragile right now! :D

Just been busy with other stuff. Can't a girl have a life anymore?

It would be nice if you were willing to motivate your answers.

[Azalea]

The Netherlands is a country with high home births, but at the same time also the country with one of the highest newborn death rates in Europe. So no, I would rather give birth in the hospital, it's much more secure.

[Mary]

The Netherlands is a country with high home births, but at the same time also the country with one of the highest newborn death rates in Europe. So no, I would rather give birth in the hospital, it's much more secure.

There is a study on all the home births in the Netherlands during a long period of time (don't remember the years exactly) and it showed that the risk was the same as in a hospital.

The death rate is very low in both cases but the risk of complications with hospital births is very high.

[Mary]

This is the study:


Abstract
OBJECTIVE:

To compare perinatal mortality and severe perinatal morbidity between planned home and planned hospital births, among low-risk women who started their labour in primary care.
DESIGN:

A nationwide cohort study.
SETTING:

The entire Netherlands.
POPULATION:

A total of 529,688 low-risk women who were in primary midwife-led care at the onset of labour. Of these, 321,307 (60.7%) intended to give birth at home, 163,261 (30.8%) planned to give birth in hospital and for 45,120 (8.5%), the intended place of birth was unknown.
METHODS:

Analysis of national perinatal and neonatal registration data, over a period of 7 years. Logistic regression analysis was used to control for differences in baseline characteristics.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:

Intrapartum death, intrapartum and neonatal death within 24 hours after birth, intrapartum and neonatal death within 7 days and neonatal admission to an intensive care unit.
RESULTS:

No significant differences were found between planned home and planned hospital birth (adjusted relative risks and 95% confidence intervals: intrapartum death 0.97 (0.69 to 1.37), intrapartum death and neonatal death during the first 24 hours 1.02 (0.77 to 1.36), intrapartum death and neonatal death up to 7 days 1.00 (0.78 to 1.27), admission to neonatal intensive care unit 1.00 (0.86 to 1.16).
CONCLUSIONS:

This study shows that planning a home birth does not increase the risks of perinatal mortality and severe perinatal morbidity among low-risk women, provided the maternity care system facilitates this choice through the availability of well-trained midwives and through a good transportation and referral system.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19624439

[Linet]

I really dont know what i would do....:icon_ask:
...the whole situation is scary to me when i think of it :sweat:...so i suppose i would prefer the luxury and the care of a hospital...:fcandle:

[Mary]

I really dont know what i would do....:icon_ask:
...the whole situation is scary to me when i think of it :sweat:...so i suppose i would prefer the luxury and the care of a hospital...:fcandle:

Do you know what they do to you in a hospital? It's not a hotel.

[Han Cholo]

Mary, is taking a fisting like giving birth to the inside?

[Pallantides]

I want to be an adult baby.

[Linet]

Do you know what they do to you in a hospital? It's not a hotel.

Well usually it costs alot...so its kind of hotel in this case :eusa_eh:

[Mary]

Mary, is taking a fisting like giving birth to the inside?

I can't tell you.

[Linet]

I want to be an adult baby.

you are an elf :unicorn: , back to your tree NOW :whip:

[Mary]

Well usually it costs alot...so its kind of hotel in this case :eusa_eh:

Yeah, but they'll probably do horrible things to you.

[Linet]

Oh come on....you ll have your doctor of course...not just anyone... and of course you ll have your family there :rose:

[Mary]

Oh come on....you ll have your doctor of course...not just anyone... and of course you ll have your family there :rose:

sMX3ahiOT3o

[PeacefulCaribbeanDutch]

I would think that girls would be scared if there is a complication.

However, you can be sure your baby is not stolen :P

[Kazimiera]

It depends entirely on the woman.

Birth is a painful and personal experience and fear from being in hospital and not understanding of what goes on around them makes some women even more stressed and can prolong labour. A hospital is not the most conducive place for childbirth for everyone.

Many women prefer to do it at home with family members present. The advantages of this is that it is a more personal and intimate experience, it is cheaper, the woman is more relaxed and this can make labour shorter and less painful.

A first pregnancy can bring about some unexpected problems though, should the head not engage well into the pelvis, if the child is breech, obstructed labour and hemorrhaging. Many midwives prefer to do a second birth at home if the first has proven itself normal. First pregnancies can be risky because you are not always sure what you are dealing with.

Some women feel more secure in hospital and a home birth would just increase the anxiety levels.

Personally, I prefer to do first pregnancies in a hospital setting. I am more relaxed about second and third pregnancies. After that its get a bit dicey again because there is a higher chance for uterine prolapse and hemorrhaging after about 4-5.

[Moonbird]

Personally, I prefer to do first pregnancies in a hospital setting. I am more relaxed about second and third pregnancies.

I agree with this. I would definitely want my first baby to be born in a hospital. If that goes without complications I could then maybe have the second one at home.

[Mary]

I agree with this. I would definitely want my first baby to be born in a hospital. If that goes without complications I could then maybe have the second one at home.

Have you watched the documentary above?

[Frigga]

I tried for a home birth with my little guy. I had done some training in the field before I became pregnant, and a home birth was exactly what I had wanted to do with my baby. I found a really awesome midwife, and I had prenatal care with her from about five months onward. We had always been very honest about the potential outcome could have been for anything, and as I got closer to my due date, I was happy and confident in my home birth plans.

But then my due date came and went, and then for the next two weeks I would wake up still pregnant with no contractions. Needless to say, the baby was not getting with the program! :lol: I talked with my support group everyday (midwife, mom, sister in law, doula) bitching and complaining about still being pregnant. And every time I went in for another checkup, my midwife and I would have the conversation of what would happen if I went two weeks overdue, and I was aware of everything that could happen.

I tried actively all that two weeks to induce labor at home, and I tried everything. I even did three doses of castor oil on the very last day, and believe you me, that stuff is gnarly. I almost puked it up every time I had to drink it. And all this time I was going through a lot of emotional stuff in regards to it all. I finally got some contractions on night 13, the night of the vile castor oil, but my midwife listened to the baby's heart tones and told me that she wasn't liking how they were sounding. :eek:

So off to the hospital we went. After being monitored, I was allowed to go home, and after going to bed to get some rest, I was confident that by morning I was going to be in full labor. Well, I work up very disappointed the next morning. We went off to the hospital for induction, which broke my heart.

I was in the hospital for two days, and had some great nurses, and one midwife who I had to fire because of how horrible she was. I'm not going to get into details.....

I tried to do the labor without pain medication, but oh my god, it was hard. I was on pitocin, which makes your contractions more painful, and I only made it for 12 hours before I had to ask for an epidural. At 2 AM, I was told that the maximum amount of pitocin wasn't doing anything! I had to have a c-section. I was crushed. But it wasn't until after he was born that we had realized that there was anything wrong. His head was 15 inches around, and he had had a short cord with a true knot in it. If he had been born vaginally, he most likely would have died, and his large head might very well have killed me.

It took a few months to process everything, and I realize now that I made the best choice with trying for a home birth, because I had a very smart midwife, and I realized that if I had tried for a hospital birth, I would have gone in at one week past my due date. My little guy would have been smaller, and might not have fought off the contractions as well as he had, and then he might have died. I am happy and content with my birth now.

And for the next one? Of course I'll try for another home birth! I'll just be more aware of how babies will never do what we want, even before they're born! ;)

[PetiteParisienne]

Absolutely! As a doula and student midwife, I'd be a hypocrite not to! The birth of my son was nearly a home birth, but I needed to go to hospital at the last minute due to a fluke complication.

[Kazimiera]

I never watch Youtube links in the forum. Never. But this one I did, right up to the end.

I can say that I was horrified at the stats in the US and what goes on there. I live in a third world country and the most basic maternal care here is better. The hospitals might not have the pretty curtains but we are much more mother and child friendly than what I have seen in this documentary.

Those with medical insurance and money all choose to have the "designer baby" by C-section and at a time which suits their schedule. They go see a doctor once a month and pay through the nose for what a midwife could have done in a friendlier setting. They think they are getting better care because they are paying for it, or it is being paid for by the medical aid. Pregnancy is treated like an illness instead of the beautiful natural process it is.

In the state sector women have a midwife and give birth in a midwives birthing centre, and unless things go terribly wrong and need a c-section they will have a normal vaginal delivery. The child is given directly to the mother and not put into an incubator. And if all is well six hours after birth she can go home. There is as little 'medical intervention' as possible, because it IS NOT NECESSARY TO INTERVENE IN A NATURAL PROCESS.

Babies who are below the ideal weight are not shoved into an incubator. We do kangaroo mother care while the woman stays at the center for a few days. The results of kangaroo mother care in comparison to incubators is phenomenal. The bond between mother and child is not broken, they are not separated and the mother continues to care for the baby. Babies respond far better to being on their mother's skin than they do being in an artificial environment like an incubator.

I found it absolutely shocking that many doctors have never even seen a natural delivery. In my years I have seen less than 10 c-sections and delivered more than 400 babies myself. I have had 3 infant deaths and never lost a mother ever. And this in the most basic of circumstances. The US stats are horrific. This gives me some hope that at least we are doing SOMETHING right.

:thumbs up

[Quorra]

As long as the midwife didn't have dreadlocks. You know what I'm saying.

[PetiteParisienne]

My mum-in-law is a midwife. I was so very, very fortunate that it was a Bank Holiday Monday when I went into labour; she was around to take charge!

[Marmie Dearest]

Yes, I would.

But with a midwife, not completely alone or unprepared.

[Marmie Dearest]

LOL @ I'm a hater and want to be an adult baby!

Haha, I love Mary.

[Linet]

Even jokes should have a limit....and thats not even funny... :thumb down

[rhiannon]

My son was 10lbs8oz...he was also posterior. I have a narrow pubic inlet and he was too big to fit through.....my daughter herself barely fit back in 86' and she was only 9 lbs lol.

Both of my children were born in hospitals....one birth was an excruciatingly painful old-fashioned push em' out kind of birth...complete with back labor the entire time due to her posterior presentation. She very nearly did not make it out and they were going to do a C.

My son was born via C. He was posterior upon presentation. The C was the safest option for me, and I am thankful to have had both my children in hospitals as a result.

Each woman must do what is right for her, however. Birth is extremely personal....and precious.

[PetiteParisienne]

Each woman must do what is right for her, however. Birth is extremely personal....and precious.

A safe birth is a successful birth. :)

[CelticViking]

When confronted with the idea of home birth, many women are fearful and dismissive. Indeed, many women are fearful of the concept of birth at all. Why has our culture created this fear? This article will seek to explore both the subject of home birth and birth in general and our attitudes around it.

Prior to our grandmothers’ generation, nearly every child was born at home. Those few unfortunate women who had no family to assist them, were alone in the world or suffered serious health risks, were assigned to the maternity wards of hospitals. These wards were filthy and germ infested and more mothers and babies died here than anywhere else. After World War II, it began to be common practice to have babies in hospitals, due to the fact that many women’s husbands were overseas in the war. For some reason, we never went back to the ways of our foremothers and now it is taken for granted that most babies will be born in a hospital. In fact, home birth will account for less than 7% of all births in the United States. Births in first world countries such as the Netherlands and New Zealand are very well attended by midwives and over a third of all birth in the former country are at home. Netherlands, in fact, has one of the lowest infant/mother mortality rates in the world, while for a first world country, the U.S. has one of the worst with a nearly 25% C section rate, which is much too high by WHO standards which sets it as 10% to 15 % for all developed countries. This is nearly non-existent for home births, as midwives allow a woman to work with her body and take her time. Also, epidurals vastly increase the risks of needing a Caesarian. One obstetrician remarked at how the c-section rates had increased since the ‘70s with the introduction of epidurals. In addition, hospital birth promotes complications not found in home births such as the use of fetal monitors, an unfamiliar environment, and unnecessary procedures to name but a few.

I will not spend a lot of time comparing home births versus hospital births and the benefits versus the disadvantages, because I believe that if you are reading this article, you simply want to know how to have a good home birthing experience, not be convinced of one method over another.

My experience with home birth began in 1999 when I became pregnant with our daughter. I already knew I wanted a home birth and I had little trouble finding a midwife, as a personal friend already was apprenticed to her. I did not go to several midwives and interview them, though that would have been wise, for as it turns out, I found I was much more compatible and at ease with the midwife who attended my following two children’s births. I highly recommend finding several and interviewing them, though I did not and found the midwife most suitable to me via trial and error. Some things to look for might be as follows:

* How long has she been practicing midwifery?
* Is she licensed with any organization such as MANA? (Midwives Association of North America)
* Is she comfortable with water births and attend them often?
* What is her transfer rate? (That is, how many women does she have to transfer in an emergency to a hospital)
* What is her hospital transporting policy?
* Does she do twin pregnancies?
* How about breech births?
* Does she work with assistants?
* What are her fees and how and when does she expect payment?
* What sort of postpartum care does she provide?
* What is involved with her prenatal care? Ask about things such as early detection of problem areas for the mother and her baby; nutrition information, exercise recommendations, recommendations for parent education via books, videos, or classes
* How long does she typically spend on one visit?
* Will she do home visits late in your pregnancy when you don’t feel much like traveling? (My midwife was an hour away and I loved her for this!)
* And last but not least, note how compatible your personality us with hers. Don’t hesitate to let her know (within reason) how you would like to do things. This is your birth and she is here to make it the best possible experience.

My first midwife was a very experienced lady who knew what she was doing and did it well. But she wanted to do it all her way and when she came over the day of the birth, she pretty much took over. She took one look at my pelvis and declared I would have to labor in a squatting position, which I found to be very uncomfortable. She was very rigid in her approach. She provided most of the basics and told me to get a certain kit with everything I would need in it. If you are the kind of person who does not care to take responsibility for your own birth and is uncertain of it, this kind of personality is for you.

However, if you already have some preconceived notions and have done a lot of reading in the subject, you will want some one who is far more flexible with how she will do things. This is my preference and my next (and current) midwife was this way. She told me I could labor any way I chose. Her philosophy was that a woman’s body is made to produce babies and women have an intuition on how best to labor. She gave few orders and merely listened to the baby’s pulse and measured the water temperature from time to time. When it came time for our son to crown, I caught him myself and brought him forward out of the water.

I found when I went into labor with my youngest, I had, thanks to her influence, become so at ease with labor and with my own body, found I was very relaxed and had little pain aside from pain from the contractions, and was chatting amiably with my midwives in between. My youngest was pushed out in a matter of ten minutes, after only about four hours of hard labor that wasn’t really very hard at all! His father caught him and passed him forward to me. In short, how your midwife makes you feel is very important in how you will feel during the birth!

The same applies to your decision on whether you have anyone else attending besides your child’s father and the midwives. Many women, whether at home or in the hospital, choose to have sisters, mothers, mothers-in-law, sisters-in-law and friends with them. This is a personal choice, but keep in mind that while it may seem like a good idea to invite them when you were only three months along in your pregnancy, you can quickly be uncomfortable with their presence in the birthing room and your discomfort can impede the progress of labor. The same goes for children. If you are worried how your children may react or are uncomfortable with their presence, it may be best to arrange a babysitter. In fact, anything that makes you uncomfortable or upset while you are in labor can slow or stop it. With my first, my Labrador was hit by a car in the early stages of labor. I was so upset, labor stopped altogether. In this case, my midwife sent me on a long walk to start it up again. But I was so distressed about the loss of my dog, it affected how I labored. So if at all possible, try to seek out any things that might distress you ahead of time and find a way to minimize them. (Unfortunately my dog getting hit was something I could not have predicted!) And by all means, take the phone off the hook! Now is not the time for anxious grandmas to be calling up to see if the baby has arrived yet. In fact, we did not notify anyone when I went into labor, preferring to tell everyone after the birth.

Now there are some other things you may want to consider for your home birth that would be different than a hospital birth, where these things are provided. Remember, in a home birth you need to take much more responsibility. But the payoff is much greater in that you have so many more choices!

Children
* As mentioned before, if you have older children, you will need to consider their needs. If they are very small (three or under) it would be wise for Grandma, another caring relative or a trusted friend to have responsibility of them during this time. If you and they are comfortable with it, it is a wonderful experience to have them at the birth and witness the joy as their new sibling comes into the world. My oldest was present for most of the labor for her youngest brother, but she tended to become easily bored and wandered off to watch children’s DVDs, to return the kitchen from time to time to watch the progress. I was fine with this. My second child, their father put down for a nap in the afternoon and he slept through the birth. He was only two and my daughter four. As you can see, I did not have a good plan in order and simply hoped for the best, as I had no relatives and no friends I could trust close by. When son number one was born, it was late and night and my daughter was sleeping

Nutritious refreshments
* For you, or for your attendants. In the hospital, nutrition is given to you only in the form of an IV, the reasoning being that if you were to need an emergency c-section, you would be able to be put immediately under anesthetic. However, Caesarians are rare in home births and you really do need to keep your strength up. Still, keep food light. The idea here is to keep up your strength, not indulge in a seven course meal. Good ideas for this are whole grain crackers, toast with nut butter, fruit, or anything else that is healthy and you find particularly desirable at this time. I highly recommend pouring non-sweetened fruit juice in ice cube trays and having these to suck on when labor becomes hard. I also recommend making a casserole and freezing it ahead of time for your midwives and partner and/or children. Having a meal readily at hand is always appreciated. While you are at it, whenever you make a casserole or a soup as you near your due date, double the batch and put it in the freezer. Your mate will thank you later, as it will give him more time to spend with his baby and less time in the kitchen as you rest.

Room Preference
* What room will you want to birth in? This may depend on several factors. Some of them may be how comfortable you feel there, the view, how warm or cool it is, or how practical. My last two births were water births, so I chose the kitchen based on the fact we have hard vinyl flooring there and it was close to the water source in the laundry room. It was actually very pleasant as I had the bamboo blinds drawn to filter in a soft light and I had candles burning to make it smell nice. Very few women choose to birth in bed. But if you do, you need to consider things like plastic sheets to protect your bed and if you have carpet, some cheap vinyl shower curtains on the floor would be wise as well. Don’t forget to stock up on several bottles of hydrogen peroxide, as this is very useful for removing blood stains.

Atmosphere
* Since you are having a home birth, you have the room to make choices based on what would make you most comfortable. As I mentioned before, I had scented candles burning in my kitchen (make sure they are placed away from other objects such as curtains and out of the reach of pets and small children and not where they will be tipped over) and I paid close attention to how the way the lighting made me feel. Think about what makes you feel relaxed and try to replicate it to the best of your ability. After all, this is a momentous occasion in the life of your baby and also you and your partner. It is also nice to have soft music playing. I chose a CD of soft soothing, contemporary Celtic. Some soft mellow, Classical would be nice as well. Whatever you choose, keep it soothing and not too loud. If you have automatic replay on your CD player, use this as well.

The Baby’s Father
* What role do you want him to assume in the birth? What role is he comfortable with? Discuss these feelings honestly with each well before the baby’s arrival. Levels of comfort range all the way from being able take over if the midwives do not arrive on time to not wishing to be present at all. You must both be honest and respect each others needs and wishes. When our children were born, their father was very instrumental at their arrival. As I mentioned before, he caught our first son and cut the cords. Each baby was laid in his arms soon after the cord was cut and while the midwives cleaned me up and helped me to bed. He soothed and encouraged me, massaged my back when I needed it, helped me in and out of the shower or birthing pool and was nearly constantly at my side. Neither he nor I would have had it any other way. If your partner is agreeable to a home birth in the first place, he is likely to have a positive attitude to birth in general. If not, and this is something that is really important to you, you can work to gently educate him. He may wish to catch the baby and cut the cord. This is often a way for a father to participate in a birth, whereas in a hospital, he is so often relegated to the role of sperm donor and spectator. Discuss these options with your midwives

Birth has been, unfortunately, misrepresented to both men and women, though rapidly, attitudes are changing for the better. It is an emotional time for the whole family. Through enriching our knowledge of birth and the options available to us, we can present it anew to our women as a wonderful experience and not something to be dreaded or avoided. One birth, one step at a time, we can make our way to a Whiter, brighter world.

Recommended Reading

http://www.homebirth.org.uk/ Home birth is a subject that has more breadth and depth can be covered in one article. This site has a lot of information to offer.

http://www.mana.org/ Midwives Alliance of North America. A wonderful source for information and finding a midwife in your area.

http://www.homebirth.org.nz/

http://www.homebirth.ie/

Childbirth Without Fear – The Original Approach to Natural Childbirth Grantley Dick-Read M.D. Harper Paperbacks A must read on approaching childbirth with a whole new attitude.

Mothering Magazine’s Having a Baby Naturally Peggy O’Mara editor and publisher of Mothering Magazine Atria Books A good home birth relies on a sound, healthy pregnancy and an understanding, not a fear of your female body. This book is excellent.

Healing Yourself During Pregnancy Joy Gardner The Crossing Press

In addition, Peggy O’ Mara’s Mothering magazines are an excellent source of information in regards to all things pertaining to raising your child the natural way. I highly disagree with the multicultural aspects that are sometimes promoted in this publication, but if you can overlook this, you can glean a lot of good info on home birth, co-sleeping, breastfeeding, organic cooking, non-circumcision and vaccination alternatives to name a few. It is definitely not like your average parenting magazine out there. Here is their web site. http://www.mothering.com/

http://homefrontmagazine.org/

[Foxy]

I had the cord around my neck at the moment of the birth and I was soffocking. Mom needed an urgent caesarium, so no, I exclude it since the beginning.

[larali]

I voted "hospital birth" because I happen to like hospitals and doctors, but that's my personal preference. I would be afraid something would go wrong if I were to try at home.

As a matter of fact, i did have a complicated labor the first time (cephalopelvic disproportion) so I had to have a C-section. Maybe things would have been all right at home if I'd have waited it out... but it's doubtful.

Second time around I had a C-section by default since I'd already had one (hospital rule.) I was OK with that.

[Kazimiera]

I voted "hospital birth" because I happen to like hospitals and doctors, but that's my personal preference. I would be afraid something would go wrong if I were to try at home.

As a matter of fact, i did have a complicated labor the first time (cephalopelvic disproportion) so I had to have a C-section. Maybe things would have been all right at home if I'd have waited it out... but it's doubtful.

Second time around I had a C-section by default since I'd already had one (hospital rule.) I was OK with that.

If the problem was due to your pelvic structure, you could have waited all you wanted and the baby would not have come out and it will make no difference in future pregnancies. So that is c-section for you. :(

[Leliana]

Yes I could think of it, but with professional assistance only. Everything else was too risky if anything's not okay in the process.

[Queen B]

We have a history of twins, big babies, and long births in our family, so I prefer hospital to be honest.

[Bobby Martnen]

It depends entirely on the woman.

Birth is a painful and personal experience and fear from being in hospital and not understanding of what goes on around them makes some women even more stressed and can prolong labour. A hospital is not the most conducive place for childbirth for everyone.

Many women prefer to do it at home with family members present. The advantages of this is that it is a more personal and intimate experience, it is cheaper, the woman is more relaxed and this can make labour shorter and less painful.

A first pregnancy can bring about some unexpected problems though, should the head not engage well into the pelvis, if the child is breech, obstructed labour and hemorrhaging. Many midwives prefer to do a second birth at home if the first has proven itself normal. First pregnancies can be risky because you are not always sure what you are dealing with.

Some women feel more secure in hospital and a home birth would just increase the anxiety levels.

Personally, I prefer to do first pregnancies in a hospital setting. I am more relaxed about second and third pregnancies. After that its get a bit dicey again because there is a higher chance for uterine prolapse and hemorrhaging after about 4-5.

My great-great-grandfather's second wife (who I am not related to) gave birth to 17 children with him.