Am I crazy to think about a home birth?

This past week, I spent two days in the hospital where I had been planning to give birth, as they thought I had a blood clot in my lungs (thankfully, I don't). This is supposed to be one of the best hospitals in the UK, and certainly some aspects there seem very good, but some other aspects were frankly very worrying. I was prescribed the wrong dosage of one drug by a doctor (which was caught by an A&E nurse); another drug, which I was told I absolutely had to have and required me to spend the night, was never given to me because they couldn't get the right person to prescribe it (or something... the excuses were not very clear). The various maternity units seemed pretty chaotic. The kicker was when I saw an OB there and he said he would never have his family give birth there -- not because they weren't good, but because they were simply way too busy. Yikes!

My main reason for not considering home birth before was the fear that something would go wrong and we wouldn't get proper care in time, but now I'm kind of thinking that even being in the hospital doesn't guarantee that you will get timely care. And it just seems like a really stressful environment.

Does anyone here have any thoughts or experiences with home birth they wouldn't mind sharing?

yes

*waves*  Hello from Crazyville, population me!

*giggles*

Righto, so... I'm currently sitting here in my term window (today makes 38 weeks and 5 days) waiting for my darling to decide (s)he wants to come into the world.  This is my first child, but I knew long before conception that I was all about homebirth... and insanely grateful that the UK is supportive of the option.

I'll admit hospitals were part of the decision for me - I'm gibberingly frightened of the strangers, the noise, the lack of control; it would be... very very stressful for me if I had to go into hospital for any reason.  While if you're at home, you set the mood - the music, the lighting, WHERE in the house you intend to have the baby (and my midwife, at least, hasn't pinned me down to a specific location; she accepts I want to roam), etc.  When you eat, what you eat, when you get in and out of the tub (if that's one of your pain relief options) - it's all on you.  Add in the fact you're in an environment that you and your baby are already used to (germ factor), and it's actually a lot healthier in general!

Now, if you were planning to get druggies... I know my trust, at least, isn't that supportive of such for homebirth cases.  They've made it pretty clear that if I wanted any opiates or epidurals, I'd have to go into hospital.  I'm not completely sure how accurate this is - I keep finding conflicting information. Nor does it matter in my case - I'm determined to do this all natural!

But anyways, I think it's great... at current; ask me when the kiddo decides it's time to arrive!  And in the meantime, I believe this is probably one of the better references you can find:

http://www.homebirth.org.uk/

That's what I meant...I was assuming no hospital, no pain meds. 

They bring in the Entonox (laughing gas and air).  If you want to rent a birthing pool, that's also a popular option.  Otherwise, it's your paracetamol and TENS machine, if you want to go that route.

At the risk of proselytizing, I recommend checking out 'Childbirth without Fear' by Grantly Dick-Read, the founder of the Natural Childbirth Trust (which became the National Childbirth Trust).  He explains the Fear-Tension-Pain cycle, which just... makes sooo much sense.  But I totally dig it's not for everyone, either! 

I think it's great and there is a lot of support for it in the UK.  It all depends if they let you and if your body lets you.  Some people can pop out babies at home with no problems and some have issues upon issues.  I would have loved a home birth, but my body had other ideas. 

I wouldn't.

My son stressed during labor and swallowed meconium.  His heart rate plummeted and we went into emergency C-section.

There would have been no time to get to the hospital.

I don't think that they let you do the homebirthing option if a hospital isn't readily available; hopefully someone who has already had a baby can confirm or deny on that.  Ours is less than 2 miles away, so that's DEFINITELY a comfort should something go wrong.

DH and I nixed the idea of a home birth after a friend of ours had her daughter at home...labor went beautifully until afterwards the midwife realised that the baby wasn't breathing properly and they had to call an ambulance. Our friends lived less than a mile from the hospital...

Unfortunately, their beautiful daughter suffered oxygen deprivation during labor and delivery and she died at 9 months from the complications (brain damage, severe seizures, failure to thrive and organ failure). If she had a hospital birth there would have been monitoring and they would have seen that her heart rate was dropping and could have done a c-section.

Thankfully our DD made the decision herself that she was coming 'through the sunroof' because at 30 weeks she was breech and never turned, so she was delivered via c-section at 37+2. I never once considered (even though other mothers were determined to tell me) that I failed or should be ashamed didn't get the delivery that 'I wanted'. Absolute bollocks! in the end its about having living, healthy child. Because DD was a sunroof kid it means that any future kids we have will be as well...to me it's actually a relief knowing it.

Even if the nearest hospital isn't to your liking you have the right to choose where you want to have your birth and I suggest exploring your options that way.

All very good observations about the safety of doing a home birth, I would say. Though, I took a class at uni that discussed rituals and one was the ritual of giving birth. Obviously there are still many places in the world where women just give birth at home (or wherever they may be when the baby decides its time, I suppose) who don't have the option of going to the hospital. According to everything I read about this, these women usually give birth in a squatting or hands and knees position (think about it - lying on your back with your legs in the air doesn't really help gravity run its course) and that births usually only last 4 to 6 hours without pain medication. The problem with the epidural, from what I have read about it, is that once you numb the lower half of your body, it makes it much more difficult to push, whereas the pain motivates you to push harder and makes the birth go faster, and if you are in a hospital you have more anxiety, as well. Apparently the whole process as we know it is a bit messed up because it treats pregnant women as though they are sick, rather than experiencing the natural course, and it tends to make women feel more vulnerable and wound up being in hospital than they might otherwise feel at home.
Having said all that, I have to be honest and say as appealing as it all sounds to have a natural birth at home the way nature intended, I am sure at the last moment I would be screaming for drugs.  I guess it depends on what you feel comfortable with. But having heard WebyJ's story, I might be inclined to do a hospital birth just in case something were to go wrong (not to mention, all of the women in my family have had C-sections, so I wouldn't know for sure whether I would need one or not.)

It really depends on a lot of things - proximity to hospital, and most of all, your health.

You need to be low-risk or it probably won't be on offer.

And some people find they don't need pain relief.

I had none with my second, gave birth on all fours, and am still here to tell the tale!

Definitely recommend the website Raeyn linked earlier.  It's extremely informative when thinking about a homebirth.

The MWs are very pro-HB in my area.  In fact, I'd quite easily consider it for subsequent children (I think I just want to have peace of mind for the 1st).  Things can go wrong in a hospital OR at home - it's about having control and being in a comfortable environment to do one of the most natural things the human body can perform.  Attitudes towards home- and natural-birthing are much, much more positive here in the UK, which I love.

I think it's the Netherlands that has like a 40% homebirth rate and lower stillborn rates than most of Europe...or something like that.

You need to be low-risk or it probably won't be on offer.

Yup - I've gone through periods of feeling like a showpony being inspected for a contest!    But in a society where people sue the NHS over say... being told the wrong gender, they are extremely meticulous about making sure that there is as little risk as possible.  There's always going to be horror stories either way, from those women who are permanently paralyzed from an epidural gone wrong, to babies being stillborn for absolutely no reason whatsoever.

But anyways, there is quite the checklist of things that they run you over to make sure that it's clear between you and then that if things go wrong, you WILL go into hospital, and it IS for your good and the good of your child.  I may not like this (since I really do want to avoid the hospital like the plague), but I'm also choosing to trust my careworkers to be supportive of my choices to the best of their abilities - and they haven't disappointed yet.

...According to everything I read about this, these women usually give birth in a squatting or hands and knees position (think about it - lying on your back with your legs in the air doesn't really help gravity run its course) and that births usually only last 4 to 6 hours without pain medication. The problem with the epidural, from what I have read about it, is that once you numb the lower half of your body, it makes it much more difficult to push, whereas the pain motivates you to push harder and makes the birth go faster, and if you are in a hospital you have more anxiety, as well. Apparently the whole process as we know it is a bit messed up because it treats pregnant women as though they are sick, rather than experiencing the natural course, and it tends to make women feel more vulnerable and wound up being in hospital than they might otherwise feel at home....

And a lot of this, too.  I'm looking forward to trying for upright/squatting myself, 'cause science and gravity!

I never once considered (even though other mothers were determined to tell me) that I failed or should be ashamed didn't get the delivery that 'I wanted'. Absolute bollocks! in the end its about having living, healthy child. Because DD was a sunroof kid it means that any future kids we have will be as well...to me it's actually a relief knowing it....

This is also true stuffs; my best friend knows that her chances of successful vaginal delivery are almost non-existent due to some issue with cervical shape; both of her sisters had to get c-sections.  She knows it would be silly to try for a natural birth, and isn't about to go a-killing herself and the kiddo for it.  Me... my mother did it naturally four times, and my mother-in-law twice... figure that since I pass the boat and pony show, I probably stand a decent chance of it all going well; will pass along the tales later, perhaps.

A lot of women in my family, all in the US, has csections.

My mom was all like, 'Tell the doctor everyone in your family had csections.'

Um, you see a midwife here.

I'd probably have had one with my first if I'd been in the US.

But I had three vaginal deliveries.

So it can be done even if lots of women in your family had csections!

My sister had a VBAC.

I really wanted to do a homebirth before I found out we were having twins. My friend had one for her second child and she said the difference between a hospital birth and a home birth was so profound that she'd never recommend a hosptial if you had the choice.

It takes a lot of preparation and a lot of research but from what everyone whose experienced it has told me, it's so worth it.

Shame I can't do it but TBH, with two, I don't think I'd want to now anyways.