Home Birth

[MellowYellow]

Anyone in ED had a home birth? It's something I'm exploring for my first and I'm keen to hear about other local experiences and any tips for the process.

Many thanks,

[Convex]

edited! just did a search and couldn't find previous threads.

i have had 2 home births, appreciate they are not for everyone but they were the right call for me. didn't have the perfect 'tea and toast in my own bed' experience so have a fairly balanced view of home births (i think)

do PM me with any questions, or if you want my birth story, etc...

but first port of call if your midwife, and to try and get in with a community midwife team - i know the system has changed but i was with the Lanes midwives.

[jcrwillcox]

I started with a home birth but ended up going to hospital as I was exhausted and stressed (was a long long birth ) however I wish I had been able to finish at home and will be looking to give birth to second one at home , southwark has great midwife teams to support , I went with briley midwife's , they were great , they also do meet and greets on Saturday mornings with other to be mums considering at home , as well as having a mum there to talk about their home birth and answer any questions you have.

[mimosa]

First baby was at Kings and my experience was not great. Second was a home birth with the Brierley midwives. Both straight forward births with no complications but the first was stressful and didn't get a room until 45 minutes before baby born. The home birth was good! Really wish I'd done it the first time round.

[CocoC]

Hi Thermorgannons, firstly congratulations! I had a home birth with my first, just over two years ago. I obviously have nothing to compare it to other than my friends' stories - some of whom had horrible experiences in hospital, some of whom had brilliant experiences in hospital. All I can tell you is that if it something you want to do, go for it! I literally couldn't have asked for a better experience. I look back on it really fondly which I suppose is quite unusual for a birth! I did get the full-on tucked up in my own bed (on a puppy training pad (!)) with my daughter experience. And I traded the tea for a glass of red wine. Please PM me if you have any questions, and good luck. x

[Mariamadeit]

I have had two planned homebirths in ED, one six years ago and another last year, both v straightforward pregnancies and births, had a pool and was hypnobirthing. I used a tends machine too. For me it was exactly how I wanted it to be and would do it again if I had the opportunity. Feel free to pm any qs.

[alley]

in my opinion and only in my opinion having a home birth is not something anyone can really advise you on, every birth is different whether home, hospital, water or natural you might have a great experience or end up still having to check in to labour ward. having said that people have been giving birth in there homes since we came down from the trees and it is one of the most natural things to do, couple with the fact that we have a great health service and responsive maternity unit at kings, its something that i am also considering but find myself worrying about the dreaded (what if's) so would applaud you if you have the courage to go through with it.

good luck what evey you decide

[bawdy-nan]

Congratulations!

I had two planned home births. My first (and first baby) was in a very small one bedroom flat without a bath. I hired a birth pool and used that. I was with Brierley midwives and both were great experiences. It helped, certainly, that I completely trusted the midwives to tell me if I needed to transfer to hospital and also that Kings is so close by.

For pain relief, I used a tens machine and then water. I had done a lot of yoga and breath training during pregnancy and found these techniques very calming and empowering. The best things for me about being at home were that I could be private and not distracted, so therefore, I think a lot more relaxed. It wasn't stressful at all.

Both of my pregnancies were quite overdue - 41++6 and 42+3 and both babies quite big (8lbs 6oz and 10lbs) but both were relatively quick and easy. My first labour progressed almost unnoticed until about 6 hours before my daughter was born, when I noticed I was having regular contractions whilst I was on the bus coming back from a scan at Kings. The midwife came over to my house at about 8.30pm and my daughter was born, in the pool, at about 11.30pm. I was lucky, in that I never felt that it was really unmanageable until the last half an hour when it just felt mad and impossible but, I guess, that's birth. It was actually one of the most extraordinary and exciting and memorable and interesting experiences of my life and kind of felt like an extreme sport.

My second was very quick indeed: about 3 hours from start to finish again using a pool and much more intense, because it was so quick, I think.

I can't think of anything negative to say about the experience. I've had friends who have had similar experiences and those who have wanted to give birth at home but whose labour has been very difficult and have had to transfer to hospital. Which is to say, you can't guarantee anything, I suppose and it is hard to predict whether your experience will be "good" or "bad". That said, hospital is not necessarily a guarantee of a "good" experience although, obviously, if emergency care is required then in hospital its close at hand.

If you're interested in finding out more you might look at Janet Balaskas website / books (Active Birth Centre). I did weekly yoga / antenatal classes with her for my first pregnancy and though she's the founder of the "active birth" movement she is absolutely not against hospitals and medical interventions when necessary and gives very good advice and ideas about how to use what's available to good effect. Its probably a bit far away to consider taking the classes but her books are very good.

Good luck.

[Mariamadeit]

yes absolutely every birth is different, I've done it 3 times and each was very different. If you look at the stats, it is safer to be at home than hospital if you are low risk but I also know of cases where things have not gone to plan and not ended well, but this can also be said for women giving birth in hospital. It isn't about courage, it is about considering your own personal situation, what you want your birth to be like and your relationship with and advice fom your midwives. Around here we are very lucky to have brilliant community midwives who are experienced in hb, when I had my second baby, I wasn't in ed and there was a stark difference between midwives there and here, which is why I opted for a birth centre for that birth.

Happy to talk practicalities and share experience if that helps.

[christinaH]

Recently had my first at home and would highly recommend :) i was with Brierley midwives now known as Birchtree xx pm me if you would like any details x

[MellowYellow]

Thanks All, apologies first of all as I didn't get any notification that anyone had replied!

My main fear is feeling out of control followed by forceps...probably irrational.

Your experiences locally are really helpful as I keep hearing positive things and about how safe it is and you've confirmed what I was hoping for. I have done some hypnobirthing and being from a sciency family really buy into the rationale behind the advice which I think may well prove essential in a home birth as you have to be able to relax!

A big thing for me is not waiting on / relying on hospital staff for a drink / to queue for the loo etc etc if you're at home you can be in your own little safe bubble (with support)

Thanks again x

[CocoC]

Just responded to you Thermo. Yes, that was a big thing for me - having everything I could possibly want at my (or my husband's!) fingertips.

[etta166]

It is also worth bearing in mind that it is higher risk to give birth at home than in hospital for your first child (not subsequent deliveries, if you are low risk and the first delivery was without complications)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15861280

If you are happy to take this marginal increase in risk to have a home birth, then this area is a really good place to do it. There is lots of support for home births and the systems in place to support home births are well established and reliable.

I've had 3 births at home, twice with the King's community midwives and once with the Brierly. Both of the first two didn't go according to plan and I had only one midwife at home with me rather than two, and my husband actually delivered our baby on the second home birth because the midwife wasn't in the room at the time. So even if you do opt for a home birth, things can stil go awry in terms of the support that you get.

[goldilocks]

I've also had home births for both my children with Brierly midwives (now called something else). My experiences were great and I would whole heartedly recommend the specialist teams if you decide that you are happy to go for a homebirth. I was also happier knowing how close by kings was in the event I needed to go in (which happily didn't happen).

[MellowYellow]

Thanks etta166 I saw this and the Which? report which mentioned the same thing. I flagged these up with my midwife yesterday and apparently the stats for their unit (Kings) is much better than those nationally which is probably to be expected. She is going to bring them to our next appointment for me :)

[returnofthenit]

Yes it's a great idea! Brierley / Brierly are now called Birchtree in case anyone is still trying to find them!

[missyelliott]

I am so glad Brierley still exist. They are amazing. I was with them both times. First time we tried at home but had to go into hospital but they came with me. The second time I managed at home and Brierley made it a truly great experience. If you can home birth I really would. Kings is so close if you need to transfer

[TheGroupAntenatal]

for anyone thats still interested.... about 1 year ago kings shifted around all the case loading (home birth) teams so that they were more evenly spread and everyone could access it no matter your post code. Birchtree (Brierly) now cover tulse hill crystal palace gypsy hill, Juniper (Oakwood) cover east dulwich herne hill up to brixton boundary, The Grove cover peckham, Electric cover camberwell and brixton.

If anyone has any questions about home birth or how to access care give us a shout!

[se15mum]

i second missyelliott in fact I could repeat her word for word.....

[Lox]

I had a fantastic home birth experience just last week, under the care of The Grove midwives. The standard of support and care received throughout my pregnancy, during the birth and afterwards was outstanding. whilst it was reassuring to know Kings is less than a 10 minute drive away once labour started I felt huge confidence in the midwives and didn't give it a second thought. Pregnancy yoga and hypnobirthing really helped to prepare and the birthing pool was a godsend. Feel free to pm if you would like any more details.

[AZH]

I had first horrible hospital birth, second painful but fast home birth with the Brierley team who are wonderful. Utter opposite experiences!

Tips for the process would be ignore any idea that giving birth is a competitive sport - it's easy to start thinking home births are somehow 'superior', listen to what your partner thinks and wants, be flexible and do what feels right for you as much as you can. You just won't know until it happens how much pain you have (seems to vary hugely!), how long a labour, complications, so it's hard to know how to apply other people's experiences to your own. Expect the unexpected!

[hypnobirthingplace]

There's some really brilliant advice on here. I had a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) at home and would be happy to talk about how/why/what to expect if that would be helpful for anyone in a similar position (you can PM me).

The Brierley team were utterly fantastic - it could not have been smoother and I felt I was in very safe hands. We are lucky to be so well served by the NHS in this area!

[hypnobirthingplace]

There's some really brilliant advice on here. I had a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) at home and would be happy to talk about how/why/what to expect if that would be helpful for anyone in a similar position (you can PM me).

The Brierley team were utterly fantastic - it could not have been smoother and I felt I was in very safe hands. We are lucky to be so well served by the NHS in this area!