Calling All Mommies That Birthed At Home!!!

Scorpiomom222 · March 2011

(or mommas that plan on birthing at home)
I would like some pointers and tips as far as birthing at home. Some support would be good too. lol I'm trying to get my partner on board with the idea of it as well. He's not against it, he's just nervous about it. I'd like to hear your advice or stories on it. Thanks in advance!!! :bigsmile:

DyannAlvarez · March 2011

Wonderful idea with the right support around you! Research is key, knowledge is power! You need a GREAT mid-wife then let your body do it's thing! You were made for birthing so just go with it! Again, though, the correct support - meaning those that are trained (the mid-wife) is imperative. It's a wonderful experience that I would encourage everyone THAT CAN to do! Good luck to you - more like GOD BLESS YOU! You are SOOO gonna need it!

mommy2halfdozen · March 2011

I had my youngest son at home. Though it wasn't planned that way. I would recommend a birthing pool if you have a small bath tub. It helps the pain so much.

Sumatra · March 2011

Both of my daughters were born at home and it was absolutely wonderful!!!

My biggest piece of advice is RELAX. Your body was designed to give birth. Do not fight your body, you focus on relaxing absolutely every muscle you can, let go of all tension and let your body do what it needs to do.

Practice relaxing against pain. We learned to do this through Bradley classes, but here's what we did...I would lay down and completely relax...not hard to do when you're pregnant, then at some point after I was really relaxed, my husband would hold an ice cube on my skin for up to 90 seconds at a time (a long contraction's length of time) and my job was to make sure I did not tense muscles to fight the discomfort, but to focus on staying relaxed. My husband would watch to see if I was tensing any muscles (shoulders and facial muscles were my most common areas of tension) and he would talk to me and get me to relax those muscles.

A lot of people say labor is worse when it is fast, but both of my girls came really fast and it was really wonderful. I had mild contractions most of the day, but ACTIVE labor, when it starts to get intense was only about 30 -45 minutes. It was amazing, absolutely amazing and we were in our own home, with our things. No machines beeping, no strangers in the room to irritate me (I tend to get the tiniest bit irritable when uncomfortable), all my stuff was there, so whatever I wanted was there, my food, lighting, heat, bathtub, music, it was all under my control. Also, I didn't have someone take my baby away from me to weigh and measure, etc. They did all that right there on the bed with me, with my hands on her. it was really amazing. After our first daughter was born I wished that I had video taped it because it was so amazing. I NEVER thought I would be a person who would want to video tape child birth, but it was incredible. With our second daughter, we did video tape it. We just had the camera on a tripod and didn't even think about the fact that it was on. I would never show that video to other people, but I am so glad I have it for me and my husband. It's really funny, after our youngest is born, just a few minutes later, you can here me say, "Wow, that was wonderful!". I'm sorry I'm going on and on, it was just truly an amazing experience and we are so glad we made the decision to birth at home.

Feel free to ask me any questions!!!

BlueEyedMomma88 · March 2011

I never have, but just wanted to say goodluck and can't wait to see ur lil one.

linemansgirl · March 2011

My son was born at home. i don't have time to say more right now, but I am marking this for later!

anzura · March 2011

I had a homebirth VBAC. Best thing I ever did. Had I gone to the hospital, my second would have been a c-section as well.

No real advice I can give you other than find a really good midwife. Women birth babies, not doctors....just remember that!

ruthie3110 · March 2011

A birth pool is a great idea. Even if you have a largish bath tub. Baths aren't necessarily deep enough. A birthing pool is deep enough for position changes and all sorts.
Remember you are seriously limiting your pain relief options, so maybe look into hypnobirthing? or other relaxation techniques.
Have plenty of tea/coffe and biscuits in for your midwives

Plenty of small snacks, small bananas, cereal bars etc to keep your energy up. You'll need to keep hydrated but if you are struggling to eat as well have in some energy type drinks, the isotonic ones.
Freeze some ice cubes as you may find really really cold water better to drink.

skinnyack · March 2011

So I haven't but my Sister in Law attempted. This is in NO WAY a deterant- just my SIL's experience... She had a great mid wife, they had a pool which I know she liked, and she was super prepared. Her issue came with I believe she started pushing before she was actually dialated enough and wore herself out- so tip 1: let the mid wife check you- because you may feel like pushing before it's necessary. So my SIL is getting tired, obviously, from pushing her baby (who was also sunny side up) against a brick wall for 9 hours, then she finally let the mid wife check her (apparently she is sensitive down there which is why she didnt want to be checked) and had got to about 6 cm... and THEN her body stopped dialating... which has happened to both her mom and her sister. Tip 2: Know your family history- if both your closest female family members stop dialating at a certain point... you probably will too. So poor SIL after 36 hours mid wife finally says (and my mom and her mom stepped in too) and said ok we're going to the hospital.. this ain't working. Tip 3: Have a healthy baby, not a plan- sometimes you gotta just get it done. And then here's the hardest part... Tip 4: Be Prepared to deal with a Hospital- should it go that way. Your mid wife should be a strong enough personality to deal with the doctors to relay what you want. By the time my SIL arrived at the hospital the doctors attitude was "well you're in our house now- we're just going to cut you open and get this done." My brother, her and the midwife had to be very specific that they were willing to work with the docs, but that they, as parents, still were in control. They ended up using petossin (?) because obviously her body had used up it's natural supply. She also I believe ended up with an epidural so she could sleep for an hour or 2 and get some strength back. The doctors still thought they were going to do a C-section- but the 2 meds worked and when they checked she was already fully dialated and ready to go! so no c-section and I think the doctors were bummed- haha. She still had to fight them off giving the baby all the automatic things that hospitals now give babies. And this is in a semi progressive teaching hospital... so maybe research the ones around you so you know where to go just in case... and know which things you want to give your baby and which ones you don't.

I know this was really hard on my sister, because it was definitely not what she wanted, and she has clearly stated she is only open to adoption after this- haha. But she has a beautiful baby boy! Best of luck to you! And Congratulations!

jonathandavid_t · March 2011

This probably won't go down too well, but please make sure you know the medical risks as well as the undisputed emotional benefits. Don't *only* read what everyone who is pro-home-birth says and writes; make sure you get the full picture from both viewpoints.

I'm a paediatrician and I look after sick babies on the neonatal unit and then follow their progress as they grow older. Some of them have severe cerebral palsy or other brain injuries because they were delivering at home, ran into unexpected problems, and couldn't get to the hospital fast enough (within less than 10 minutes, realistically - the brain doesn't enjoy not having a blood/oxygen supply). If they'd been delivering in hospital, those children instead of being confined to wheelchairs and unable to communicate would probably (I can't say for sure, but I'm talking *very likely*) be living normal active lives.

I know it's a less-than-1% risk, but the problem is that no one thinks she or her child will be that 1-in-500 that has difficulties (or whatever the statistic is, I don't know off the top of my head). And somebody IS that 1-in-500. And that can be absolutely devastating. And you can't predict who it's going to be (okay, you can spot who the high-risk candidates are, but I'm only talking about the "low risk" group here).

Is your local hospital really that bad? Have you had a look around the labour ward? It might be 100x nicer than you imagine.

Good luck and all the best with however you choose to go ahead. Our own first baby is due in 2 weeks!

BriannaSkye · March 2011

This probably won't go down too well, but please make sure you know the medical risks as well as the undisputed emotional benefits. Don't *only* read what everyone who is pro-home-birth says and writes; make sure you get the full picture from both viewpoints.

I'm a paediatrician and I look after sick babies on the neonatal unit and then follow their progress as they grow older. Some of them have severe cerebral palsy or other brain injuries because they were delivering at home, ran into unexpected problems, and couldn't get to the hospital fast enough (within less than 10 minutes, realistically - the brain doesn't enjoy not having a blood/oxygen supply). If they'd been delivering in hospital, those children instead of being confined to wheelchairs and unable to communicate would probably (I can't say for sure, but I'm talking *very likely*) be living normal active lives.

I know it's a less-than-1% risk, but the problem is that no one thinks she or her child will be that 1-in-500 that has difficulties (or whatever the statistic is, I don't know off the top of my head). And somebody IS that 1-in-500. And that can be absolutely devastating. And you can't predict who it's going to be (okay, you can spot who the high-risk candidates are, but I'm only talking about the "low risk" group here).

Is your local hospital really that bad? Have you had a look around the labour ward? It might be 100x nicer than you imagine.

Good luck and all the best with however you choose to go ahead. Our own first baby is due in 2 weeks!

I have to agree, I wanted to be in the hospital just incase, I had the perfect pregnancy wasnt sick, baby was doing great got stuck at 9cm and had a c-section which was a life savor because there were things wrong with the cord if i had him naturally we both would have bled out before the medics arrived. It was the scariest day of my life watching the doctors take photos and send it to all the major hospitals around America to get input on his condition. Thankfully we both made it but if I did have that home birth I wouldnt be here writing this today!

ruthie3110 · March 2011

I know you're not in the UK, but over here, there are statistics that show that low risk women who have a home birth have better outcomes than the same risk status women who have them in hospital. Not by much to be fair but there is obviously less epidurals, which leads to less c section, ventouse and forcep and constant fetal monitoring. Don't take my word for it, look it up if you're going to quote me on it at any point!!!
If there is something that puts you as high risk in anyway those odds are skewed obviously.
Previous failure to progress (awful term!!), previous c section, high BMI, raised blood pressure, fibroids, history of bleeding disorders/aph/pph etc
You need to look at everything really.
I'm a massive promoter of homebirths, IF the situation is right.
If everything was normal and I lived close to a hospital I wouldn't think twice about having a home birth. But even one problem and I would at least go to a midwife led unit/birth centre if not a hospital.
I have heard that birth is much more medicalised in the states, and I can understand your wanting to have a home birth. But there are two of you that could be at risk so think very carefully about every aspect before you make your decision.

*All of the above is personal opinion not professional advice*

Scorpiomom222 · March 2011

A birth pool is a great idea. Even if you have a largish bath tub. Baths aren't necessarily deep enough. A birthing pool is deep enough for position changes and all sorts.
Remember you are seriously limiting your pain relief options, so maybe look into hypnobirthing? or other relaxation techniques.
Have plenty of tea/coffe and biscuits in for your midwives
Plenty of small snacks, small bananas, cereal bars etc to keep your energy up. You'll need to keep hydrated but if you are struggling to eat as well have in some energy type drinks, the isotonic ones.
Freeze some ice cubes as you may find really really cold water better to drink.

Oh yes! hypnobirthing is an option I had taken with my 2nd. I was fine 5 hours into my 7 hour labor until my OB broke my meditation with a cervical check in the middle of a hard contraction accompanied by pitocin. After that, I had to get an epidural. Blah!

Scorpiomom222 · March 2011

This probably won't go down too well, but please make sure you know the medical risks as well as the undisputed emotional benefits. Don't *only* read what everyone who is pro-home-birth says and writes; make sure you get the full picture from both viewpoints.

I'm a paediatrician and I look after sick babies on the neonatal unit and then follow their progress as they grow older. Some of them have severe cerebral palsy or other brain injuries because they were delivering at home, ran into unexpected problems, and couldn't get to the hospital fast enough (within less than 10 minutes, realistically - the brain doesn't enjoy not having a blood/oxygen supply). If they'd been delivering in hospital, those children instead of being confined to wheelchairs and unable to communicate would probably (I can't say for sure, but I'm talking *very likely*) be living normal active lives.

I know it's a less-than-1% risk, but the problem is that no one thinks she or her child will be that 1-in-500 that has difficulties (or whatever the statistic is, I don't know off the top of my head). And somebody IS that 1-in-500. And that can be absolutely devastating. And you can't predict who it's going to be (okay, you can spot who the high-risk candidates are, but I'm only talking about the "low risk" group here).

Is your local hospital really that bad? Have you had a look around the labour ward? It might be 100x nicer than you imagine.

Good luck and all the best with however you choose to go ahead. Our own first baby is due in 2 weeks!

I have to agree, I wanted to be in the hospital just incase, I had the perfect pregnancy wasnt sick, baby was doing great got stuck at 9cm and had a c-section which was a life savor because there were things wrong with the cord if i had him naturally we both would have bled out before the medics arrived. It was the scariest day of my life watching the doctors take photos and send it to all the major hospitals around America to get input on his condition. Thankfully we both made it but if I did have that home birth I wouldnt be here writing this today!

I know very well how to research something that has potential risks. Even if I was prone to high risk pregnancy and had my heart set on homebirth, I'd go to the hospital because I cared more for the safety of my baby.

Calling All Mommies That Birthed At Home!!!

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