Home birth vs. birth center - Page 2

[SublimeBirthGirl]

THe mess is seriously no big deal. I had a UC and we cleaned it up ourselves and it was still no big deal. Not having to leave home in labor is the best.

[marrymeflyfree]

Originally Posted by Lula's Mom

Are you sure your midwife wouldn't have brought them along for a homebirth as well? For my first birth I had IV antibiotics for GBS in labor, and IV fluids afterward for pp hemorrhage. She was a CNM, though, so maybe that makes a difference. Just thought it was worth mentioning, in case the OP were to think that it's never possible to have the IV available at home.

Good point! I guess I'm in the mindset of the way things are in my state, where it's under the table IM pit only! Thanks for clearing that up for the OP!

[MissinNYC]

I have had my kids in a FSBC and I liked it a lot. I don't think I'd feel as comfortable at home. I'd feel like I had to entertain the MWs or whoever attended, and I'd be bothered by messes or my kids being loud or the mailman stopping by or whatever. I liked being in a sort of hotel-ish environment, with nothing to worry about, no one to bother me, and utter privacy (at home I'd worry about the neighbors hearing me, etc). Just my .02, though.

[alegna]

Originally Posted by MissinNYC

and utter privacy (at home I'd worry about the neighbors hearing me, etc). Just my .02, though.

Interesting! For me I wouldn't feel like I had as much privacy anywhere outside my own home.

-Angela

[ShwarmaQueen]

Originally Posted by alegna

For me I wouldn't feel like I had as much privacy anywhere outside my own home.

Me too, but I guess it also depends on what size of land you live on. I know most "houses" here in the south leave enough space between houses so that sound level is not really an issue, but I can see how if I lived in a more "compact" housing situation (like a townhouse), I might be worried.

[sarahr]

Thanks for all the great advice/BTDT stories -- keep 'em coming. I'm getting my annual gyn exam at the birth center I'd use, so I'll be able to check it out.

I had my first birth in the hospital, and the drive there wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but the check-in process was awful. I hadn't thought about how I'd have to leave to go home relatively quickly from the birth center -- that would definitely be a consideration.

[Quindin]

About the noise:

IMO, you need no more privacy to get the baby out than you did to make the baby in the first place!!

[major_mama11]

I agree that a lot of it has to do with how "at home" you feel in your own home. I had my first in a FSBC, and with this new baby, I went so far as to make an initial appt with a HB midwife before deciding to go with the FSBC again. A lot of it has to do with privacy and family issues. Our house has in-laws on both sides of it, and one or more of them is always home, so basically if DH was staying home from work anytime near my due date, they would all be watching like hawks and possibly barging into our house or trying to look in the windows to see if I was in labor. Zero respect for boundaries. My own family lives 20 minutes away, and they can be pretty darn intrusive as well, plus my mom would hold a grudge against me forever if my MIL knew I was having the baby before mom knew...

So yeah, for us, we definitely feel more privacy in the birth center. It helps that I had DD in the same BC, so we feel fairly comfortable there. Driving in labor is certainly less than ideal, especially since we're 45 minutes away. We definitely felt that subtle push to get us out the door that a pp mentioned (we left 6 hrs later, despite the fact that I had a hemorrhage). The birth center isn't perfect by any means, but in our situation, it beats feeling like we're in a fishbowl being watched by people on all sides.

If we weren't surrounded by in-laws though, I would definitely go for the homebirth.

[slmtoya]

My first was supposed to be a birth center birth. I really liked the staff, they were awesome especially when I switched care at 32 weeks and with pneumonia. My son was born in the car on the way to the center so I didn't actually birth there. But it sealed my decision to never leave my home to birth again. It wasn't just that I'd birthed in the car it was just having to leave my house to get to the birth center and trying to fit my appointments into one of their 2 days that they do appts.

When I was preggers with #2 I had a homebirth MW. She came to my house for my appts. Which was wonderful. I didn't have to figure out what to do with DS1 because he could just do what he wanted to do. By the time I went into labor we were like old friends. She knew where everything was in my house and we were both totally comfortable. I didn't have to clean a thing. She left my house exactly as it was when she arrived. And I was able to have a water birth as well.

I think you should go where you feel the most comfortable. That it what's going to make the difference in your birth.

[marrymeflyfree]

Originally Posted by sarahr

... but the check-in process was awful.

This is one thing that I was extremely pleased with at our birth center. There was no check in hullabaloo as there would be in a hospital. We were there, and that's all there was to it. :-) I don't know how other BCs operate in that regard, but our's was no different than if we were showing up for an appointment.

[Belle]

For our last birth we carefully considered where we were going. We toured 3 birth centers (who also do homebirths) and visited with two groups of homebirth midwives. The birth centers were very lovely and I'm sure that they were great places to birth in (Two were run by CPMs and the third was run by Naturopathic Doctors) but a few things stopped me from birthing there.

1. I'd have to drive somewhere in labor. During my first birth the drive to the hospital really sucked.

2. Birth center births have a facility fee in addition to the midwife's fee. So a birth center birth would cost us twice as much. This was the thing that convinced my hubby to homebirth.

3. If I had a breech baby or twins I would not be able to birth in the birth center. The birth center midwives said that I could do it at home, just not in their birth centers for bureaucratic reasons. I had a singleton vertex baby so this was not an issue by the end of my pregnancy, but I've heard of mothers desperately trying to find someone who would attend a vaginal breech birth near the end of their pregnancies and I wanted make sure I wouldn't have to do that.

4. After the birth, I'd have to pack up and go home again after a few hours. Since I was probably only going to be there for a few hours anyway (1st birth was 11 hours) It didn't make much sense for me to go there for the birth and head right back home.