Homebirth vs. MBC in Madison

[curiouslysane]

Expecting baby #2! I'm torn between home birth and the Madison Birth Center. I've made a short list of "pros" for each option (below), but I would really like to hear your thoughts, especially if you have personal experience with either option. Thanks!!

Pros of Home Birth:

1. Most at ease at home.

2. I live literally 2 blocks from St. Marys and Meriter...so in the very unlikely event of a transfer, maybe it's a teensy bit safer at my house (<1 min. driving, vs. a 15-20 min transfer from MBC).

Pros of MBC:

1. "Hassle-free" -- no worries about messiness/cleaning, no need to purchase home birth supplies, don't have to figure out how to keep the water in the birth tub warm.

2. Less grief from extended family (none of whom are supportive of home birth). Obviously not a good stand alone reason to chose this option, but, it's there.

3. In some respects is a birth center safer?...I really don't know the answer to this; it does seem intuitively that there could be some safety benefits to being in a dedicated birthing facility.

[Nicole730]

I think the hospital drive time makes a difference.  Less than one minute is really close.  I'm not in the Madison area, but I definitely think a homebirth would be just as safe as our local birth center -Milwaukee area.  The midwives bring their equipment to either place, it's not like the birth center has a store of equipment.  We actually have to buy the homebirth kit for either place too.  As far as clean up, it was seriously nothing.  My homebirth midwives collected all the garbage in one bag and the cloth (towels, washcloths, etc..) in another.  Then my mom threw the laundry in, it was just one load and anything bloody/goopy washed out.