Is it crazy to change your whole plan and practice to have a homebirth @ 35 weeks?

[1stTimeMama4-4-10]

So I LOVE LOVE LOVE my practice of midwives. They are wonderful women and I totally trust them.  They run a birth center that is 100 feet away from the hospital (freestanding though) and they have full privileges at that hospital. This is our second child and the first was born with this practice although we did transfer to the hospital after I never got past 8cm in 28 hours of labor (got an epidural, 6 hours of sleep, and then DD was born after 2hrs of pushing).  

This pregnancy has been perfect in every way but one - we were diagnosed with a single umbilical artery or a two vessel cord.  This is linked to all kinds of scary stuff, but for us, everything is coming back totally perfect - no defects, no chromosomal issues, everything is good and the SUA is an isolated issue.  This has NOT risked us out of our birth center, although I do take some comfort in knowing that it would be so easy to transfer to the hospital if anything went wrong. 

Here is my dilemma - in my state, the only midwives who have been able to do homebirths are CPMs or lay midwives. I simply don't feel safe enough without a CNM.  I know not everyone agrees, but that's a dealbreaker for me.  And so we have been planning as close to a homebirth as possible by going to the birth center. The two main drawbacks to the birth center are that it's not in my home, and it is one hour away.  The drive during labor really wasn't an issue last time, and I don't anticipate that it will be a significant issue this time either, but it would be SOOOOO great to not have to do it, especially because we have an almost 2 1/2 year old and who has never been left alone for more than 4 hours in her entire life. 

Well, I just found out yesterday that very recently an older practice that used to do homebirths has reopened with CNMs performing homebirths.  Also, they have full privileges in the hospital that just so happens to be about 6 minutes from my home. It's a great hospital and definitely the one I would choose if I wasn't using the birth center. 

I would love to have a homebirth. I would love more than anything . My issues are essentially that I am now 35 weeks pregnant and I don't know if it makes sense to transfer now even if the homebirth practice would take me, and I also don't know whether the SUA thing should factor into my decision.  

Not sure what to do...

[SimonMom]

I don't think you're crazy. I say call the homebirth practice and talk to them first. You really can't make a decision until you do that. There's no harm in calling. :)

[poppylove]

I definitely don't think it is crazy. Perhaps you will just find the right midwife for you. Good luck!

[travelmumma]

I am agreeing with the other posters!

Give them a call and have a chat! There really is no harm in calling, and really it could only make things better for you :)

[BaMo]

I switched from a birth center (about 30-40 minutes away) to a homebirth at 36 weeks. So, no I don't think it is crazy. give them a call & see what they say.

[tiacait]

No, it's not crazy. I'm a big believer in listening to your "gut feeling"-- especially when it comes to birth and parenting. It wouldn't hurt to schedule a consultation meeting and see how you feel afterward.

Best of luck!
 

[eirual]

I made a late-in-the-game switch with DS1 too. Do what you need to do to get the birth you envision.

[JudiAU]

Have you considered the financial implications of your change? Is this birth covered by insurance, in which case your current midwives will receive almost nothing for your prenatal care. It seems really unfair to deprive them of their livelyhood.Most money is delivered for the "delivery" and they take you as a loss at that time.

If not covered by insurance and you are paying out of pocket how are your payments done? Most people have prepaid by this point and would get little left. Most late transfers ask for more or less the same amount even if a lot of prenatal care is done elsewhere.

Just something to consider...

[1stTimeMama4-4-10]

Originally Posted by JudiAU 

Have you considered the financial implications of your change? Is this birth covered by insurance, in which case your current midwives will receive almost nothing for your prenatal care. It seems really unfair to deprive them of their livelyhood.Most money is delivered for the "delivery" and they take you as a loss at that time.

If not covered by insurance and you are paying out of pocket how are your payments done? Most people have prepaid by this point and would get little left. Most late transfers ask for more or less the same amount even if a lot of prenatal care is done elsewhere.

Just something to consider...

Actually yes, I did consider this, and while it certainly would not be the deciding factor, it was A factor.

The update is this:I called last Monday and had a really wonderful conversation with one of the midwives in the practice. She said she was comfortable with the SUA and that she would be willing to take me on even this far into the pregnancy.  As we talked though, I realized it just wasn't going to work out.  They don't have any privileges at any hospital, which means that in the event of a true emergency, I would end up going to our local hospital where I would likely be treated like "that crazy lady who wanted a homebirth even though it's the most dangerous thing on the planet" or in the event of a planned transfer (definitely still a real possibility for a variety of reasons) I would go to a hospital half an hour away to deliver with someone who I won't ever meet and again, with staff who may or may not treat me like a crazy person. 

Because my last birth required interventions, I am hesitant to put all of my eggs into the homebirth basket so to speak.  One of the GREAT things about the birth center is that transferring is really easy, my midwives have full privileges there, and the hospital staff are incredibly respectful of the decisions made by birth center patients.  I am fearful that if I needed an intervention for some reason this time that I would have gambled that away.

It's also REALLY late to be transferring willingly. If the stars aligned I could see it working out, but I think forging a new relationship at this point would cause more anxiety for me than it would alleviate. Then there is the money issue.  Right now everything is 100% covered by insurance. If I transferred, I would be out of pocket at least $1000 and we just don't have that right now. There is also a possibility that I would be kind of screwing over my current practice, which I really don't want to do.

Sooooo - DH and I decided together that we will be sticking with the original game plan.  I am SO thankful that I had a chance to fully explore my other options now because I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that we are doing the right thing. 

[path33]

Not at all! I did the exact same thing and it was the most amazing experience of my life! Absolutely the best. I'm now pregnant with our 3rd and will most definitely be choosing another home birth. One important thing to consider is whether or not you trust and like the new midwife. For me, however, I had to make the decision pretty fast as the midwifery practice was full, and they were going to make an exception for me. I knew they were reputable, smart, caring, and that was enough for me. The work of delivering was mine, they were just there to support me, and that they did.

Best of luck!
 

[path33]

Oops, sorry...just saw your last post...It sounds like you are trusting your instincts and that's the most important thing to do! Again, best of luck to you and your family.