Anybody here planning a homebirth? « Back to Group Discussions

[spitbath]

I'm moving from Nebraska, where there is no legal option for homebirth, to South Dakota, where CNMs can attend.  DP is thrilled at the idea of possibly even going UC, because we're so rural (and he's such a rebel), but I'm definitely not feeling the need to go to the hospital this time (DS was born naturally at the hospital, but it was a loooong labor and I almost got pushed into the OR).  

Anybody else in the same boat here??  Let's talk!!

[momme2b]

I am going to try my first homebirth... I have had three completely natural hospital births, the second and third with a midwife I LOVED and would use again but we have moved. I would have had a homebirth before but like I said I loved my midwife, and it wasn't legal in that state for her to do homebirths. So i just met with a homebirth midwife down here, and we liked her.... time will tell if I will have the same sort of great relationship as I did with my previous midwife.... but I am excited that it will be MY BIRTH at MY HOUSE with MY FOOD to eat afterwards, and no anoying early checkout delays!

[Lynann]

I home birth. DS1 was a HB transfer (legal nonsense) that became a c-section. DS2 was a HB VBAC. All future babies will be either a HB or RCS because we live in the middle of an area that doesn't allow hospital VBACs.

So HB it is, which is what we prefer any way.

[Aunaturalmama]

We are planning a homebirth this time around. I was "overdue" with my first and felt forced into having an induction (ie. torture- lol) which turned into a 3 day ordeal that nearly ended up with me in the OR. I caved and got an epidural after 2 1/2 days which lead to even more complications. All I needed was for someone to pay attn to my baby and body (his head was slightly transverse making cervical dilation nearly impossible). That was with midwives but in a teaching hospital setting where they have lots of protocols and I was 2 weeks overdue, GBS +, and really trying for a natural birth. So, most people tried to squash that from happening. I even work in the hospital where I delivered and after my horrible labor experience and then another more horrible experience with my miscarriage, I will not go back there (hopefully).
I live in Ann Arbor, MI where things are pretty progressive regarding CNMs and homebirth, we had been working with homebirth mw's during my last preg which ended in miscarriage and I loved them, so we are working with them again. I am SO excited to have this baby at my house and not have to follow the hospital protocols! We are meeting with the hospital mw group for a few times basically till we get to the 20wk US. I felt like that would be easier with insurance coverage and such.
Thanks for starting this thread! It'll be great to bounce off ideas with each other, especially as we get closer to having these little babes

[adventuregirl]

Me, me! I am planning a homebirth. I had my 1st at home so it was no question this time around. I am in the process of finding a midwife since I've moved and don't want to have to travel an hour each way for all my appointments. I met one last week and will meet 2 more today and tomorrow. I am excited to get started, and really hoping the "one" is a clear choice.

-Sheryl

[nstewart]

I am very interested in a homebirth this time around, but will need to do more research and ask my midwife more questions before I make a final decision.  Maybe you ladies that have done homebirths some more have good resources for those of us considering it?

With DS I had a natural hospital birth.  I had an MD from a low-risk clinic (not an OB), which is the norm here unless you are high risk.  I had a doula (and plan to have one again, haven't decided if we'll have the same doula or not yet) and a great nurse.  Neither my doctor nor the hospital are intervention happy.  I didn't have to get an IV (and did not have one).  I did have meds for the extreme nausea, but no pain meds.  I was encouraged to move around, get in the bath tub, and do what I needed to do.  Anyway, I had a good experience last time.

My midwife does about 50% home and 50% hospital births.  If I chose a hospital birth I can go to any hospital in the city when the time comes.  I live only 10 mins from a good hospital, but it's the busier one as it has the highest level NICU in the city.  As I see it, for me, the pros of a homebirth are the comfort of being in my own home, of not having to go home with my baby but of already being there, and of perhaps having a more comfortable/faster birth taking "sphinxter law" into account.  The pros of a hospital birth for me is mainly the security of knowing that if something goes wrong, I am already at the hospital. The other is that at the hospital, they don't really allow visitors except your partner, siblings of the baby and grandparents.  I liked that this protected our first day.  In fact, I would have been happy for my parents and in-laws not to come at all!

I am on the fence, but leaning towards a home birth since DS's birth was quick, natural and complication free.

[jldumm]

ME. First was a home birth transfer for fatigue and last two were home birth. we are excited about seeing our old Friend the midwife in a few weeks.

Unless we have twins in there in which case, we will go to hospital... too many risks.

[SuperMujer0923]

I had a successful homebirth with my first child. I lived in WI at the time where the laws were great for CPMs. Mine even worked with a back up that I saw concurrently until delivery. Now i live in backwards GA (can you tell I love it) & the laws are a lot less clear. So far I am being taken care of by a very progressive group of midwives that deliver at a hospital. I literally have anxiety about going to the hospital for my birth, and I may still meet with some midwives who do homebirths here. If i do end up at the hospital I am planning to go home shortly after delivery (only bc I am a nurse & can handle my own postpartum care and assess my baby, that is not for everyone). Plus the postpartum rooms at this particular hospital gives me the creeps!

[MarieWalter]

I'd like a homebirth, but so far am striking out in the area of Germany we'll be living in on finding a midwife who attends them. My understanding so far is that midwives in Germany have the same certification regardless of where they attend births, with those doing out-of-hospital births usually taking on an additional apprenticeship type training. Home birth is quite rare (like in the US) but well integrated into the system (...unlike the US). Unfortunately all the people I've emailed so far don't attend homebirths. Some have provided me with more names to try though, which I really appreciate. It's complicated since we won't be moving until ~20 wks. I'm going to ask my midwife here (birth center, as that's what my insurance covers) to chart really thoroughly. Wish I knew what else to do to help my case in Germany - hoping one of the midwives I am emailing can give me more info even if she doesn't attend home births.

[BeagleMommy]

I'll be going for homebirth number three. In Kentucky, midwives can't attend births at home so I'll be driving two hours to Tennessee for every appointment and for the birth at my midwife's house. The only change this time around is I'm worried I won't make it in time. I had a fast labor second time around and my son was born an hour after we arrived at the midwife's. That and our midwife is in the process of moving. The distance will still be about the same. Two hours in the car in active labor was NO FUN. I'm really not looking forward to that part. I wish Kentucky didn't try so hard to "protect" the people of the Commonwealth!

[Virginia884]

I am planning a homebirth with this babe. We are using the same midwives that attended DD1s birth, but will have to find a new doula as our wonderful one is due 2 weeks before me.
Edited by Virginia884 - 9/28/12 at 5:19pm

[Miss Ess]

Would love to have a home birth, but don't think it's a possibility for us.

First birth was planned as a home birth but ended up at the hospital due to PPROM at 35 weeks 2 days. We had no other complications during labour.  Ideally I would like to plan for the hospital, with a backup plan of a home birth if I make it to the 37 week mark. I have no idea if this is something that we can do though. As far as I know I will be deemed high risk this time.

[PhilsBabyMama]

I'm planning a homebirth, too!  Only, unfortunately, it won't be at my home!  I live in Northern New York right now (we're a military family) and there are not very many birthing options up here.  I could not find a midwife to attend a home birth.  That kind of messed up my plans! My son was born at a freestanding birth center with midwives, who also attended homebirths when we lived in Alaska. It was an amazing experience and the only thing I wanted to change this time around was to have the midwives come to me.  

That doesn't look like it will happen, but luckily, I did find a CPM who mainly serves the Amish community and has a building on her farm where women come to birth.  She used to do home births, but was away from home so much that she decided to build a separate space for laboring moms right near her house.  My plan is to give birth on her farm (jeez, how crunchy do I sound?) and see her for prenatal appointments, but I'm also going to see CNMs at the local hospital for prenatal care, mainly because they can order the ultrasound that you get between 18-20 weeks.

[reikimama]

I had a UC while we lived in GA with our DS.  GA is very backwards about laws.  There are midwives, but the laws are sticky, which is why we ended up having a UC.  Our first 2 were hospital births.  DD1 was intended as natural and I ended up with an epidural.  DD2 was a natural hospital birth, but I had to argue and fight off the nurses.  That's why DS was a homebirth.

With this one, we live in FL, but don't have a MW very close.  The closest one that I really like is over 70 miles away (down a beach highway, lots of stoplights, too and it will be during tourist season).  We talked before in 2010 and she said she would be willing to do my prenatal visits and then we could plan a UC again.  Haven't even made the call to the MW or even discussed it with DH yet. 

We are self-employed, with no health insurance, so that affects us, too.
 

[cadybh]

Hi all!  I am enjoying reading your stories!

I was induced with DS for no medical reason other than being over 2 weeks late.  It went fine overall, but I had some small issues mostly related to a bad start breastfeeding that I think may have been caused by the induction/Pitocin.  At any rate, as a result, DH and I feel more comfortable with the idea of a home birth.  We've found a CNM MW who runs a practice with three others who attend home births in our state, so the stage is set.

I do want to do some inspirational reading/viewing - does anyone have suggestions?  And at some point I want to prep DS as much as possible.

[crunchyruchie]

Count me in, too! I'm planning a home birth. It's our first pregnancy, but I always knew that I wanted a home birth if I lived in a state in which it was possible. I happen to live in WI now, where the laws for midwifery practice are pretty great. I found a really wonderful person, so we're all set!

[berrymama]

We are planning our 2nd homebirth. My first labor was 3 hrs long, and my second was shorter yet (1 hr total, from nothing to baby in arms) and ended up being an unassisted birth (unless you count my husband giving the en route midwife a play-by-play over the phone!). We will be seeing the same midwife, whom I love. I am also a labor and delivery RN, which causes some interesting dynamics at work. Many of my coworkers are not supportive of homebirth (though a few are), because we are a high-risk OB hospital and they are used to seeing 'interfered with' labor and birth, inductions, c-sections, etc. I wish more could see that for a normal, healthy woman, homebirth is perfectly safe. 

[berrymama]

Originally Posted by cadybh 

I do want to do some inspirational reading/viewing - does anyone have suggestions?  And at some point I want to prep DS as much as possible.

Birthing From Within by Pam England is great (not only for homebirth, but natural childbirth in general)

Ina May's Spiritual Midwifery is basically a book of childbirth stories that will give you confidence in your own body.

If you can get a hold of a video called Orgasmic Birth (sounds out there, but it really is not!) it is a really great video. Your midwife may have a lending library of books and videos (my midwife had this one, among others). Oh! I just found this link to rent/watch it online http://orgasmicbirth.com/

[moriahmoonstar]

Berrymama, you listed some of my top favorite resources! The Big Stretch is another great birth movie and orgasmic birth is also in book form by elizabeth davis, it's great as well.

I'm expecting my first the end of May and I am planning a homebirth. I'm so excited to finally experience it myself. I'm deciding between a friend of mine and her partner who are both young and graduated from Birthing Ways in Portland a few years ago, they are licensed and have had a joint practice for 1 year but have each done almost 100 births total. Then there is a woman in the mountains near me who definitely has the mama feel to her, I love her assistants also. She has 35 years experience, is unlicensed, and lives a little far and takes on twice the births the other ladies do. But I feel safe with her. I'm pretty torn. I like them both. After we interview the second I think I may need my husband to help decide.

Happy to join you ladies.

[adventuregirl]

Cady, you mentioned prepping DS. I am planning to have my DD at the birth and would love any resources that focus on that. Has anyone here had a DC at a previous birth? Planning to have one (or more) at this one? I had a loooong labor last time (30 hrs active) so definitely want to have plans with the neighbors for DD to be able to slip over there at any time. I also want her to have a good understanding of things so she doesn't get afraid or needy for me.

I simply can't WAIT to tell DD and start talking about the baby and birth and all that, but we are waiting... she would tell EVERYONE she encountered and I'm just not down with that right now. Just a few more weeks...

We chose a midwife and have our first appt next week, I am excited, interacting with the mw's make it so much more real!