home birth reassurance

[kasiaimichael]

I had a similar conversation, to wingsareforflying, with my ob a few weeks ago. She basically told me that home birth is very unsafe and that’s why next to the delivery room they have an operation room at my local hospital. She also told me that ¼ of the vb finish with a cc (actually the hospital she works at has a 30% cc ratio).

I know there has been a lot of research about the safety of home birth, but we are in Poland now and home birth is quite new here. The doctors don’t accept it as safe. There are very few midwives who help with home births and they are treated (as well as the parents who want home birth) as freaks, who put the babies’ and mothers’ lives at risk.
My ob told me I have only 3 min in which to be operated on if I start bleeding heavily and so on and so on…
I really want a home birth.

My first child was born in hospital (in the same town, there is only one hospital here) and I don’t want to go through the same experience again. The midwife who was supposed to look after me was a #####, she broke my waters without asking and wasn’t gentle at all. She wanted me to do the birth her way, at her speed. I think I did not feel safe with this person and my contractions stopped after 10 hours. They gave me oxitocin and then asked me to stay in bed, which was so much more painful compared to sitting on a ball. When it was time to push, the doctor who delivered my baby suddenly pressed my stomach (after 2 pushes!!!) to push the baby out and the said I don’t know how to give birth (I guess he knows how to do it better). I got so scared with what he did that I stopped and said, “WTF are you doing!!!” and my sister who was there with me started to pinch him and hit him; they do epistomy for the 1st birth for everyone of course.

After the birth, my baby had UTI, I think due to the waters being broken too early (he was born 9 hours after) and the laziness of the midwife who did not want to change pads on the bed frequently. I could not walk for a week, the stitches were so tight, or sit on my bottom for 4 weeks. I’m not going to mention all the unnecessary procedures my baby and I had to go through.

After this experience I really don’t feel safe in this hospital. I could choose a private one but it is 3 hours away and I just don’t want to have to rush.

I have not read a lot about home birth, just the Birth Book by Sears and Sears. I recently ordered “birthing within”. I guess what I need is reassurance. I have only 2 midwives to choose from (because there are so few of them) and they have both delivered only a few babies at home. They have been working in hospitals for years though. I wonder, is this enough? I also wonder what kind of equipment they should have in case there is a problem with the ‘baby’s breathing or other problems? The hospital is within 5 min walking distance, so I hope that is close enough in case of an emergency - there is not a system for home births in Poland?
Thanks in advance for any input
Kasia

[Funny Face]

My biggest advice is to READ READ READ. There are MANY books out there that can give you a ton of information on homebirthing, natural birth, the risks involved in hospital births and so on. Had I not read I don't think I would have developed my own philosophy about birth or confidence in doing it differently than the medical society advises.
Read anything you can get your hands on. Some great authors with several books each are Ina May Gaskin, Penny Simkin, Henci Goer, if you read their work alone you'd probably be good to go.

You can seek advice on here but also educating yourself after reading the facts will give you confidence that you arrived at your decision based on information and your own intuition, not anyone elses.

As for your doc citing the C/s rate at the hospital she made a good case for homebirth and doesn't even know it. She is trying to say that 30% of vb end in necessary c/s but she forgot to mention that many of the procedures the docs perform very much increase this need. No doctor that I have come across has been willing to admit this fact when confronted with newer studies, they pretty much ignore your point and don't really discuss it, so I couldn't say how they might explain their procedures in the face of this information, because they don't.

I would imagine that a midwife who has been delivering in the hospital is just as qualified in a homebirth, I may be wrong but it seems that perhaps they began attending hb because they feel that it is just as safe, if not more so and realized that the hospital isn't where they are most comfortable delivering their patients.

I live in the US so I have no idea what you are up against and I applaud you for seeking out all of this information. Educate yourself, follow your heart, and you'll find peace about this.

Good Luck

[velcromom]

Read Henci Goer's "The Thinking Woman's Guide To A Better Birth", it explains so much, from what interventions do, to why obstetrics cannot change to accomodate new evidence that shows the harm some of their policies causes.


The hospital itself cannot guarantee that you will get to the OR in three minutes, that's ridiculous. It takes time to prep for an unplanned surgery - besides, what if the OR is already in use, what do they do for people who come in after a car crash? They call ahead and do the best they can to get things ready. So you can wait in the hospital if you are already there, or you can be traveling to get there if you are transferring in. Either way the OR is going to be prepped for you. Three minutes! It takes more than three minutes just for the surgeons and nurses to scrub up and get gowned! She's trying to scare you.

Here's a site that you might find very reassuring -

http://www.homebirth.org.uk/

There's a page there titled "But What If..." that goes through some of the emergency scenarios and tells you what the midwife will do and what would likely take place. I think there's even a list of the emergency supplies the midwife will probably have with her.

[JanetF]

What a shame that doctor is so woefully ignorant.

http://www.joyousbirth.info/

[fourgrtkidos]

Go to the Citizens for Midwifery website and check out the Homebirth/safety study.......

[kasiaimichael]

updated

Thank you all for your replies. I'm so glad I've found the forum
I managed to speak to one of the midwifes and I found out that she's been working out of the hospital for more than 15 years. She works as a community midwife and her job is to visit the mother and the child after the birth. She started doing home births 2 years ago and since then had only 2 clients (I guess it is not very popular here: duck: ). That means during those 15 years she delivered only 2 babies. Should I still consider her, do you think she has enough experience to do homebirth? I am confused :
Kasia

[Miyelani]

I want to second the Ina May Gaskin recommendation. Reading her Guide to Childbirth gave me enough confidence to switch (this is all during this one pregnancy mind you!) first from a hospital birth with an OB, to a hospital birth with a midwife and now we are planning a homebirth with a midwife (any day now!). I'm now reading Spiritual Midwifery to boost myself up some more and prepare for a beautiful experience. I only know of one positive birth story from a hospital--most are really sad and scary. Yes, they often end with "healthy baby, healthy mother" but I think the journey is so special and important, you deserve a birth that is empowering, not scary. Good luck!

[ClassiclyAmber]

You've gotten some great advice here!!

The midwife that you've found might be a good option. Will she let you interview her and ask her a ton of questions? See what you can find out from her to put your mind at ease! Also, what about interviewing the other possible midwife candidaate? Keep your options open and let us know how it goes!