First birth a homebirth?

[Fish Face]

This is my first pregnancy. I am looking into all options. I am wondering how many of you had your first births at home. I'd prefer to be at home versus in the hospital. I don't know WHERE I will be yet, for the birth, though. I may be with my parents, I may be in my own place, I probably will not have my baby's father there, my sister and future yet to be found midwife will support.

Anyone do this from scratch from day 1 and happy with it? Or not hapy with it? Any details I should look into early?

[birthdancedoula]

I'm not in your DDC but I read your other post about you being a young college student and newly pregnant...and I wanted to say I was in your shoes a little over 8 years ago. I also decided upon a HB for the birth of my first. Folks thought I was nuts (mainly my friends) but over time they warmed up to the idea. I have since had 3 more HBs and wouldn't consider birthing in any other location. Feel free to pm me if you want to talk more. Best of luck!!

[Fish Face]

That is awfully encouraging! Thank you. BTW, this will be SO against my family's beliefs. But, you know, at this point, I've already gone so far beyond, I am just making it easier for my youngest sister to be a free spirit! Do you have any tips? I will PM you as I get anxious about it...as I know I will!

[jillybeans]

My first birth was a homebirth. Beautiful, gentle, loving, serene, and amazing are words that come to mind. I was so at peace that I can honestly say it didn't even hurt that much! The general consensus is that first time moms have longer labor, and that creates even more reasons for being at home! You won't be pushed to a c-section prematurely, based on the hospitals schedule, and you'll be able to relax in a place that will make it that much easier. Not all first time moms go slow though! My water broke at 9:30pm, contractions started at 10:30pm, and she was born at 12:25 am!

[rad]

My first baby and the following 3 were all born at home. They were all amazing experiences. I honestly would not birth anywhere else.

Mine were all fast. My first labor was 4 hour long from start (water breaking/first contraction) to DS being born. I really think being in the comfort of my home helped with that.

[beckyand3littlemonsters]

I've had all my babies at home and intend to do the same this time, i wouldn't even concider hospital unless there was something wrong, all my births have been trouble free and i didn't use any pain relief

[saintmom]

My first two were at home.The first was easy!Second was a hairy shoulder distocia.Scared me,but the baby was fine.(He's now a 6ft.5 grown man!)
Next 4 were in hospitals with mw as I had moved and could not for the life of me find a mw.I really did my homework and went in with birthplans.I Left after 4-6 hrs ama.

If I had been sick or had any complicating issues I would have used a hospital or stayed in when I was there.It just wasn't my ideal choice for a birth place.

Riding in a car in labor to get somewhere stinks!

Last was born at home,Not as easy as my first,I probably would have been sectioned if I'd been in a hospital.

Yes there's no reason not to have a hb with your first.It's also wise to have a back up plan if the need arises.Way easier than going to the er in labor and having to deal with doctor whoever.Considering over 90% of babies born to healthy mothers are fine,you'll probably never need it!

[XanaduMama]

Since I saw in another of your posts that you're near Duke (hi!!), thought I'd direct you to nchomebirth.com--lots of useful info there. The "find a midwife" link isn't working right now, but you'll get some good recommendations from other mamas around here.

PM me too if you like, if you want to have coffee or something sometime and chat about home birth. I had a hospital birth with ds, but am set on a HB this time.

[proudmamanow]

Our first was born at home as well. I believe that if you can do it it's the best start for mama & baby so why not give you & your little one that gift, yk? Annie's birth was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. 16 hours of peaceful, quiet at home labour followed by a water birth. Go for it! You can do it!

[jerawo]

My first was a homebirth, and I can't imagine birthing anywhere else. It was such a delight to be able to labor in my own house and automatically feel comfortable. No one bothered me. My first labor was only 8 hours long, and I think the main reason for the short first labor was that I was in my home and comfortable. If you have a healthy, normal pregnancy there are so many advantages to homebirth.

[smokeylo]

I am. I have several friends who had kids as teen/students and they did homebirths and had amazing experiences. I think that midwives treat young Moms with more respect than doctors do, just IMO. I'm really excited to have a homebirth.

[anarchamama]

I had a hb with #1&2 and wouldn't have had it any other way. #1 was long (about 14 hrs) and i was so glad to not be in a hospital. #2 was fast (2hrs) and I probably wouldn't have made it anyway , so much easier to have people come to me. I highly recomend it, although I to would recomend making a backup plan. With #2 I had some meconium in the water and before they had assesed me the midwives thought I may have to transfer (after assesment they gave me the ok to stay at home) but it was really had trying to cope with the idea of trnasfering while I was transitioning!

[beckyand3littlemonsters]

soz totally ot but my sis uses the nick name fish face too cos our surname is fisher and our mum and dad would jokingly call us fish face

[Fish Face]

Originally Posted by beckyand3littlemonsters

soz totally ot but my sis uses the nick name fish face too cos our surname is fisher and our mum and dad would jokingly call us fish face

Hum! That's actually why I used it, too. Family name...how funny!

[Nan'sMom]

Both of my babies were born at home. I initially was drawn to it when I realized that my chances of avoiding Vit K injection and eye goop administered to my newborn were virtually nil in a hospital or birthing center, then I looked into safety issues and how much more humanely infants are treated at most homebirths and my decision was made.

[mn_mom]

All I can say is I totally wanted all of my babies born at home but unfortunately with #1 and #2 insurance issues and apartment living made me feel uneasy about birthing at home. I never had any fears on the safety of doing so though. If you feel confident and prepared and have a comfortable place to do so I say go for it! I wish I had. When our last was born at home it was fantastic.

[Fish Face]

That is wonderful! I love this support. My family is really taking this hard and is in complete opposition to my wants and needs....I think they are stuck in the 50's......thank God I have my sister.

[lilkat]

I'm expecting my 1st and planning a homebirth, too. I hear you about the difficulty getting support from the family. DH has finally (mostly) come around, and my mom and sis are starting to warm to the idea, but mom-in-law is *very* skeptical, and more distant relations tend to give me a blank look when I mention my plans. I've found that simple statistics and keeping a lid on my emotions helps a lot. I tell people that stats show that homebirth is equally safe to hospital births, and so it comes down to personal preference, and this is *my* choice. Then I try to keep my mouth shut

[stelly]

I'm planning a homebirth for my first. My Mum is not exactly keen on the idea, but hopefully she'll get used to it since she's going to be staying with us around the due date.

My MIL would absolutely freak out, so we're misleading her and saying that we're using a Dr. in a hospital. Afterwards we can tell her the truth.

I've stopped telling friends since they don't seem to get it and I know they'll all start chatting about it behind my back. I intend to keep quiet about it until the baby arrives and then I'll put on the birth announcements "arrived at home in a planned homebirth" or something.

[HennaLady]

Yes, my first birth was a homebirth, and my second, and now about to be my third I wouldn't have it any other way, although I do remember it being a HUGE decision when we were first faced with it. How would we pay for it, is it worth the money, is it really safe, can we find the right midwife, etc, etc. In the end my Dh said to me "I won't LET you birth in a hospital, you're worth far more than that" (my main hangup then was the thousands of dollars of out-of-pocket expense).

Good luck in your decision!