Homebirth!

[2much2luv]

I can't believe the number of planned homebirths so far in this group! :loveeyes: So homebirthers . . .

Why have you planned a homebirth?

Have you had a previous homebirth (or births)?

Have you had a previous hospital/birthing center birth (or births)?

:shy

[springbabes]

My first was a hospital birth. It wasn't a bad experience, but there were a lot of little things that bothered me, ie. I had to be hooked up to their moniter for 30 minutes, I had to get out of the tub when it was time to deliver, etc. When I got pregnant the second time, we didn't have maternity insurance. I couldn't stand the thought of giving the hospital thousands of dollars when I could have something better at home for much less. So, my second birth was a wonderful home waterbirth. I loved how much more care and support I got at home vs. the hospital. I loved that a few hours after the birth everyone went home and our new little family all went to bed together. I loved how comforting it was to give birth in the familiarity of my own home. With my third pregnancy, there was no question of where I would deliver. Same with this pregnancy :).

[trmpetplaya]

Why have you planned a homebirth? Because I have a phobia of needles, doctors, and hospitals in that order. I also did research and found out that it's safer to have a home birth and I realised that I did NOT want to birth a baby lying on my back or hooked up to anything.

Have you had a previous homebirth (or births)? Dd was a home waterbirth and it was a lovely experience. My mother was there and she is totally in favour of home births now :thumb She was a little skeptical before.

Have you had a previous hospital/birthing center birth (or births)? Nope. And I hope it stays that way, though I wouldn't mind a birthing center... I just want to stay as far away from the hospital (and doctors and NEEDLES) as is humanly possible

love and peace. :love

[Ellarae]

Why have you planned a homebirth?
Because that's what feels right. I feel safer in my own home, and I'm not sick, so I'm not going to the hospital.

Have you had a previous homebirth (or births)?
My dd's birth 7 months ago was a homebirth. It was amazing!

Have you had a previous hospital/birthing center birth (or births)?
Just the one hombirth!

[shelley4]

Why have you planned a homebirth?

because my last HB was fabulous, and home is where i'm most comfortable!

Have you had a previous homebirth (or births)?


yes, my DD was a home birth, and it was hands down the best day of my life :loveeyes:


Have you had a previous hospital/birthing center birth (or births)?

yes, my first born, my DS, was a planned home birth, but ended in hospital transfer. i had heavy meconium in my waters, so the midwife felt i needed to transfer. ended up with a doctor who didn't even introduce himself to me, literally just sat down and said "i'm going to help you now". i was like, okay, whatever. he then gave me a large episiotomy (against my birth plan wishes), and my son was born one push later.

[2much2luv]

Why have you planned a homebirth? There is just no way I would purposely give birth anywhere else. I could list a million and a half reasons, but basically *I'm not sick so I don't need to be in a hospital *I want my baby to be born into warm loving hands at home, not the gloved hands of strangers *Probably the most important reason, I truly feel that homebirth is so much safer than a hospital birth because of the relaxed atmosphere condusive to birth and the lack of interventions.

Have you had a previous homebirth (or births)? My second and third daughters were born at home, #2 with a midwife in assistance and #3 unassisted.

Have you had a previous hospital/birthing center birth (or births)? My first dd was born in the hospital. I was induced at 41 weeks because my bag of water was leaking. My body was so not ready to be in labor and I labored painfully and with no results (dilating only to 1) for 21 hours. I was finally granted an epidural, fell aslleep, woke up two hours later dilated to 4, slept and woke up another two hours later fully dilated, pushed for two hours, got the *cut* and there she was. The only thing I am incredibly grateful for is that the epidural did it's job and I was able to have a vaginal birth. C-section was looming on the horizen.

[IamPink]

It's simple for me... I am a Doula. I have seen what most of my clients have gone through. I know what I went through with my other 2 deliveries. Not again.

I have this feeling that I NEED to give birth in my home. I can't really explain it, but I just HAVE to have the baby here! lol

[snugglebug14]

Joining the homebirthing group here! Ds was born in a hospital, unplanned c-section due to late decels. I'm really excited about our homebirth plans! Good luck to all of the other mamas

[Lissybug]

After having Midwifery care with my son, DH and I could not imagine having a baby any other way. It's not just the homebirth- it's everything leading up to that. It's feeling cared for and important though my pregnancy, having a wholistic model of care, and feeling empowered about health decisions. Homebirth is because DH got to catch our son and likely will get to catch the next baby, I know I feel less inhibited at home, and better able to relax (read- be really noisy :)) Oh- and last but not least homebirths have been proved to be safe or safer than hospital births for low risk pregnancies- with less likelihood of medical intervention. http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/homebirthissues.asp

[Lissybug]

Snugglebug- you must have a midwife that is willing to perform a VBAC? That great. Because of insurace, the midwives I go to here can't do VBACs. Infact even our hospital here has a policy against them, though I've heard there are a few doctors who will try for them, so to speak.

[snugglebug14]

Snugglebug- you must have a midwife that is willing to perform a VBAC? That great. Because of insurace, the midwives I go to here can't do VBACs. Infact even our hospital here has a policy against them, though I've heard there are a few doctors who will try for them, so to speak.

I have GREAT midwives and GREAT insurance. My midwives are SOOOO supportive of a VBAC. They are even more supportive of having a VBAC at home. My insurance is also covering 60-80% of the cost depending on whether or not my midwive gets a contract with them. I really think that the only I could have a successful VBAC is at home after my last birhting experience.

[Lissybug]

Snugglebug- I bet things will go great for you this time around.

[gothmommy]

. .

Why have you planned a homebirth?
Because after having a c/s for DS#2, I had a hard time finding a care provider or a facility that I knew would "allow" me to VBAC. Im a L&D nurse, so I know alot of the local doctors and how VBAC-unfriendly they are...so the only logical step was to hire the local "underground" mw and have a HBAC. Best decision I ever made. My MW is on sabattical right now, so my plans are leaning strongly towards UC.

Have you had a previous homebirth (or births)?
Yes, just with DS#3.

Have you had a previous hospital/birthing center birth (or births)?


DS#1: Hospital birth, epidural at 5cm. The epidural numbed me so well that my helpers actually completely dislocated both of my hips. That took WEEKS to get over the pain.

DS#2: Hospital birth, planned to be unmedicated but had a c-s due to face presentation. He is still quite a character!!

[goddessjulia]

Why have you planned a homebirth?

I wanted to have one my first birth, but had a great midwifery group that only did hospital births, and I was a little too nervous as a first-time mom. now I'm in a different town and the hospital is absolutely byzantine so there's no way I'm going there unless it's an emergency! I believe in home birth as the best place for 90%+ of pregnancies. I don't want to be in that environment, worried about antibiotic-resistant staph and procedures being pushed on me or my baby.

Have you had a previous homebirth (or births)?

no, my first birth was all natural in a hospital. but I have many friends who have, and one of my SILs just this summer.

Have you had a previous hospital/birthing center birth (or births)?

see above! :) and it really was great. my midwife held me to my birth plan better than I could have! however, once we left L&D we were treated kinda like freaks on the family wing (whatever they called it). what, you want to go home today? what, you're not using these free disposable diapers we're shoving at you? what, no vax? what, no incubator to lay your baby in, you're going to just HOLD HIM?? Oi! that part was lame. I'm looking forward to not having to go anywhere and not having to come home afterwards! :thumb

[MandyB]

Why have you planned a homebirth?

I had a hospital birth with my first child and after that I KNEW I never wanted to have a hospital birth again! I was 5cm dilated when I arrived at the hospital feeling pretty good. They encouraged me to get an epidural right away and that pretty much STOPPED my labor. Then of course they had to give me pitocen to start things up again. Then during transition (mind you I was feeling nothing from the epidural) the nurse decided I should feel something when it was time to Push so she messed with the epidural machine that had been feeding me a constant drip. She didn't know what she was doing and TURNED IT OFF right when I was in transition. It took me the next four hours to convince them that I was in a ton of pain and that something had happened. They didn't realize the epi machine had been turned off until right before my son was born. Plus, the made me lay completely flat on my back with no pillows to push him out.

I hated having NO control over my own birth experience.



Have you had a previous homebirth (or births)?

I had a homebirth with my daughter. She was born in water and everything was so peaceful and wonderful. I now cannot imagine it any other way!

[maylea_moon]

I'm planning on a homebirth. I had my 2 year old in the hospital and looking back, I just hated every aspect of it. I want to feel like I AM in control, not some OB. And I'm really excited to birth in the comfort of my own home.

[Lavish_Grace]

Why have you planned a homebirth?
B/c I had a homebirth w/my second ds and it was great! I love the intimate care I receive throughout the pregnancy and how peaceful and natural and right it feels to labor and give birth at home. And I love that after the baby is born, we are at home in our own bed, and I can use my own bathroom and eat my own food! I think homebirth is so much more peaceful and gentle for the baby. Also, I don't feel that comfortable after childbirth w/the cramps and the bleeding and the last thing I want is a hospital bed and a stuffy hospital room. There is truly no place like home! It beats out the hospital any day.


Have you had a previous homebirth (or births)?
Yes, as I mentioned above w/my second ds.

Have you had a previous hospital/birthing center birth (or births)?

Yes, w/my first ds. I had a natural hospital birth w/a nurse midwife. I had a very good birth experience in the hospital but like a pp poster mentioned, there were little things that bothered me. Continuous electronic fetal monitoring, constant beeping, baby taken to the warming table immediately following birth so the hospital staff could do their checks and eye goop and stuff. Then there was the hospital stay. The labor and birth was the best part of the hospital experience, the stay was the worst and we left early. I had a nurse that wasn't that enamored w/me. Bf'ing was not working out very well either and I just wanted to get home. Hospital staff were frequently coming in and out of the room to poke and prod, I didn't want to have to ask the nurses for drinks and I don't even want to get into the food situation. I also didn't feel free to be the Mom. I was a new mom and didn't know what I was doing and I just needed to get out of there and figure it out at home where I felt comfortable.

[imgr8ful]

ds1 was born at the hospital and after i had him i thought the experience was really wonderful.

then i had ds2 at home and the experience was 1000 times better!

[MamaSpruce]

Whoohoo! Another homebirther here.

Why have you planned a homebirth?

Why would I go to a hospital if I didn't have to? Seriously, a lot of the reasons already mentioned. I just feel it is so much safer. I never even considered a hospital birth. But especially, like Alissa mentioned, midwifery care is just so superior. I think a good birth is so much about the 9 months leading up to it: having a healthy pregnancy, nutrition, feeling supported and listened to and confident in yourself. That is what my midwife gave me. Plus the post partum care!

Have you had a previous homebirth (or births)?

Yep, my son's birth was wonderful at home with just my dh, two fabulous midwives and an apprentice. A little long, but I only pushed for 45 minutes and he was born so peacefully in the water. Bliss.

Have you had a previous hospital/birthing center birth (or births)?

Nope.

Hope this thread inspires July DDCers on the fence to go for a home birth!

[ChelseaG]

Homebirth for me too!

I knew since I was young that I would follow in my mom's footsteps and have a home birth. I was born in the hospital, but 2 years later I watched my younger sister born at home with only a nursing student and my dad's medic friends from the air force to assist. Even though I really don't have strong memories of it as I was so young, I think it totally shaped my subconscious as I have never even considered going to a hospital. It took a while to convince DH - he was (is) a worrier and was all about the "what if" scenarios. We found a midwife in a birthing center and thought that would be a compromise, and throughout our prenatal care, he began to trust her and the whole homebirth experience and it was actually Dh that decided around 30 weeks - "why don't we just do it at home instead!" :thumb

So, we had our daughter at home after only 4 hours of labor and 45 min of pushing in our big jaccuzi bathtub. My DH is totally converted now and preaches about how great homebirth is to everyone!!!! Looking forward to birthing #2 in the same bathtub!

Homebirth is best for all the reasons everyone has already stated, it is safer, more comfortable, you are more in control, you are more relaxed (thus - birth tends to be easier), and it is SO great to just get in your bed after and cuddle your new baby and not have to go anywhere - or be woken up by nurses all night wanting to poke and prod you and your baby...

[DoulaClara]

Why have you planned a homebirth? Because I read and re-read Kim Wildner's Mother's Intention: How Belief Shapes Birth about a hundred times in the past two years. :lol I just feel better being at home.

Have you had a previous homebirth (or births)? No

Have you had a previous hospital/birthing center birth (or births)? No, but I worked as a doula for births last year that made me very upset (in the Chicagoland area) and I saw things done to women that horrified the hell out of me. One Doc came into the room pissed off (after the nurses called him for over an hour telling them that the baby was pretty much almost there- the mom was at 0 or lower, and dilated), didn't bother telling my client "Hello," or "Hi," or "F-You," and grabbed a glove, stuck it on, and jammed his hand inside of her. I wanted to bash his head in. My client had opted for an epidural, and didn't appear to notice. Another woman was given drugs that dialed her Cxs up and down and all around in what ended up being a nightmare of an induction. Still another woman... but, you get my point!

I choose to do what is best for me and my baby, nd I'm not giving the power of my birth over to anyone else. I am going to personally make it happen, instead of hoping against hope that a medical staff will honor my decisions when I'm deep in my labor brain.

Clara

[bbrandonsmom]

I want to have one as well. With ds there were too many things that we did not like at the hospital. I just have to fully convince dh on it, otherwise it will be the birth center, and we'll be home opnly a few hours after birth. Now if there are complications and I have to be attended to in a hospital, we will have a doula or midwife-they're the best.

[KlutzyGirl]

I am pregnant with my first and am planning a homebirth with very low-tech. pre-natal care (only fetal stethoscope, no doppler or sonogram). I completely trust my body to birth a baby without interference. I believe that medicine has it's place, but not in normal, natural birth. Medicine and hospitals are for really sick people, and I don't think being pregnant is a sickness. I believe that all animals, including humans, will seak out the safest most comfortable place to birth in and for me that will always be home.

[party_of_seven]

Why have you planned a homebirth? I do much better laboring with privacy. I can't handle the total lack of privacy that goes on in a hospital setting. When too many peole are around I feel inhibited and my labor slows. Things progress much easier for me when I am alone and I have the freedom to move...I'm better able to listen to my body.

Have you had a previous homebirth (or births)? 3 glorious and wonderful HBs

Have you had a previous hospital/birthing center birth (or births)? My first was a 30 hour labor that ended in a forceps delivery. The labor itself was not bad. I labored with no drugs, and had very little pain. When it came time to push I was strapped to the bed by the monitors and afraid to move and mess them up. My big 9# little girl was just not going to come out with me sitting on my butt. I was tired, and I thought that if there was something else I should be doing the doctor would tell me, right? LOL. The forceps delivery was a nightmare though, and poor dh is still traumatized from seeing that. Needless to say, I will never set foot back in a hosptial unless there is a serious need for it.

[tiffany21074]

i had a freestanding birth center birth with my dd; we wanted to put off homebirth until we knew what to expect. this time, we do! We are so excited, and because last time I almost gave birth in the car on the way to the center, it will be very nice to just labor whereever i am at!

[Panthira]

I called my insurance company and they DO NOT pay for homebirths, and since I'm going for a VBAC (this will be my 3rd VBAC!), it's illegal for me to have my baby in a birth center in California, the oh so progressive state.

We cannot afford to pay for a midwife for a homebirth out of pocket, so I'm a little worried. I do NOT want another hospital birth! I had a midwife hospital birth last time, but still had to have a heplock (needle in my hand) and couldn't give birth in the tub. I also had to stay for 24 hrs after and that sucked!

I'm not sure yet what we'll do...

ETA: the closest hospital where I can have a midwife in attendence is in San Francisco, 50 minutes from my home. I labored on the way there last time and that was not fun.

[KlutzyGirl]

Panthira,

Please excuse my ignorance, why can't you simply check yourself out of the hospital if you don't want to stay the 24 hours? I thought hospitals couldn't keep people if they demanded to go...

I hope you get your homebirth. My DH was a little miffed to discover that the insurance we have had for over a year (and not used at all) will still not be used because Blue Cross Blue Shield HMO doesn't have any homebirthing midwives in their plan, but I insisted we go out of plan for this. Maybe you can barter with a homebirthing midwife, perhaps get a reduced or extended payment plan. It's worth checking out your options.

[aileen]

panthira - i agree with klutzygirl. i know of many homebirth midwives (if that is truely what you want - don't mean to sound pushy) who have never turned away a mother for lack of funds. i have many friends who pay a small amount every month for births that took place years ago. (some do sliding scale, even!) in fact, one of the midwives we interviewed last pregnancy actually made a point of telling us that no one was ever turned away before she even knew our situation. we are lucky and had been able to save it up, but i still cried when she announced that because i found it so incredibly touching. (she's quite famous - coined the term VBAC even:wink )
there is a thread in the homebirth forum that discusses creative ways to pay your midwife and i know some states have loop holes that you may be able to find and jump through. maybe if you asked in your tribal area? (like in oregon, OHP doesn't cover homebirth except there's a "sneaky" way you can get it covered if you don't sign up till X # of weeks...)
50 minutes in a car in possible san fran traffic sounds frightful, friend.
yikes.
i hope you can find a way, but heck if you're headed to alta bates, (maybe you can just read "babycatcher" on the drive...) there's proabably not a better hospital to be at.

[Panthira]

It wasn't just the hospital stay but things like the heplock, when they couldn't find my vein and kept sticking the needle in my hand over and over and it got massively bruised. That hurt more then the laboring. Then after I gave birth and I was so tired but I was pinned to this wall and they wouldn't help me get off the wall so I had some more issues that are probably TMI right now.

I know about leaving the hospital. I left the hospital on my first VBAC against doctor's orders when they wanted to hook me up to monitoring machines and have me lay there. I gave birth 48 hours later. I can only imagine that would have ended as a C/S had I let them keep me there. But once your baby is born, they sort of harrassed us and threatened to call CPS if we left because his temp was a little high. They kept coming in and swaddling him in 4 blankets! I told my DH I wanted to just leave, but he was too nervous to do that when they were threatening us.

I'll have to call around and find some local midwives to see what our options are. Thanks for the suggestions!

[Ashersmum]

There were so many things about the experience of a hospital birth that has steered me towards the decision of HB. I hated that I was made to lie down for fetal monitoring. The nurses took my baby from me immediately to 'warm him up' under a lamp for what seemed like hours whilst he was screaming! The fact that I was woken up every half an hour for bp tests etc. No emotional support or encouragement from the nurses/doctors on staff.
I am so excited to have a homebirth. I'm going to go the whole nine yards = waterbirth/hypnobirth/homebirth. It just feels so right. We just recently moved house and I instantly pictured the location in the house where I would deliver our new baby.
A couple of people I met recently used the midwife that I have chosen and they both said that it was an incredible experience :)

[KlutzyGirl]

Panthira, I got a sick feeling (not related to pregnancy!) when I read about the hospital threatening you with CPS. I can imagine how awful that is and I'm sure I would have stayed too with that hanging over my head. It's disgusting what people in positions of power can do to make you comply with something that you don't want to do and are supposedly protected by your rights... reminds me of a conversation I had with DH yesterday about how the schools require vaccinations to be able to enrole and that's how they assure compliance (I'm bucking that by homeschooling if I have to, humph!).