did you have unexpected problems with home birth?

[joyberryjoy]

Just trying to get a sample here...

[parisfrance]

My baby's head was flexed in the wrong direction (forehead first) and he hadn't turned yet (read-painful back labor) and my midwife said it was psychological that I didn't ever get the urge to push! She transferred me to a hospital where I got an emergency c-section. I'd do a homebirth again, but it's next to impossible to find people here in France who do them, and my midwife says I have to have a sucessful VBAC in a hospital or clinic first, then she'll consider an HBAC.

[BusyMommy]

His head was stuck after 2.5 hours of pushing and he came out limp. Revived after oxygen and apgars went up to 9s.

Also, my placenta almost wouldn't come out even after pitocin. Interestingly, the mw said the cord was ripped?!?

Would I do it again? Yes, probably.

[Née Née]

I ended up being transferred to hospital after 24hrs of labour and "failure to progress", actually it was more like a useless midwife that slept the whole time and didnt give me any advice on how to turn my posterior baby, ended up with a pit drip, epidural, episiotomy, a baby with a broken clavicle and a hematoma, that left him in the NICU for 4 days. Would I have a homebirth again??? YOU BETCHA, only this time with a competent midwife, hospitals, for me, are like hell on earth!!

Renee

[jordmoder]

We did have a problem with our first child; it was a "lightening strike" event and would have happened no matter where we were - but we transferred to the hospital for the birth.

Second baby was planned to be at the hospital because of the first baby - I should have just stayed home, as he was born 10 minutes after we got there and he was just fine. He was almost born in the car, which I think is even less pleasant than a hospital birth!

[mom at home]

With my first, her little head got stuck while crowning. It wasn't a major problem but because of the position of the baby they couldn't get a good heart tone reading. The midwife was close to doing an episiodomy until my sister (my other midwife) found the heart tones and they were fine. It's not a good time for the baby to get stuck but they weren't worried as long as her heart rate was normal.

With number two, her shoulders got stuck on my pubic bone. (She has very wide shoulders.) It was a little scary for the midwives, I think. I wasn't that aware of it and they didn't say much, but worked hard to get her shoulder unstuck.

I hemorraged with both, not bad with the second, but lost a fair bit of blood with the first.

Overall, no major problems.

[paula_bear]

We had an exciting homebirth. The midwives had been up the previous night and my labor stopped completely. I was about 6cm dilated when they left at 6am. I was napping that afternoon when I woke as my membranes exploded (well, that's what it felt like to me!) Contractions started 10 min. later, very very intense! Midwife jumped in car right away, but arrived about 5 min. after our precious Kelly Rose.

First birth was a hospital birth, which I'd never do again. Even though it was "natural," there were still way too many interventions. I didn't like the way the staff related to us either. AND, baby was taken from me and I didn't get to nurse for several hours after the birth. Kelly nursed before we even cut the cord! It made all the difference in the nursing experience - Joe nursed for 3 mos whereas Kelly is still going strong at 2 yrs.

[JaniceT]

We had major problems with our planned homebirth -- lots of meconium in my waters throughout the entire labor, blood pressure getting into dangerous numbers, failure to progress at about 6 cms dilated, umbilical cord wrapped around dd's neck three times, her head turned in the wrong direction. We transported after about 12 hours of very difficult labor. Once we arrived at the hospital all hell broke loose -- apparently I had preeclampsia which had not been diagnosed by CPM, and I was headed for a seizure (liver and kidneys started to fail). Emergency c-section after 20 hours of labor. Still reeling from the grief of it all. However I must say that after being afraid of going to the hospital I actually had a decent experience there -- they didn't give us TOO much of a hard time for being "crazy home birthers," and they respected our wishes (no eye ointment, no vitamin K, rooming in, breastfeeding immediately, etc.). And the nurses were fabulous -- so helpful and attentive.

[laches]

We were actually in a birth center, but when my son was born in respiratory distress, we transferred to the hospital and he was in the NICU on a ventilator for 9 days. Two of the neonatologists treated us terribly. For my daughters birth, my hubby refused to do another out of hospital birth, so I compromised, did a lot of looking for the right providers, had an AWESOME doula, made a very detailed birthplan, and had a very pleasant hospital birth, with no interventions. We were home very soon after the birth. I hate hospitals and was very upset at feeling like I had no other option than to birth in the hospital, but in the end it worked out OK.

[Alexander]

Our home birth went pretty much as planned.

We rang the midwife (2 of them) just before we got into the pool. After the birth, they failed to secure the umbilical cord properly, and it remained damp.

2 days later, I had to take dd to the Dr. to have it dealt with. He was not pleased that such a poor job had been done.

It is worth having a MW or Doula that knows what they are doing.

a

[joyberryjoy]

so what exactly did they not do that they should have done?

(considering an unassisted water birth)

joy

[lilyka]

my baby stopped breathing.

She was a good dark purple before anyone noticed. She had been making funny breathing sounds and the (not quite a) midwife said that was normal. Then when we realized she had stopped breathing she paniced even though she new exactly what to do and the real midwife who we had called was very calm and reassuring that she just neded a little more suctioning. This is something that would have been avoided if someone with more experiance had been there. Other than that (and the fact that the real midwife wasn't actually there in the first place) it was smooth sailing

[glorysmom]

After my planned homebirth I ended up in the hospitol after 3 long days of labor, not being able to eat or sleep.
I had been at 8 cm or so for a day and the babys head was turned at a funny angle. My midwife suggested the hospitol and I actually kinda felt relieved at her suggestion. After another 12 hours my baby was born. Thankfully the only interventions were a pitocin drip to get me to 10 cm and breaking of the waters.

After laboring at home and having the birth at the hospitol I definently want to try a homebirth again next time! No doubt in my mind.

[JeanetteL]

I experienced a post partum hemmorage following the birth of my daughter. Was treated with pitocin, methergine(sp?) and herbs. I needed a catheter to empty my bladder and the problem was resolved without me leaving my bed! All the details are in my birth story, which I just posted to this forum the other day(Isabella's Home Waterbirth).

Jeanette

[Alexander]

Originally posted by joyberryjoy
so what exactly did they not do that they should have done?
(considering an unassisted water birth)
joy

On the phone, we reminded them to bring suficient equipment for the cord, (gauze, peg, tape, whatever) in view of the fact that we wished to cut the umbilical cord near the placenta, well away from the baby, (which may well feel the cut), and thus had a long, hanging cord for a week or so. This can lead to problems if the cord gets wet from pee.

The sticky tape used was pathetic, (probably ok for the normal "close cut belly button jobs", but for the longer "flying appendage", not sufficient.

I wish I had made sure that I had oberved more closely with the first, just what to do.

We live and learn.

Hope this helps

a

[karenpl]

We had baby problems with first home birth. Baby had stridor and needed to transfer to the hospital. He stayed there for 14 days. It was so nice to finally have him home!

This was a congenital problem, had nothing to do with the birth.

I had five homebirths after that one, all of which went without any big problems.

[Spark]

I suppose that if I had birthed in a hospital, red flags would have been flying. I was fully dialated after 5 hours of labor and could not push the baby out no matter what I did. I was fine. The baby was fine. I just could not get him out. 12 hours later he was born. Glad the midwife and I had patience. He was well worth the wait.

Oh, in case anyone is wondering -- my labor was pretty much pain-free. I had 1 and 1/2 hours of OWWWW! So, patience was quite easy to muster in those remaining 12 hours.

Claire
with nice sweet baby Jude born 11/28/02 on his father's birthday!

[joyberryjoy]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by karenpl
[B]We had baby problems with first home birth. Baby had stridor and needed to transfer to the hospital.

What is stridor? Haven't run across that one in my reading yet!

joy

[JenniferJeffrey]

I had an anterior cervical lip 1 hour into pushing. Pushed another 4 hours through pain I can't describe. My midwife supported me and knew I could and would birth my baby on my own, and I did, and I'm happy! I love my ds!:D

[karenpl]

Stridor is a very noisy breathing. Different from wheezing though. In the case of my first baby, it was caused by laryngomalacia, a 'floppy' larynx. More than you ever wanted to know about stridor can be found at http://www.childsdoc.org/spring98/stridor/stridor.asp

[Sylvia Lynn]

i had high bp which didn't go down no matter what we did through the last trimester. we were carefully monitored by an expert midwife so we were able to stay home. good thing cuz at my age (44) i'd be under pressure for unwanted intervention.

[azulamama]

No problems, except baby was faster than our (human) midwife, and faster than our water pressure. Our planned home water birth with a midwife, became an unassisted land homebirth!
I'm really happy about it, though. It was very cool to have my dh catch and dd to cut the cord. Oh, and my mom actually boiled water!:)

[crazy_eights]

My first homebirth (baby #4), I had a retained clot which is OW! also kept my uterus from clamping down efficiently, so I was bleeding. I expressed several clots myself, and the midwife offered to continue to watch and wait, but I asked for the methergine. she gave a me a shot and my uterus clamped down, spitting out several more clots and end of the problem. I was glad I chose to go that way as I was starting to feel yucky and shocky. I asked for an IV too which made me feel so much better after the sudden blood loss. These are all things that probably could have been handled with herbs and fluids, but the traditional medical option in this case was a quicker route to stopping the problem and feeling better IMO, and I opted for them (at home). BTW - my midwife in that case normally gives herbs after delivery to head off problems, but in her panic to get to me (I birth quickly and she got to my house as I was pushing), left them in her other car.

My second homebirth, no problems, except that I delivered before the midwife got there! Different midwife, different country. She got there about 10 minutes after I delivered, cut her cord b/c it was short, did give me some herbs and all was well.

[khrisday]

My daughter was a planned homebirth attended by 2 certified nurse midwives. The pregnancy and delivery were perfectly normal until my water broke, which occured right at the pushing stage. There was a lot of meconium in the water and the midwives would have liked to transfer me to hospital, however my daughter was already crowning so there wasn't time. She was born breatjing (or trying to) but blue. The midwives had oxygen on her before her APGAR's were even done, and half an hour later she was admitted to the local hospital where the pediatritian had met us. Turned out she had severe meconium aspiration, her lungs were very full and she could not get enough oxygen into her bloodstream, even in an oaygen tent. The closest University hospital was called to come and transfer her after a few hours. She was placed on a respirator before the left, and by the time she arrived she was needing even more intervention. By the next day she was on a hert/lung bypass machine called ECMO and getting better. She spent 6 days on ECMO, 7 days on a respirator, and 3 weeks in the hospital. Her problems had nothing to do with the homebirth, and had she been in the hospital I don't think anything would have been different. Actually, I think the fact that we were able to spend a few minutes with her bonding before she went through all this was beneficial to her, and us.
Khris
Jack 3-1-96
and Lucy 5-6-99 ECMO susvivor

[Celestial]

No, no problems with baby or mom. Only "hitch" was that he had his head tilted back, which made it harder to push him out, and his cord was around him twice. The first "hitch" was rectified by chaging position, and the second by the midwives asking me to stop pushing, while they unwrapped the cord.

[DashsMama]

I chose "Yes, problem with mom for which we went to seek medical help" but actually there was no real problem other than being nearly 3 weeks past due. Everyone was getting a little anxious, even my midwives. So after careful consideration I chose to be induced by the only doctor I trusted in my medical practice, rather than wait it out. My midwives served as my doulas. :)

Next time I'll wait for the homebirth.

[Cygnet09]

I checked "Problem with baby, but resolved at home".

DD was a planned HB with two CNMs. The problem was simply that she was my first and was 9#. She had mild shoulder dystocia (which I was told by an OB could kill her if we weren't at the hospital when I delivered) which was handled efficiently and expertly by my CNM. She also had her cord wrapped around her neck and it was trapped between her shoulder and the birth canal, which meant she wasn't getting any oxygen after her head was born. Too tight to breathe and none coming through to her via the cord. The cord was cut at that time and I was told to push as hard as I could to get her out. She was born moments later and was placed on my chest once she had been suctioned and checked out (less than a minute).

I honestly feel that I would have had a traumatic hospital birth. The OBs and MWs at the practice (that I later left) were highly interventionist and almost panicky when things didn't move in a textbook fashion. I can't see them handling this situation with the calm and aplomb of my MW.

I'm now PG with #2 and can't imagine giving birth anywhere else.

[breathingmom]

We had a wonderful homebirth of our twin daughters! None of us required medical attention and all went smoothly.

The only thing that happened is that one of the people attending the births accidently knocked the hose loose to the birthing tub and didn't notice. My bathroom and hallway were flooded with water! :D

[CanOBeans]

My DD got a little hung up at the shoulders coming out, which the midwives handled very well. She had APGARs of 6 and 8, but nothing that didn't resolve within minutes. I, on the other hand, had a very weird third-degree tear (owing to her position and some forceful pushing) and my uterus was not contracting well after I birthed the placenta. My midwives asked if I wanted a shot of Pit, which I agreed to, and then we transferred to the hospital to get stitched up. At the hospital they massaged out tons of huge clots while stitching me -- even with the Pit, my uterus just didn't want to contract well by itself (and DD had not nursed well yet which was probably part of it). The hospital did not know I'd been given Pit, and did not offer to give me any. So I lost a fair amount of blood and was pretty shaky for a few days. I think it all could have been managed well at home though except for the stitching, which was beyond my midwives' abilities (and thankfully they recognized that).

[tara]

I transferred to the hospital after about 24 hours of very hard labor and 3 1/2 hours of very hard pushing in every imaginable position. The little guy was stuck in my pelvis and wasn't budging and I was exhausted. I was relieved to go to the hospital at that point, and they treated us very, very well. Luckily, the car ride did the trick and Jack was delivered without intervention about an hour and a half after we arrived. I was actually disappointed that they wouldn't use the vacuum extractor, though - I remember thinking we had a deal of sorts; I go to the hospital, they get this baby out of me! I actually told the very nice doctor that I was done, I wasn't doing any more. But, of course I did more and I pushed Jackson out myself and I'm really proud of that. If it happened again, I might opt for a 30 minute car ride and then back home to do more pushing, but I didn't know...

After the birth, I hemorraged quite a bit. I got IV pitocin and a shot of something (hemo-something??). I got a bit woozy from the blood loss, and the midwives told me they would have wanted me to go to the hospital if we weren't already there.

[owensmom]

Like Dashsmom, I was 3 weeks overdue and was to have a homebirth. I think I could have waited forever (and we tried *everything* to get labor started) - but in our state if the baby is a certain number of days past due, the MW's legally have to turn us over to drs. Ugh. I had a biophysical profile (an ultrasound where they test the baby for movements, heart rate, amniotic fluid) and he got a low score (which I think was only because he was sleeping!).

Anyway, after many tears and tough decisions, we ended up in the hospital to be induced. My midwives were able to attend, I had pitocin and fetal monitoring, but was able to use a CNM at the hospital, not a dr, and they were mostly cool about letting me labor wherever I wanted.

Unfortunately I had to push laying down, but he came out after 3 hours of pushing, with his cord wrapped around his neck twice and body once, and his hand in a fist next to his head. He was shocky and the hospital staff freaked out dh because he thought he wasn't going to make it (meanwhile, the midwives are looking after me and saying "he's just fine", which he was).

Sad I didn't get to nurse and hold him right away, but got to soon after! 9 # 1 oz 22 inch little bugger!

Amazingly, I used no drugs with pitocin, which is completely unheard of - it was EXTREMELY PAINFUL and I told them I wanted to die many times, but I was ignorant and thought this is what birth was like! I am now a goddess to many people!:D

I want another homebirth - but this traumatized dh so much he wants us to adopt so he doesn't have to see me go through any sort of pain!

[AnnMarie]

Originally posted by Alis
I honestly feel that I would have had a traumatic hospital birth. The OBs and MWs at the practice (that I later left) were highly interventionist and almost panicky when things didn't move in a textbook fashion. I can't see them handling this situation with the calm and aplomb of my MW.


If your experience was anything like mine, you would have. :( With my last we planned an unassisted homebirth but ended up going to the hospital. For weeks I was worried about 3 things,
#1 Meconium
#2 Baby getting stuck
#3 Hemorrhage

When my water broke there was very thick meconium and my husband and I talked about it and decided that was a sign for us to go in with all the feelings I had been having. I should also add that my midwives thought I had pre-eclampsia, but I disagree. LOL Anyway, we went to the hospital and of course they gave me hell for not doing things their way, even the things that the midwives assured me that were not routine (ya right!). Fast forward to pushing... after I finally got his head out he got stuck. The midwife freaked (IMO) and jumped on the bed and started yelling for an OB. Yelling for the OB scared me more than what was going on. :LOL I had nurses pulling my legs up to my ears, the midwife on the bed, and someone, I don't even remember who, pushing on my stomach, and my husband telling me to push. I kept thinking, why don't they try the Gaskin maneuver, or, just wait till my next contraction so I could push him out. That's when he finally popped lose. On my next big contraction I pushed as hard as I could and he came out. Thank God the OB never got there in time. I know what they may have done and that would have been worse. I did end up hemorrhaging too. All three of my worries came true.

If I had it to do all over again? I would have birthed at home with a midwife..... with all 4 of my children.

[amandajf]

I checked complication with mom at home and stayed home! I was in prodromal labor for weeks, no eating sleeping or anyting.. I was ten days passed my due date and deep into sleep deprivation hell.. nothing stopped my contractions.. not tylenol pm, not a hot shower, not even a glass of wine! So I chose to nudge her with caullophylum. Very slow dilitation.. and had a nice big ole anterior lip for about 4 or 5 hours.. transition was 4 hours long and pushing was hell... uterus crapped out while trying to push, middy recommended 1cc subcutaneous pit and promised it woudl ease the pain and god bless her soul it did.. midwife did a great job of helping her head over the lip and after an hour of maneuvering I delivered her myself in a pool outside.

I am glad i had a knowledgeable midwife because the old middy whom i fired at 37 weeks was 3 weeks 5 days too slow on my real due date and by the time she wanted to nudge i would have been very far passed the due date. Had I been in a hospital they prolly woudl have slapped me on pit in a bed which would have tired my uterus even more <plus me> and I prolly would have been section because you know a doctor won't wait 4/5 hours to get rid of an anterior lip.:)

[joyberryjoy]

You know, when I posted this poll I really expected to see a greater percentage not having a problem! Though I know this isn't exactly scientific, we do have almost 100 replies, and I've read again and again that 95% (thereabouts) of homebirths go off without a hitch...in this poll we have results showing only about 55% with no problems...a full quarter (almost 25%) had problems that caused them to take either mom or baby to the hospital etc. (they "sought medical help") and another quarter, or thereabouts (slightly less) had problems, but handled them at home.

What do you all think is the explanation for this high rate of reported problems?

Joy

[fruitfulmomma]

I just gave birth on Monday afternoon to my second child, a little girl. My son was born at home after 36 hours of labor. We planned a homebirth for our daughter also but transported to the hospital the last hour before she was born. My cervix was going back and forth between 5 and 9 cm. At 9 with a slight lip I wanted to push and my cervix swelled up as it went back down to 5 while I was pushing. After several hours of trying different things and also finding that her head was either transverse or military and I was extremely exhausted, I decided to transport. Midwife left the decision to me. She would have given me more time at home had I wanted to. I had a hard time not pushing while we were going there but I was still not dialated past 5 or 6. When I got to the hospital they gave me fentonol (sp?) to help me stop from wanting to push. The doctor on call checked me and said I was at 9 and after a little while when she saw I was stretchy she told me I could push a little bit. Did this for several minutes and could feel the baby starting to crown and then starting full pushes and she was out in about 5 minutes. I never did dialate to a full 10. When my son was born I also had urges to push before full dialation but was able to breath with them until I got slightly less than 10 and then took 45 minutes to push him out.

I am curious is anyone else has experience with premature pushing urges. We hope to have more children and I would like to know what kinds of things could help if I have this problem again. While we did have a postive transport/hospital experience, I prefer homebirth.

[fruitfulmomma]

Originally posted by JaniceT
However I must say that after being afraid of going to the hospital I actually had a decent experience there -- they didn't give us TOO much of a hard time for being "crazy home birthers," and they respected our wishes (no eye ointment, no vitamin K, rooming in, breastfeeding immediately, etc.). And the nurses were fabulous -- so helpful and attentive.

We transported to the hospital about an hour before our daughter was born. See "Premature pushing urges" further down this board for full story. We had a really good experience despite not wanting to be there. Doctor was really friendly and supportive of the fact that we were homebirthers. As soon as Gabby was born they put her on my tummy to nurse. Husband cut her cord. She never left our room. She was not weighed until a few hours later and my husband and I gave her a bath in our room later in the evening. No vit. k shots or anything else. ;)

[fourlittlebirds]

Originally posted by joyberryjoy
What do you all think is the explanation for this high rate of reported problems?

I think it becomes pretty clear when you read about what kind of problems they were -- I haven't read them all, but all the ones I have read seemed to be due to the specific management of labor (inappropriate interference and intervention), or fear and exhaustion. It's also my opinion that inhibition is a huge factor in creating abnormal labor.

By the way, transfer rates for unassisted births (according to the stats culled from UC BBs on the internet) are about 10%, with about 2% for actual medical complications (meconium, hemorrhage, etc.)

[EarthWind]

Originally posted by joyberryjoy
What do you all think is the explanation for this high rate of reported problems?
------------------------------------------------------------------------

One of the explanations may be the manner in which the question was posed. You asked "did you have unexpected problems" - so the moms who answered were probably ones who did have unexpected problems. It's sort of a leading question, if you know what I mean. :)

Peace,

Michelle

[joyberryjoy]

I thought of that originally, but surely moms who read that thread topic and had *no* problems would want to weigh in as having had such an experience?

It makes me curious!

Joy

[Journey]

I think one of the reasons you're not getting as many replies from those who've had uncomplicated births is because of the title of the thread... "did you have unexpected problems with homebirth". Those who did not have unexpected problems may just blow past this thread.

I am one of the homebirthers who had NO complications whatsoever. I nearly blew past this thread myself.

[candiland]

There were no probs. with my first birth, but with my second, Sky had a difficult time getting started... he was a bit blue and floppy and we needed to use oxygen to help him breath on his own. Also, he got suctioned, which my midwife rarely does unless it's absolutely necessary. I then hemmoraged after the placenta was "born", and needed Methergin, a shot of Pitocin, and Arnica tablets - along with my midwife manually removing some clots - to help stop the bleeding. They say "Redheads Bleed", but I never believed it 'til after this birth!:jaw

[alissakae]

My first two home births were textbook, absolutely smooth and lovely. The next birth ended in a hemorrhage, which the midwife calmly dealt with using uterine massage and methergine. My last birth (4th homebirth, 8th birth) was a much faster labor than my previous births, but the baby came out white and limp and entangled in the cord. While we worked on getting him breathing I had a huge hemorrhage (the cord had apparently pulled away from the placenta). Again, the midwife gave me a methergine injection...then followed that up with methergine tablets. She threatened to transport me because of the extent of my blood loss and my going in and out of consciousness, but I mustered enough energy to refuse. I stopped bleeding, baby pinked up, and we were happily attending a Christmas party a week later and have both been wonderfully healthy ever since. The only glitch in recovery was that I was not able to get a good supply of breast milk, although I had breastfed all my previous babies with a bountiful supply. Extra pumping, herbs, etc, were all tried but my baby was very skinny by 3 months old and we've had to supplement him ever since. Now he's half and half breast and bottle and a fat and happy 6 month old.
If I had another baby I would still want to birth at home, but hopefully I'm DONE now!

[joyberryjoy]

how did your midwife manually remove the clots?

joy

[candiland]

joyberryjoy -
My midwife reached in and sweeped them out from behind the cervix, I think. She didn't actually go up into the uterus, though, which she would have done to remove pieces of retained placenta and the like.... so it wasn't as painful as that procedure is said to be!

[Serenity]

i had 40 hours of labor at home that never progressed past 4 cm dilated. since my water broke and there was light meconium, and i wasn't progressing and i was exhausted mw recommended hospital transfer. had pitocin and pushed him out 4 hours later. mom and babe were fine. i really hope to have a home birth next time.

[miriam]

Dearest Mothering Friends:

All four of my beautiful children were born at home.

My #1 and #2 babies were posterior; #2 had a deflexed head. Both were EXTREMELY painful, but I was glad to get through both of them w/o a stitch, literally.

I deserved #3 and #4; I could have delivered them myself. Both very easy and quick. But still alot of pain.

I am very proud of the fact that I have had four children born at home. I pull power from this fact to overcome my ordeals in everyday life. There is strength here!

[LaLaLuna]

I had high BP the last month or so of pregnancy but with bed rest and herbs delivered at home in fine style. Got in the birthing tub as soon as it was filled, ds was born 5 minutes later. Lay midwife (extraordinary midwife) barely had time to get there and set up.

I guess the only real problem with the whole birth was that the water in teh birthing tub cooled down long before I was done blissing out on Orion!

This was a far different experience than my first birth in the hospital.

[kayla_p]

Our homebirth went great, although I was a tad concerned because I was 2+ weeks overdue. My son was 12 lbs, 2 oz and his placenta was so large that I bled quite a bit after it separated. I don't know if that would be considered an actual hemhorrage or not. My midwife left me an anti-bleed tincture and I upped my iron intake and after a few days I felt much better.

Kayla, mom to Michael (hospital birth 9/98)
and Will, born at home on 5/14/02

[Gagesmom]

I don't know if anyone replied to this question raised earlier, but probably the reason more problems are reported here than no problems is because the title of the poll is "unexpected problems with homebirth?", which a lot of people don't have and so don't answer. That's just my opinion, but I'll bet it is the reason. If you post a poll: How did your home birth go? You might get more average responses.

[Gagesmom]

I had premature urge to push with my 1st DS from about 5 cm on. But, I breathed thru the contrax, it was hard but do-able for me. Then, when I was finally dialated and could push-I thought pushing hurt so much that I didn't want to! Some women say it's great relief but I thought it was awful-that feeling of being stretched on every push was icky. Anyway, my birth went fine except for my DS's head being flexed back instead of forward, so I had to push on my back for awhile, and light meconium in the water despite him being 2 wks early. He had to be suctioned and watched carefully after birth but never had to go to the hospital or anything.

[fourlittlebirds]

I think this poll is maybe a little misleading -- the numbers might lead one to conclude that a quarter of all births need to happen in the hospital, which might lead one to conclude that to plan for a homebirth is unsafe. Probably the more telling question would be: how many of you were harmed from attempting a homebirth?

If we were to have a poll for "unexpected problems with hospital birth", or, "how many were harmed from giving birth in the hospital," I bet the number would be much higher than 25%!

[melamama]

just wanted to add another good home(water)birth to the poll, I've seen this topic but didn't think it was looking for good outcomes.

First baby, home water birth. Back labor, 14 hours. Dd came out face up with her arm straight out--but because of this I was able to catch her myself and bring her up to my chest. I was 9 days past the edd but dd was only 8lb 14oz and her placenta was in good condition.

Pregnant with #2 and looking forward to another homebirth.

[ChildoftheMoon]

I had the most wonderful water homebirth! Dd was 10 lbs 2 oz and no tearing! I was so relaxed and happy being at home. With my first at the hospital I was so scared and hated being in the hospital. Next baby will be a home sweet homebirth!:love

[fourlittlebirds]

I voted "no problems", but my first was a 56 hour labor in which I did not begin to dilate at all until 50 hours into the labor, which I guess some might consider a problematic or abnormal labor?

[bunny's mama]

we transferred to the hospital after 25 hours of latency stage labor and dilation to barely 4 cm. i was exhausted (had missed 2 nights of sleep, as i went into labor, incredibly painful from the start, at 1:30 am), fearful, dehydrated, hallucinating...in really bad shape. we'd tried everything to help me dilate to no avail. got pit and epidural, slept, woke up 8 cm, tuened off epi, got all feeling back, stood up and pushed (for 3 hours!!) baby out. happy ending.

baby #2 is due 4/03. we will absolutely try homebirthing again. every MW that has read my birth story says "that's a 1st birth for ya." so i'm confident this one will happen at home. y'all say a little prayer for me, okay?? :thumb

[SerenityScott]

What do you all think is the explanation for this high rate of reported problems?

Another reason the numbers could be skewed is that each person can only vote once... so for the people who had 3 great homebirths and 1 that needed assistance, they are likely only voting with the complicated one. Just a thought. I hope to be able to claim a "went great!" for our little one in a few months!

[KeysMama]

Yes but...I think that many of what our culture perceives as 'problems' are simply variations of normal birthing.

That said, I voted yes, with mom, but stayed home.

My 2nd was a homebirth. My baby was born on her EDD ( yes on her own). During pushing I could just TELL the baby felt way bigger than my first.

30 min of pushing, head crowns, I birth the head with my hands, and then NO SHOULDERS!!!

Her shoulder was stuck behind my pubic bone. This is called shoulder dystocia. Her head was turning purple, I had NO urge to push, and the body was not coming.

I had been hands and knees during pushing, squat during birth of head. I stood up on my bed, and began lunging from side to side. I stood and deep squatted, did a pelvic thrust, and then voila, baby born . Head born then body followed at 5 min.

APGAR 9/9

I did have a mean tear, but the shoulder towards the back had to come first rather than the stuck one, so I tore a bit. No biggie.

We were both great, and then retreated to the tub.

My midwife gave me few and quiet suggestions during the birth, and it was my own instincts that kicked in and helped me birth my baby. Being at home REALLY allows you to feel comfortable enough to fust follow your intuition.

:thumb

[Kanga Mom]

We have seven children. Five were born in hospitals. We had unexpected problems with one of them, post-partum, that were not treated well.
From what we understand one of our adopted children is profoundly retarded because of oxygen deprivation during the birth.

Our two youngest were home births, two different midwives, two different states, no problems other than tearing and needing two or three stitches (I have torn with every single birth, so I didn't see this as a real problem).

It is the only way to birth, IMO.

:thumb

Kanga

[brookelynnp]

I voted problem with mama, but I should have said both, or maybe just baby. After 20 hours of wicked slow and painful back labor from my posterior ds, atleast 10 of these 20 hours I had an UNCONTROLLABLE urge to push and it was hell not to ( I kept fluctuating from 4 to 6 cm) I quit and said " lets go get the drugs." At the very nice and hb friendly hospital they gave me staydol, YUCK!! Then I got the epidural, the pitocin and a heart rate of 170, normally at 90! They hooked me up to heart monitors. My midwife,(who is AWESOME), stayed with us through it all and even manually finished dialating me when they weren't looking! I eventually hit 10 cm and my contractions just quit, I tried nursing my 5week old niece to get them going but to no avail, I said to hell with this I am pushing this baby out any way and I did against medical advice, but when you are done you are done! 20 hours after we got to the hospital my ds was born but had some issues with breathing, apgars were 3 and 7. Yikes! Due with #2 in March will have a homebirth and again will use the tub.

[DaryLLL]

Of course problems happen in the hosp! My first birth in hosp was 36 hours from water breaking, excruciatingly slow progressing, morphine drip to get some rest, finally pitocin and allowed to push for one hour. Then c-sec. Supposed CPD, but I think they were worried about infection form the waters breaking and all the internals. Baby was 10lb2oz. she nursed like a champ from day one!

Next birth at home. VBAC. 3 weeks early. 12 hour labor, no problems until after she came out, placenta wouldn't come out. Was bleeding, so midwife's asst pulled on cord and just a chunk of friable (breaking down, spongey) placenta came out. ( I should have gotten up and squatted to birth the placenta.) More bleeding, call to EMTs, midwife "couldn't find cervix!" Third midwife found it and retrieved it by reaching up into my uterus. (Contrary to pop opinion/exp, I didn't feel a thing! I was completely naturally numb down there, and had to ask the next day, did she have her hand up in my uterus? ) Shot of pit in thigh, uterine massage. no more bleeding. Sent EMTs and cop away. Baby 8 lbs. Not bad for 3 weeks early. She wouldn't nurse for 12 hours, as she was mucousy. she also developed jaundice, which we handled with nursing and sunlight.

theory is: I was sick with flu for entire middle trimester, so nutrition suffered and caused placenta to break down, causing early birth.

3rd birth, 2nd homebirth VBAC, 4 hours, no problems--joyful and perfect! Baby 9 lbs. Really strong, great nurser, born in sac, tough cord, he brought my milk in in 24 hours. I had the same exact diet with him as with the prev pregnancy, so don't know why I got so sick with that one. I also had recurrent vag yeast with that one. With 3rd pg, I had two active kids to chase around instead of just one, as well! Just one of life's mysteries...

[ando2]

just wanted to thank everyone who posted here, this is a fantastic source of help for mothers like me who are considering homebirth (I think I've made up my mind) because you can really hear how problems arise and are dealt with by different midwives etc. This is so educational, and the perspective is priceless.

[joyberryjoy]

My dd's birth was a great one. Very different from my first birth of my son 8 yrs ago (this was harder) but still a good birth. It was my first homebirth/waterbirth, and was unassisted (that's why I posted this poll in the first place, to read about others' birth challenges).

The birth process was much longer than with my son. I had false labor a week before she was actually born for a full day. Then I started having contractions one Thursday morning, had them all day, and called friends (who were three hours away) at about midnight to start to my house, as contractions were at four minutes apart.

As soon as they got to my house, contractions just fizzled. We all went to bed, thinking they would wake me up as they got strong again and that i needed rest. Woke refreshed and without contractions at 8:30 the next morning (Friday) . Cntrx were off and on all day, at times hard and coming closer together. Everyone left during that day and while they were gone I had great, strong, steady cntrx. Which fizzled away when everyone returned (my best friend, another friend who has attended several births as an apprentice mw, her dh, and her two kids--ages 4 and 2). Had some more good contractions that night. Then I got a good sleep and woke up again without them Saturday morning. How frustrating!!!

Had I been in a hospital I bet I would have been pressured to have some interventions. After all, my first birth (natural, vaginal) was only 18 hours from first bloody show until son was born, with textbook cntrx and progression through stages--10 hours of easy cntrx, six hours of hard work, and two hours of pushing (in the hospital, mostly in bed, though I used the jacuzzi for transition...I was eighteen and ds was 11 days "late"...7 lbs 14 oz...had waters broken at 8 cm and had pressure episiotomy while pushing).

This baby was due on Oct 2 and was born on the 13th...wow 11 days over again; I hadn't noticed that!

Back to the story--I was way way frustrated Saturday. I had one internal check with the help of my friend that afternoon...baby had moved way down and I was FINALLY dilated somewhat (though only between three and four--after 2.5 days of off and on cntrx).

Everyone left again that afternoon and it finally hit me. I was having good cntrx when me and dh were together and touching each other (massage, sensual stuff) but not when others were around!!! Duh...of course I should have noticed that by then but just hadn't. So we really worked together during that afternoon, I had a couple of orgasms and lots of nipple stimulation and voila!
Things really started moving. My birth pool had been up for a week now and had been filled and emptied about ten times! Finally I got in it about 7 pm. I stayed there until the baby was born at 6 am the next morning.

Labor was very hard. felt like she was sweeping very sharp fingernails inside my cervix, back and forth. I had a distinct feeling of this sharp swishing as I felt her move. She was still moving a lot even as she descended. I'lll never know but I guess there was some difficulty there...maybe she had her hand up by her face for a long time, or was posterior. Anyway the last five hours were extremely hard. With my son I was zen mama...meditated through transition and never made a sound. Not one. Thought I'd be the same way this time! Not a chance--I was moaning and groaning, very loud. It just felt good. My two girlfriends went to sleep about ten and that's when things really cranked up! I didn't want dh to touch me anymore and I was counting the stars on this Indian tapestry I have, just to get through each cntrx.

I had dh wake them at about two, as i was starting to need more support and things were going very fast it seemed (not really). Finally about five am I was feeling very "pushy" and I reached inside (hadn't done that since getting in the pool) and I could feel the bag of waters bulging! As I had my hand there they POPPED like a cork out of a bottle. Everyone said my expression was priceless!

After that things got a bit overwhelming. I could feel her head and within half an hour she was crowning. I just didn't feel like I was stretching! I wasn't having the experience I had seen so often in squatting births (I was up on my knees in the pool) where the vagina sort of telescopes or tunnels out as the baby's head is emerging. Instead it felt like I was open about three inches across and I could feel her head pushing down everywhere, from my clitoris to my rectum. I just felt she was way too big and I wasn't opening enough down there! I was pushing my lips back and around her head or trying to but nothing was happening! My doctor with ds had given the pressure episotomy even tho my birth plan covered not wanting one...he even did perineal massage as son was crowning...he said "I know you don't want this but we have an opening the size of a plum and a head the size of a grapefruit!" LOL maybe those words influenced my feelings about my body or maybe I am a bit less elastic...I don't know...but I know I was scared for the first time during labor and it hurt like hell down there and I DID NOT WANT her head to come out! I just really believed I was going to tear from top to bottom. I was crying and saying I couldn't do it (to which my very wise friend said "you *are* doing it" in this awesome calm voice...) and that the baby was too big for me (to which the same friend said, "no, it's just the right size for your body"). There I was in the pool with my hands down there on the head and really making a lot of noise and arrayed in front of me were my two girlfriends and dh, who (poor thing) has never had a baby before (my second marriage) and has never seen me say I couldn't do anything!!! I just remember crying out, "OHHHH, KI-IM" to my apprentice friend, with this very beseeching look on my face--like take this cup from me! as I was trying to push. That was my most forlorn and desperate moment ever. Then I was feeling the head and those ridges on the top of it from being squeezed in the birth canal, and I actually thought I was feeling the cord! I knew it couldn't get pinched and restrict the baby's Oxygen, so I just thought to myself, dammit, just push it out and you can get sewn up afterwards--it doesn't matter if you tear, just get this baby here safe!

So I pushed like mad and the pain was TERRIFIC and MANY-HUED but there was the head, out at last! I looked up and said The Head Is Out!! like what do I do now? and Kim said, ok, just breathe, and push with the next cntrx...out came the little slippery body quite easily, as I remembered with ds, and I lifted her above the water. This was the only point at which I needed a little help and encouragement...so I glad I wasn't alone with dh, totally unassisted...i *was* unassisted, delivered her myself, with no one's hands on me, but not unsupported...you know?

I still didn't know it was a girl b/c the cord was a bit short and I was holding her so I could only see her back...afraid to turn her over or put her to breast for fear of tugging the cord.

The placenta came out with the next cntrx and then I saw that she was a she and put her to the breast and she was pink and so beautiful.

I had thought I would call ds (8.5 yrs) in to see the birth but i was so crazy during pushing that i didn't want to. His dad (my ex) was spending the night there at our house to be Jack's special person...so they came in at this point and everything was so happy and wonderful.

Rowan Ts'eh (pronounced "say") was 21 inches, 8lbs. Nursed right away. She's crazy with her hands all the time, and had very long fingernails, so I think my hunch about what she was doing (the scratching) was correct. I have to hold her hands still now at 9 weeks while we nurse.

I was sure I had torn but when Kim looked at me afterwards she said no...I had some mean lacerations though, up near my clitoris and at the top of my perineum...they healed within three weeks and I had sex then...slow and easy does it but no problems (though a few positions were offlimits for a bit longer, as they tended to pull downward on the sore spot).

Thanks to all of you who helped me through this pregnancy by sharing all these stories! I felt VERY well prepared by knowing so much!

It's my hope that this poll and thread can be a reassuring resource to others as well.

Much love,

Joy

[SerenityScott]

Congratulations on a triumphant birth! :love

[busybusymomma]

Thanks for the birth story Joy! :D

[momto l&a]

With my first baby she was 2 days past "due date" everything was fine till right at the end when the midwife noticed d-cells in the heart beat, had me push like crazy till her head was out so they could get the cord unwrapped from her neck, twice it was wound. From pushing so hard I got a really bad tear that required going to the hospital to get stiches, did lose a fair amount of blood from the tear. Midwives handled everything beautifully! Apgar scores where 9's I was able after going to get stiched to go to a store and get maple bars.:D
Second baby was 2 weeks late and the placentia showed signs of age. Anyway there was mercoium(sp?) staining and she did need cleaning out. Again the midwives noticed the d-cells so they knew it was mercoium asperation although it didnt cause any problems being her apgars score was 10's. I did rip just but it was small enought to heal on it own.
I'm so gratefull to have had my babies at home who knows what I would have been put tru at a hospital because of those "problems". I did notice a differance from the first to second births as I lost alot of blood with the first and not with the second, the second I just felt MUCH better.
I am sooo thankfull for good midwives.:D

[GB's Mom]

Thank you for your powerful birth story! We're looking forward to our upcoming home water birth and this thread has been a wonderful resource!

[uccomama]

With both my homebirths I shoulder dystocia which would have been a serious complication had I been in the hospital. At home however, it really isn't that big a deal. With my first homebirth, midwife attended, the assistant midwife did the Gaskin Maneuver, ie had me on hands and knees and eased the baby out over the pelvis with her finger.

With my UC, third child, he also got stuck, but it was just me and DH there. I knew what to do, again got on hands and knees when that didn't free him, DH, who has no medical training, and didn't even read the copy of Emergency Childbirth I left on his desk for six months, was very easily able to free DS and assist him to be born.

Oh, no tears only skid marks with both babies. My DD (first homebirth) presented with a nuchal arm too.

Had I been in the hospital for sure I would have been cut or even had the babies pushed back in and given a c-sec. OBs have no idea about the gentle management of shoulder dystocia and have never heard of the Gaskin Maneuver.

Deborah

[busybusymomma]

Originally posted by uccomama
Had I been in the hospital for sure I would have been cut or even had the babies pushed back in and given a c-sec. OBs have no idea about the gentle management of shoulder dystocia and have never heard of the Gaskin Maneuver.

Deborah

This happened to a girl at church. The nurse didn't believe she was ready to push, then they realized the baby was stuck (she previously had given birth to a dd vaginally). Her MIL (our pastor's wife) ended up running next to the gurney down the hall with her holding the baby in for her c/s. Too bad they didn't try the Gaskin manuever, but then again that hospital seems to prefer that you deliver in the lithomy position. :rolleyes: Her recovery would have been much better after giving birth on her hands and knees than the horrid c/s. :(

[Bladestar5]

Well, I'm sure lots of you have already read about my story, and I don't want to type the whole story again, but to put it in a nutshell:
My homebirth would have been much less frightening if the midwife was assisting me in labor, rather than leaving me alone in labor to go have a supposedly quick dinner which ended up lasting for an hour and 45 minutes,:rolleyes: while my husband delivered the baby....she showed up 5 minutes after the delivery(with her boyfriend, who had to chase her dog which she let loose,in my yard, knowing that he doesn't like cats and the neighborhood is full of them, and poor dh had to help catch him:eek), and I never got my Strep B shot:jaw. Luckily the baby and I were and are fine.
I would do a homebirth again if I planned to have more kids, but DEFINITELY not with her!!!
She is the reason it is so hard for midwives to have a good rep...To all the GOOD midwives out there:thumb keep up the good work!!

[bluevervain]

Both the baby and I had troubles...

the whole story is in the birth announcements section...a quick recap:
I induced with castor oil after my water "broke" (apparently a pocket leaked), intense labor with little progress, manual dilation, midwife rebroke waters, uncontrollable urge to push at 9 cm, baby crowned then stopped (we think it was a short cord with possibly some entanglement), pushed/pulled (tried the Gaskin maneuver, no luck), cord broke, baby out with a one min APGAR of 1, O2, suction and stimulation, she came around nicely (APGARS 3min 6, 5 min 8, 10 min 10).

My placenta was removed manually by the midwife :eek

I was so grateful to be at home...I would have been a cs for sure, plus they would have taken the baby from me for "observation" in the NICU! If we have another, we'll do it at home again.

warmly,
Christina

[Cuddlebaby]

I have had complications with both of mine. Here are some stories: http://www.cuddlebaby.com/childbirth.html Mine are James and Hannah.

I still remained at home both times but Hannah's was especially scary for the attendants (my mom and my husband and sister). I am due Feb 7th and will be birthing this one at the hospital with a CNM. I'd rather go unassisted, but unfortunately I don't seem to be one who births easily :(

Rebecca

[MamaMonica]

Everything went fine the first time. The second time, my ds had me pushing before everyone was ready so my midwife had only one glove on, but we were both fine!
Monica

[miriam]

Dear Mdc:

I dont know what you mean by "problems" or 'unforeseen".

There were problems at all 4 of my births that were handed by my competent midwife and by me b/c I was healthy enough and determined enough to go through w/ it.

Every birth is different. You screen out any potential problems and hope for the best.

[miriam]

Dear MDC:

Look at all of the unknown problems that cropped up on this thread!

I suppose that is why hospitals practice such defensive medicine!

[fourlittlebirds]

But would so many problems have occured in different circumstances (i.e. with less interference)?

Hospitals (or rather, those that work at them :p) practice defensive medicine (or offensive medicine, depending on how you look at it) because they have no idea how to facilitate normal birth. All they know how to do is "fix" problems, so that's what they do (even when there isn't really a problem to be fixed.)

[joyberryjoy]

resurrecting a dead poll! :blah

[MamaTaraX]

Glad you resurrected it because I'd never seen it before! What an interesting thread! It's really rather enlightening. Thank-you to all who replied, eventhough its old ;)

Namaste, Tara
mama to Doodle (7), Butterfly (2), and Rythm (due at home 1/06)

[provocativa]

Fully half of my homebirth midwife's clients are Mennonites, who are probably not responding to this poll. But their experiences often are included in national reports and statistics about homebirth.

[jerawo]

I had some high blood pressure, but it never went above my MW's cutoff point and my labor was short (DS was born 1 hour after the MW arrived so we never even had time to check my bp) so I was able to stay at home.

[DesireeH]

I'll be back to vote in a couple of weeks. LOL

[Jenivere]

Well, besides this being old I think I ignored it because I had a wonderful and uncomplicated homebirth which is what I voted for. I had an extremly small tear, nothing worth being concerned about. I don't even consider it a problem really.

[sarahloughmiller]

With my 1st birth there were no problems with me or baby (his cord was wrapped around him a few times and he was really blue and it took him a minute to come around but I didn't consider it a problem).

My 2nd birth was twins born super fast. The 2nd baby got stuck a little, but came right out when I got on my hands and knees. I hemoraged about 6 hours after the birth pretty bad. I ended up with an IV at home and really considered a transfusion, but ended up not doing it because I didn't want to take the babies out. I also passed out the first time I tried to get up.

Anyway, I voted yes, a problem with mom, but we managed birth at home anyway

[mlsantarem]

I found this thread very interesting on so many level. Firstly it reinforces the limits of statistical data. Secondly the qualitative stuff is so interesting. It takes the mystery out the notion of complications. It shows the art of assisting women in birth and help educates them.
I choice ´mom with complications but managed at home´because I was a hbac and was diagnosed with GD.
I considered VBAC for me a risk small and would have been more risky to have a hospital birth. My first was a birth center very quick and easy and my second was a c-section for suspected fetal distress (he was fine).
During my pregnancy with my planned homebirth I was diagnosised with GD. I had the test when I was 8 months pregnant less than a week after buring my father (in another country, traveling long distance, unespected event..)
So the test was done under duress. I did a lot of ready more deeply into GD and considered a condition under suspect...
I was attended by and MD (strange for me). He was super understanding and rational and said that he had doubts about the results and wanted to repeat them I declined but would do fingersticks (more for me than him). All normal, rest of my pregnancy without a hitch. This decision was helped alot from the reviewing MDC site on this subject and others similar sites and references.
My daughter was born at home with a doula, my husband, our eldest daughter, our baby sitter with our other son, homebirthing friend and me of course. It was splendid. These issues were seen in the larger context, of me, my body, the view of childbirth by my provider they were not seen so much as complications by slight devations from normal.
MLsantarem

[honeybee]

I think one of the reasons you're not getting as many replies from those who've had uncomplicated births is because of the title of the thread... "did you have unexpected problems with homebirth". Those who did not have unexpected problems may just blow past this thread.

I am one of the homebirthers who had NO complications whatsoever. I nearly blew past this thread myself.

I agree, the wording of the question makes a big difference. It's important to try to keep survey questions neutral. Like, "What was the result of your planned homebirth?"

Also, some of the posters have had more than 1 homebirth. Their replies talk about the one with problems, since that was what the question asked. So, when they took the poll, did they vote once for each homebirth? Or, did they just vote once and check one of the "problems" boxes because one of their homebirths did have a problem? That would skew results.

[mattemma04]

//

[LoveChild421]

I voted "problem w/ mom but managed at home anyway"

I had cervical stenosis (http://www.gentlebirth.org/Midwife/staldlbr.html#Stenotic) (scar tissue on the cervix) from having cryosurgery for cervical dysplasia (which I really didn't need, but the Dr.s scared me into when I was 19, but that's a long drawn out issue itself).

My cervix wouldn't dilate normally- so when my uterus was functioning like I was in transition I was still only at 5-6 cm. my midwife manually broke up some of the scar tissue (ouch) and then told me that since I was 100% effaced and 8cm that I could push the baby past the cervix I had left which would break up the rest of the scar tissue. It was incredibly hard (I had been having 1-2 minute long intense contractions coming 1-2 minutes apart and sometimes one on top another for about 3 hours) but I did it. We talked about transporting a little but decided to see if I could just push him out and resolve it at home. I'm glad my boyfriend and my midwife gave me the encouragement to do so.

ds also had his cord wrapped 3 times around his neck, but was fine- Apgars of 9 and 10.

We both ended up fine and happy at home.

[Skrimpy]

Hmm we had interesting issues with each birth. After my first I was loosing a lot of blood and my midwife asked to give a pit. shot, and I accepted (DD was already nursing, too).

My second did not want to engage fully and my midwife did a check to find out what was going on...He was presenting with a hand by his face and in an excruciatingly painful manuever, my midwife got him to pull back that little hand and he dove through my birth canal and out into the world within minutes. He was also a little slow to start.

My third did the same funny engagement thing as my second, I think it may be the way my babies sit inside of me? This time my midwife realized what was going on and did the same painful check. He engaged and I went 6-7-8-9-10 right away. He was born a little slower and more controlled though (also a water birth). He had some light meconium staining but nothing major. Bad skin irritation from it though, so he got a calendula bath at home and that cleared up.

I'd say we had perfect births but they each had their unique aspects. The bleeding was the worst and I've tried to be proactive to make sure that that didn't repeat.

[AndiG]

I voted no problems. We were an unplanned homebirth. We were supposed to go to the hospital. Then all hell broke loose as the mws arrived to check me before we headed up to the hospital
Totally totally unprepared for his arrival on our floor. Carpet was destroyed.
He had a first apgar of 10. Coudn't have been more perfect and healthy.

We were planning to hb this one too but there are concerns about the placenta position so we're planning for hospital this time through... still a slim chance of home but I'm trying to focus on just a healthy safe birth for us both.
Good luck.

[Ruthla]

I had 3 uneventful home births, from a medical standpoint. 3 healthy babies, and a healthy me all 3 times.

After my 3rd birth (1st UC) we went to the hospital "just to get checked out" because of the fears of other adults in the house. That turned into a week-long NICU nightmare (for NO valid medical reason) and several months of CPS observation.

[applejuice]

I do not know what you mean by problems...

In the hospital, most posterior lies are delivered surgically because they take longer and are more painful.

At home this is something that the mother is supported emotionally and physically and not considered a problem.

At the hospital, a cord around the neck is a major problem; usually because the mother has been given pain meds and the baby is getting a good dose of them, so time is of the essence.

At home, this is not a problem, simply a complication that is simply dealt with.

At the hospital, shoulder dystocia is a major emergency.

At home, shoulder dystocia is a time pinch problem.

I think that it is hard to distinguish between the way something is viewed at home and the way the same thing is viewed under the auspices of a surgeon with knife in hand.

E.G., I had posterior labor with my first two babies; shoulder dystocia with my first baby and the second had a deflexed head. Both were long, very painful labors, but I got through them without needing even a stitch. Recovery was easy. Bf was uneventful...

Medically, I had unremarkable labor both times with excellent support for a natural birth.

Did I have problems? Yes, but they were inconsequential.

[Mom2baldie]

*

[anonymommy]

With my first baby / homebirth, there were no complications of labor, but the homebirth midwife intervened in a way that was against my mind, my body, and my decisions and harmed me physically & emotionally. I have physical issues that are probably permanent and am in recovery from PTSD / birthrape. I was not hospitalized.

With my second baby / homebirth there were no complications of labor. My baby required light resuscitation which I handled myself, and am proud to say I birthed an 11 pound baby in safety and peace, easily with no "pushing" and with a tiny skin split down my scar line.

[homemademomma]

no problems- ds was born posterior, and i bled heavily after the birth, but those two things arent really "problems"


the reason i think the results of the poll are skewed is that most of the complication/variations talked about were not caused or excacerbated by the homebirth; they just happened to occur at home, kwim? it doesnt mean HB is mmore dangerous. those things would have happened in the hospital as well, possibly with more serious outcomes (like a pp mentioned, posterior babies are more likely ot be sections, as are moms with borderline BP, etc etc)


kind of OT- there a a few posts on this thread where the MW seemed incompetent- yikes! all the more reason to check credentials when hiring!

[BennyPai]

I had a smooth home birth as planned. I was 8cm before I got into the tub. Most of my birth pictures were taken in the water, after my water broke, and many people have commented on how calm and in control I seemed.

I believe my non-threatening home environment enabled me to relax and remain that way. This was a big help in working with my contractions. I birthed my first dd in the hospital naturally (not even an iv) in the water, so I believe I had the most mother-friendly experience I could've expected at the hospital, but still completely different!

My dd was born with her cord around her neck, and my mw quickly slipped it off and put her on my chest while she rubbed dd with a towel. There was no sense of panic. Dd was breathing fine, and with no cries. :throb I carried dd with me, cord still attached, to the bed where I delivered the placenta. We didn't cut the cord for quite a while after the placenta was delivered and breastfeeding had been established.

I can't describe the amount of tension that didn't exist simply because I wasn't in the hospital. (such as a CNM I barely knew & a room full of nurses and their baby equipment that showed up during the pushing stage :irked: )This time I had spent hours talking with my CPM and getting to know her during prenatal visits. She happily described in detail every procedure / test involved in my prenatal care and childbirth. How wonderful it was to be expected to make my own decisions and have such a high level of respect!
I found the entire experience empowering on many levels.
My birth story is also posted in the Birth Stories forum.

[Kirsten]

I wasn't sure how to vote.... I could have gone one of three ways! (same birth)

I had a planned homebirth with dc3. Really my most fabulous birth - so calm and joyous and almost pain-free. Except for that pesky last few minutes... We didn't know she was posterior. It sucked. Wasn't sure if I should vote
*problem with baby but we managed at home OR
*problem with mom but we managed at home OR
*no problems

SHE was posterior but it was more of an issue for ME!!! But it really was fairly minor during labor. My problem is what it did to my body as a (so far) permanent result. But unless I'd agreed to a c-section in the hospital (if I'd been there already), we would have had the same result - and a c-section was my worst fear so I'm sure I wouldn't have consented to that.

My suggestion to anyone having a birth ANYWHERE is not to sit in recliners while pregnant..... I'm sure sorry I did!

[sarathan]

No problems except that my baby came so fast, our midwife didn't make it in time. She said I lost a "decent" amount of blood, but she wouldn't call it a hemorrage, but close. :)

[applejuice]

My suggestion to anyone having a birth ANYWHERE is not to sit in recliners while pregnant..... I'm sure sorry I did!

I never sat in a recliner or anything resembling it before, during or after pregnancy, and I had two miserable posterior labors.

I spent more time walking, bicycling, weight-lifting, stretching, dancing and squatting.

[liseux]

"At the hospital, shoulder dystocia is a major emergency.

At home, shoulder dystocia is a time pinch problem." Applejuice

Actually, at home s.dystocia can also be a major emergency. Its rare & fatal s. d. can still happen, even after the Gaskin maneuver is tried & mom never lies down on her back. Technically, it could also be called a time pinch, if baby doesn`t get out in time, its very bad, no matter where you are. I had a midwife tell me s.d. is always "easy" to deal with at home, b/c mom can move easily, no epidural. Yet, after I lost my son to complications from s.d. the midwife admitted she had never seen "true s.d." True meaning 10 minutes has gone by, 10 positions have been tried and still no baby.

Sorry, I guess its obvious I`m one of the few whose hb didn`t work out. I hope I`m not scaring any pregnant mamas, I just have a hard time when s. dystocia is treated lightly.

[miriam]

My SIL's first child was very large, 9+, and the doctor broke the baby's shoulder taking her out.

She did not know the baby's shoulder was broken until she saw the bill for it.

I am sorry that happened to you LIseux.

[rad]

Nope, never had a problem at all with all 3 homebirths.

[grace's voice]

We had a wonderful HB! I decided to have a HB 4 weeks before my due date, and wish I'd have been more prepared (like having heard of a HB kit BEFORE the baby came out!). The baby had trouble nursing because her fist was against the side of her face as she came through the birth canal, but with the help of a lac. consult, a cranial sacral therapist, and a chiroptactor we worked it out. My MF didn't offer me much help, but my doula was wonderful and there was an assistant monirtoing me closely, so I think my MF just stepped back. I plan to use her again for my next birth. I would absolutly do a HB again, though I am a little scared I used all my luck the first time around!

[hotwings640]

My homebirth was great. No real problems, just some variations on the norm. My labor with O was about 24 hours (after many, many false alarm labors), I had some higher blood pressure readings, etc. These weren't real problems in our case though. After my son was born, we saw he had a very short cord (and it was swung up over his shoulders), which is probably the reason why it took such a long labor to get him out. he had some bruising on his neck from the cord, but he was fine. I had some large clots that I kept losing after the birth (lost almost no blood at all during the birth), but I did uterine massage on myself and took some herbs as well as just tried to get my rest and nurse my baby lots and lots. Owen had some jaundice, but again, we just managed as we put him in the sun and nursed lots and lots and lots. Sometimes these sorts of things are seen as big "problems", but they were really just variations, and it was Owen's normal way of being born :)

[nfpmom]

Lisieux,
I am so sorry for your loss. I have an online acquaintance who lost her baby after a SD at home. Birth is as safe as life gets... at home or in the hospital, complications arise... if you are at home, it might have helped if you were in the hospital. If you are in the hospital, it might have helped if you were at home. The secret is accepting the responsibilty for your decision and the potential complications that may happen, as rare as it might be. This was my thinking going into my homebirth VBAC attempt. (We did transfer after a prolonged 2 nd stage- posterior baby- repeat CS)
take care

[liseux]

Thank you Elaine & Miriam.

Elaine, when you say "birth is as safe as life gets" , that quote usually just irritates me, but the way you put it it makes sense. I had the help of a wonderful therapist for the first year after my son died. She was a pro homebirth childbirth educator, she helped me go over my experience a million times until I got over the guilt and now I know that a true disaster is a disaster anywhere. I still believe hb is safe, but its not for me, but I do believe that for a low risk mama, it is the best, especially when it comes to keeping the baby close and quickly assimilated into his/her new family. That`s a challenge in the hospital.

[lacysmommy]

I had problems after birth, but it was no big deal and handled at home. My blood pressure got really low and I passed out a couple times, which required oxygen and bedrest. No biggie, but it was definately out of the ordinary. My MW and I are talking about ways to avoid that in the future.

[staceyshoe]

No problems at all! There was meconium when my water broke at the start of labor, but my mw said it was "avg" not thick so wasn't a problem. If we were in the hosp, my baby would have been whisked away and had a tube shoved down his throat. So glad we avoided all that drama!

[joyberryjoy]

i'd love to add to these responses with a whole new group of mamas...

[Slingin'Momto4]

My 2 home water births went AWESOME, no problems at all! I am planning my 3rd one in May!

[kerikadi]

:yeah:

What she said - 2 perfect waterbirths at home but our next one is coming in March :D

Keri

[Shonahsmom]

I had thick, dark meconium when my water broke and it kept getting thicker and darker every time there was a gush of fluid. My MW said she could not attend me at home and recommended we transfer. We did. She had priveledges at the hospital we went to and still attended my dd's unmedicated, non-intervention (due to my fierce self-advocacy) vaginal birth. DD aspirated deeply (there's some scale they have that marks the severity and hers was as bad as could be; they showed me her x-ray). She did not take a breathe on her own after they worked on her for twenty minutes so she did have to be intubated and remained intubated for three days. :(

I believe it was the right choice for the circumstance, but if I ever have another child I will go for a homebirth again and am still a strong homebirth advocate.

[fruitfulmomma]

Wow. I posted on this way back in 2002 after my second child's birth. She was born after a transport to the hospital. I decided to transport after we discovered she had her head tilted sideways and I had been pushing and tired out. Once we arrived to the hospital I was given fentynol (???) to relax a bit and she was born vaginally within an hour, without further interventions.

Our third child was also born in the hospital. She was 4 weeks "overdue" and we went in for a second ultrasound to check fluid levels and determine what to do next. They said I was already dialated to 4 and having contractions while they monitored me. The ultrasound showed possible birth defects in her heart. We called our midwife to come over and while waiting for her the contractions stopped, so once she came and we talked things over, my care was handed over to the OB on call and we chose to induce labor with AROM. The OB was really great and said my midwife could deliver the baby if she wanted, but my dh wanted to catch, so the midwife acted as a doula for me. It was a really short labor - 5 hours. When she was born, she had to be taken to the NICU because she was bluish and having a hard time breathing. My husband stayed with her there. They ran some tests and determined her heart was okay. So, we got to come home the next day.

Our fourth child was born last week (26th) at home. She was our second home birth. I was feeling really nervous before her birth, but every thing went really smoothly. We helped labor along with red raspberry leaf and some other natural things, because I was starting to retain water and was 41 weeks along. Labor lasted about 8 hours. She was sitting up high until the last few minutes, then she came fast. She was 9lbs. and 12oz. My largest baby so far, and only a minor tear, which I couldn't even feel. The midwife's assistant had been massaging and guarding the perinium, and I could really tell the difference. Didn't even feel the head come out - I started feeling the ring of fire and then nothing and they said the head was out... thought they meant that they could see the head and then I reached down and felt that she was already out. I am really happy that I was able to birth at home again.

[kalisis]

We had an absolute textbook labor and delivery for our planned homebirth. I haven't read the whole thread b/c I am superstitous about reading all the things that can go wrong, but wanted to respond.

We're planning a second homebirth and I'm hoping it will be UC this go round, even tho we have a m/w.

[lovemysunshine]

I voted yes, problem with baby, but birthed at home. It wasn't a major issue and would have happened in the hospital anyway.

I pushed out DS' head in the water, but his shoulders were stuck. Not a true dystocia according to the mw, but stuck nonetheless. So I had to get out of the tub and she helped a bit to get his shoulders out. It had been about 5 minutes since the head was out when she decided to intervene due to possible breathing issues. He ended up not needing oxygen, but had to be rubbed up a bit to start his breathing.

I think the outcome would have been much worse in the hospital. He was big (10 lbs 1 oz and 22 inches) for me (5'4" and average weight) and I'm sure the OB's would have tried to force me into a c/s or an induction at the very least. Thank goodness for homebirth! :love

[StacyL]

I voted "problem with baby" but it was a very minor shoulder dystocia.

I spent the last hour of labor trying to HOLD HIM IN until the MW got there. He got stuck a bit at the shoulders (he was 10 lbs. 2 oz. with a 15 1/4" head :dizzy: ) and we did three pushes in three different postitions to get him out, after his head was out. He was a bit slow to breathe, but otherwise just fine. if I'd been in a hospital, they probably would have given me a c-section.

[StacyL]

OMGosh - I just read the previous post - that was just like me! I am small too - 5'5".

[Sijae]

I had 3 totally normal homebirths.

Laura

[huggerwocky]

uneventful home waterbirth, I just lost a little more blood than would have been ideal with anemia.

[marieandchris]

My 2nd baby was a breech, just like her older brother. My midwives would not attempt a homebirth VBAC, so at 41 weeks when my AFI turned out to be under 1%, I had my 2nd (and final) section.

I so wanted by HBAC...

Marie

[WAmommy]

Not a single problem for baby or me. All went as smooth as could be.

[Full Heart]

#1 - No problems

#2 - Transfer for FTP after 24 hours of labor 12 of which were at 7 cm (had pph in the hospital and passed out)

#3 - no problems

#4 - Dehydrated due to castor oil and passed out twice after the birth, refused to transfer. Baby was fine.

#5 - No problems

#6 - Placenta seperated during pushing but no problems at all with the baby or pp.

Nothing overly alarming.

[mama_at_home]

We didn't have problems but there were a few surprises, that probably would have been a problem in hospital. After baby A was born, baby B turned transverse. Many OBs will automatically do a c-section for that but my midwives were able to turn him head down and all was fine. Also they were both born in the water, but both had short cords so I could not lift them to my belly right away. We wanted the cord to pulse awhile for each baby so I was just holding them (not at the same time obviously) between my legs trying to keep their heads above water. Baby A was also born with her hand above her head and I got a 2nd degree tear that could not be stitched. Anyway, those were a few of the unexpected things but no serious problems. I don't even want to think about how my birth would have been at a hospital. :dizzy:

[teachermom]

I've had two births at private birth centers, more like homebirthing at someone else's house and one birth at my own home (one hospital one but that doesn't apply here). all of my births had a little something...
first birth he got stuck and his heart tones dropped way down... midwife cut me (with my permission) to get him out quick...I ended up with a fourth degree tear that later got infected. all after 36 hours of labor. I figure that I would have been sectioned at a hospital so it all worked out ok.
second birth... 18 hrs labor. bad, bad back labor. baby was postier. we later realized that she also had her hand on her head...midwife had to reach in and move it...ouch. she was born ok...all ten lbs of her. I hemorrhaged two hours later, passed out, ended up with pitocin shot and iv through out the night. We knew from an earlier ultrasound that I had a really low laying placenta.
birth three was in hospital due to me being on insulin
birth four was in my home. 12 hrs. baby got stuck during delivery. I got him out without being cut but pulled every muscle in my bottom (I rolled around my house on an office chair for several days because I could not walk). he was blue and needed oxygen. I didn't even realize how bad it was at the time. It was only after looking at the birth pictures that I realized that his feet and hands were dark blue. his face looked bruised for days.

all of our issues were easily dealt with by midwives who knew what they were doing. I would choose to have a homebirth every time.

[jlwagner]

I voted that we had no problems. Overall my son's birth went very well. I had high blood pressure but no toxemia or pre-eclampsia so my mws let me continue at home. Ds presented with his hand alongside his head but that didn't really cause any issues. The only minor issue was toward the end of my pushing phase my midwives got very concerned about ds' heartrate so they really encouraged my to push him out as soon as possible. He was born a little blue and required quite a bit of mucous suctioning but he was absolutely fine. I shudder to think what this birth would have been like in the hospital...

[wildthing]

My last 5 babies were born at home.
One shoulder dystocia. Broken clavicle.
I wanted to mention a few things about shoulder dystocia. A shoulder dystocia can not be diagnosed until the head is out. A doctor can't perform a c-sec specifically for shoulder dystocia because they don't know if the shoulders would have gotten stuck or not.
It isn't necessarily that a doctor or midwife breaks the clavicle, it is entirely possible for the clavicle to break on it's own. If the clavicle IS broken by the attendent, it is usually for good reason, and definitely preferable to the alternative of losing the baby.
My heart goes out to mamas who have had not good outcomes to due imcompetent birth attendants.

Even with the shoulder dystocia we had, I still feel that my births were without complication. I see it more as a variation on normal, within the range of normal. Three of my babies have had nuchal cords (around their necks), but that is also normal. We are expecting #9 in April.

[sebarnes]

I had a completely normal, very quick (2 hours or so!!) homebirth!

[supermuma]

I voted No Problems.

Both my dd and ds were born at home with no problems at all.

[Snowdrift]

I voted no problems and then realized that in a hospital my birth would have been considered a problem and I probably would have been sectioned.

DD was malpositioned. 33 hour labor followed by extremely fast birth once she got into a better position (ultimately with some manual help from my midwife--ouch!).

But there wasn't a choice for "no, no problems--but would have been in a hosp."

(Btw, no disrespect intended to mamas who did have sections due to malpositioning: DD had no decels or any other signs of distress. I understand that often the outcome is a section due to fetal distress inthese cases.)

[Lila]

I voted NO.
A few things happened that I didn't expect, but my midwife was prepared and competent and handled the "problems" beautifully.
1. I bled a bit too much after my first home birth. I did not tear or hemmorage or anything, but had some "skid marks" from the enormous child I'd delivered. MW got me filled with protein and fluid and had me take supplements to regain my energy.
2. HB #2 was delivered with me on hands & knees, so her lungs didn't clear out properly. MW managed to suck fluid out of her and she was fine.
3. After hb2, it took a LONG time for the placenta to deliver. MW said it was because my labour was fast. Contractions stopped for about an hour. Once dd started nursing strongly, placenta came out.

[rag & bone gal]

I voted Problem with Baby, for which we needed LOTS of medical attention.

First of all, the doula NEVER answered her phone and NEVER showed up and NEVER returned my calls from that night, so I labored to full dilation completely alone, and when my sister and the midwife showed up, I was ready to push.

My midwives let me have a 4-5 hour pushing phase, which is unheard of in hospital births. At the time, I didn't realize anything was wrong, because they were so positive ("you're a rockstar!" "you're doing great!") AND because I had absolutely no concept of time (funny how being completely in-the-moment erases all sense of the earth's movement around the sun).

That said, my baby was purple and not breathing when he came out. He needed resuscitation then and an hour after he was born, when he stopped breathing again.

The midwives advised that I try to pee an hour after birth, and I couldn't. They put a catheter in me and drained 1/2 gallon - their faces definitely showed that they hadn't cared for me properly. A 1/2 gallon distended bladder helped cause that long pushing phase. . .

The midwives, 4 hours after the birth, thought that DS was stable enough to leave.

DS had seizures for 2 days before we realized that anything was wrong. My mother mentioned that she thought she'd seen seizures when the midwife came back for a next day follow up, but the midwife said it was nothing to worry about, although she did call later on that day to recommend a visit with the pediatrician.

Well, after the visit with the pediatrician, who said that the child had never taken a full breath, I'm riding in an ambulance with a baby breathing only through a ventilator tube and we're in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit - my vocabulary has definitely grown from this experience) for 13 days. He had a spinal tap, MRI, barbituates, and all kinds of things I never anticipated. I hadn't even wanted him to have the antibiotics in his eyes at birth.

DS suffered neurological damage (we're all - pediatrician, neurologists, and ourselves - hopeful that it's only physical) due to ischemia - lack of oxygen to the brain.

[Millie Ivy]

I voted no problems. Because there weren't any! I can't really think of anything that even caused a blip of concern. I am hoping and praying that this birth is so smooth!:innocent

Now my 1st birth, in the hospital...... Don't ask.:dizzy:

[LaLaLuna]

DS suffered neurological damage (we're all - pediatrician, neurologists, and ourselves - hopeful that it's only physical) due to ischemia - lack of oxygen to the brain.

Rag & Bone Gal, :hug I'm so sorry to hear about the birth experience you had with your ds. Unfortunately, just as there are dr's who shouldn't be practising, there are midwives just the same.

Lighting a candle for you and your ds.

[Emilie]

DD had a tight cord around her neck- which I did not notice when I delivered her and pulled her up from out of the water before undoing it. DH got it off and she was fine after 5 minutes of warm towels and rubbing.
She had an apgar of 2 at 1 minute.

I would not birth any other way.
In a hospital dd would have been taken from me- put on a "warming table" and poked and prodded for who knows how long by whom? Instead she was spoken to with love and gentle touch by her mother and father. She would have fared MUCH worse had we been in a hospital- not to mention how traumatic that would have been for us.

[mwherbs]

I voted "no problems", but my first was a 56 hour labor in which I did not begin to dilate at all until 50 hours into the labor, which I guess some might consider a problematic or abnormal labor?

I think that this is a good question, there are many things that someone would not necessarly think are "problems" - long prodromal labor could be one- sometimes licensing laws are set in many places so that midwives must transfer even in cases where there is no problem- because the length of labor is defined- sometimes you could call it all prodromal and ignore it as a provider until certain signs of "active" labor are evident or if you have PROM it is fairly hard to wiggle out of , cord wrap is another non-issue,

complications of both mom and baby overlap in this poll so a mother and baby could have had a "complication" during the same birth-
how does this compare to the CPM study?
I wrote no complication-- I had some tearing with my first homebirth that I could have transfered to have stitched but didn't I did not consider this to be a complication was it?

[SunRayeMomi]

No problems whatsoever with baby!! I had a wonderful homebirth and baby was perfect. Unfortunately, I had a retained placenta (although I think this could have been avoided and could have happened differently :(). Midwife decided to send me in because of blood loss. I was fine. I am having my second homebirth this month (any day now!!!):carrot

[Meg_s]

I bled... and bled and bled and bled and bled...the midwives stopped it eventually (the lochia lasted 2.5 mos) passed out when I tried to get up to pee but everything worked out in the end.

[mattemma04]

I was really tired during the labor due to an illness.Had a hard time staying upright to birth,but eventually mustered up enough strength since birthing on the bed was getting me nowhere except more tired.I passed out
(after birthing) after the MW left(this was my 2nd birth/first UC)in the bathroom,and was tired/weak for a few days afterwards. No biggies.

[twentyalmonds]

We transferred to the hospital when the baby's heartrate dropped. By the time we got there, the heartrate was completely back to normal and we had a wonderful birth with no interventions or meds. In retrospect, I think her heartrate may have dropped because of my subconcious fears about having her at home...

[beckyand3littlemonsters]

All my hb's were problem free for both me and my babies and were brilliant :)
i was sick after my ds but thats all nothing major.

[starlein26]

I just had an awesome homebirth with no problems whatsoever! :thumb

[laurdsed]

We had mild shoulder dystocia which was managed very well by my midwife team. 2nd child, 1st homebirth. It was still an outstanding experience. My third child's birth didn't have any problems.

Laurel

[jessitron]

We transferred because of a cervical lip that wouldn't go away, and because a cyst appeared that my midwife worried might be a blood vessel threatening to burst. The cyst was harmless, the cervical lip retreated after 2 drops of pitocin, and the transfer went fairly smoothly. Vaginal birth no painkillers.

I'm tremendously thankful we started at home, because otherwise labor would have been a hundred times worse. It is a homebirth transfer success story.

[jamsmama]

I just gave birth on Monday afternoon to my second child, a little girl. My son was born at home after 36 hours of labor. We planned a homebirth for our daughter also but transported to the hospital the last hour before she was born. My cervix was going back and forth between 5 and 9 cm. At 9 with a slight lip I wanted to push and my cervix swelled up as it went back down to 5 while I was pushing. After several hours of trying different things and also finding that her head was either transverse or military and I was extremely exhausted, I decided to transport. Midwife left the decision to me. She would have given me more time at home had I wanted to. I had a hard time not pushing while we were going there but I was still not dialated past 5 or 6. When I got to the hospital they gave me fentonol (sp?) to help me stop from wanting to push.

I am curious is anyone else has experience with premature pushing urges. We hope to have more children and I would like to know what kinds of things could help if I have this problem again. While we did have a postive transport/hospital experience, I prefer homebirth.

It's a relief to finally see that someone went through the same thing I did. I had "cervical edema" and the midwife didn't want me to keep pushing and risk rupturing my cervix. I had to control the "urge to push" (which my body was doing automatically every 30 seconds) for 12 hours. My midwife told me that even if I was able to fully dilate, I was going to be way too tired. We ended up transferring after about an hour of my DH and I going back and forth about it. I wanted to stay and keep trying, but he and the midwife really thought it would be best to go to the hospital and get something to help stop the urge to push so that I could get some rest.

We ended up transferring and I got an intrathecal which did help me a LITTLE. The doctor tried her damndest to get me into the operating room for a C/S, but I fought with everything in me and told them to give me a couple of more hours. Long story short.....I ended up fully dilating and giving birth naturally to my beautiful DS. I'm due in 6 days and soooo afraid of another transfer, but I know in my heart of hearts that this birth is going to be different. I look at it as "my cervix is well trained this time around" :wink

And yes, I do feel like I had a premature urge to push when I was at home. I'm hoping this time around to be more in tune with my body and to know if it really IS time to push.

[charmander]

No problems. It was a wonderful experience.

[BathrobeGoddess]

nak...
i voted problems with baby...

i knew it was uncommon but i am still surprised no one else had this. She had a prolapsed cord and we had to transfer via ambulance for an emergency section.

it would have happened that way no matter where we were...i'm glad i got to labor at home though.

[witchbaby]

maternal exhaustion after over 24 hours of active labor, hospital transfer for epidural, vbac 13 hours later.

[Bridgett]

Wow, I'm glad I didn't read this thread before I had my homebirth. :eek

I had a fabulous homebirth with no problems. My labor was fast, nearly pain-free and my daughter was born with a total of two pushes.

I had two previous "natural" hospital births, so I didn't have any childbrith related fear issues to deal with. I also didn't have any issues relating to previous complications. To be honest, I was much more afraid of the hospital than I was of a homebirth. I really hate hospitals!

I didn't read through all the pages on this thread, but I wanted to offer my congratulations to every woman here who attempted a homebirth, including those who ended up birthing elsewhere. It's great when life happens the way we plan it, but that's not always the nature of life, is it? I especially admire women who have the courage to attempt a HBAC. :bow

[PinkPixie]

My two homebirth were fast and went well. No problems during labour, but ds did come out blue and took a while to breathe (cyanosis) but he recovred quickly thanks to my experienced midwife.

[joyberryjoy]

bumping for the FIVE year anniversary of this poll. this is a great sample size to show that homebirth is a safe choice. how wonderful!

thanks to everyone who has answered the last few years. :loveeyes:

[kijip]

Second baby was planned to be at the hospital because of the first baby - I should have just stayed home, as he was born 10 minutes after we got there and he was just fine. He was almost born in the car, which I think is even less pleasant than a hospital birth!

I was born in the car in the parking lot of the hospital. Needless to say that after planning a HB and then being told to transfer by the midwife and then not making it to the hospital my parents were disappointed. Also they were more than a little amused when they recieved a bill from the hospital for a "delivery room charge" :lol

[Munchkimo]

I voted that I had problems and transferred to the hospital. That said, I do NOT even slightly regret trying to homebirth.

My problems were:

3 long days of prodormal labor and no sleep.
A cervical lip that my midwife was unable to help me resolve.
A strong, irresistable urge to push at only 7.5 centimeters dialation.

I went to the hospital. They gave me Nubain which did nothing whatsoever, then they did a spinal block. I went completely numb from my waist down and the pushing urge stopped. I dialated shortly thereafter but no longer had an urge to push. The OB decided to "help" with the vacuum extractor. My son's shoulders were a bit stuck but he was born in good condition.

[AbbieB]

I was in labor for 51 hours. Way longer than I had thought. DD's head was not quite in the right position, but she moved and the birth was fine.

I had a retained placenta (and a PPH) that my midwife needed to help come out. Not pleasant but everything was OK. I was very weak for a week or so but I did fine. No infections.

I am home birthing again with the same midwife even though we are now out of state.

[finn'smama]

No problems...we had a great experience!

[Carolinamidwife]

My homebirth (water) was totally perfect. Fast, only painful at the very end, perfect baby, no tears, easy 3rd stage. I had what midwives call a "butter birth." I wish I could do it again, it was the best day of my life.

[joyberryjoy]

:hippie

so wonderful to hear these stories.

[ashleep]

No problems...we had a great experience!

:yeah: :thumb

[joyberryjoy]

let's add the experiences of mamas who've birthed since the last post! :thumb

[christyc]

Had a LOT of worrisome bleeding. One IV shot of pitocin, two intramuscular shots, and a few days worth of methergine (plus a whole lotta blood building natural supplements) took care of it though-- no transfer.

[2+twins]

Had a LOT of worrisome bleeding. One IV shot of pitocin, two intramuscular shots, and a few days worth of methergine (plus a whole lotta blood building natural supplements) took care of it though-- no transfer.

:yeah: That pretty much sums up my last birth too only all my shots were IM. :D

[JesseMomme]

Wow, this thread is older than my own membership :lol

oops hit reply too soon...anyways..
I did have a mild/moderate PPH after my last birth (I didn't lose conciousness, but it took me a week to recover from the blood loss), but handled it on my own without having to seek medical help.

[theresa_caine]

no problems...hbac. it was incredible!

[Mindyleigh]

My first was a planned hospital birth, 8 hours. Not a bad memory at all, although there were elements I would definitely go back and change if I could. I reached all my goals that I knew to have. :thumb

The second was a planned home birth with a CNM. My labor unexpectedly started at 35 weeks, very intensely, and, even though his heart rate was strong, we decided to have him at the hospital. The labor was straightforward and quick, but his apgars were 2 at birth for a very long time, no muscle tone, no breathing efforts. He ultimately was on ventilation for 2 days and stayed in the NICU for 11 days. He was diagnosed with an extremely rare bacterial infection that had crossed the placenta (we had it cultured). It was hemophilus influenza, an untyped variety with a 50% mortality rate in those whom it has infected across the placenta. The infection had caused pulmonary hypertension, which is the constriction of the blood vessels of the lungs. They basically were collapsed and didn't start up at birth. He is turning six this month and is normal as far as I can tell, although his first 18 months were more delayed in terms of physical milestones and he was very poorly coordinated. Now, he is very well-coordinated and is reading ahead of his years. Thank God! I did not include this in the poll because he was not a homebirth. We went to the hospital as soon as labor started because he was early.

Next came our twins, who were born at home with just ourselves in attendance (a friend came halfway through to help with the kids). There were no problems at all. My second twin was a footling breech.

In December, we had our fifth baby, little Bethany Jane. She was born at home with two direct-entry midwives. What a different birth than all my others. While my first came with pain, it was still doable...with my second and the twins, I wouldn't even describe it as painful, and I certainly didn't have a transition with any of them. THIS birth kicked my butt!! Ugh. I think she was asynclitic, because I had terrible back pain that I couldn't resolve intuitively and she was born with bruising all over one side of her face. In fact, the only way I could get through was by stretching out flat as a board (or even slightly curved backward) and that made it bearable. The stinging was also tremendous at crowning. OH LORD, I seriously could barely stand the thought of my birth until some distance had come between me and it. :eyesroll But there weren't any problems. I bled a lot more afterward than I ever had. I remember feeling it just pour out of me several times, and I had tearing. After an hour or so, I almost passed out in the bathroom. My baby never had any issues at all. In fact, she continues to be perfect in every way. :love

I do want to say that we should not downplay the possibility of true emergencies in childbirth, especially for those who have lost babies to them. My good friend just lost her baby and uterus to a uterine rupture during an attempted home VBAC. Another friend has a permanently disabled baby from a shoulder dystocia. Another mother I know almost died and needed 18 units of blood after her uterus inverted. These happen and we don't do mothers any favors when we act like they don't. And furthermore, this thread reminds us all that there are definitely incompetent care providers out there. Rather than asking questions like "How much do you trust birth," I recommend actually finding out if your midwife has any experience handling an emergency at all. During the aforementioned shoulder dystocia, the midwife freaked out when she couldn't resolve it and left the room.

[DoomaYula]

I transferred after the baby was born due to a third-stage hemorrhage and a retained placenta.

I remember having absolutely no urge to push out the placenta, no ctx, no cramps, nothing. Every time I tried to push it out, I could just feel the blood pouring out of me. Finally I asked the mw to do some traction while I pushed, and the cord snapped -- not her fault at all. At that point my dh called 911. I never passed out, and I didn't need a transfusion, but I felt weak for several weeks after that.

[loraxc]

Completely smooth and problem-free "butter birth" here. :)

[crazy_eights]

Rather than asking questions like "How much do you trust birth," I recommend actually finding out if your midwife has any experience handling an emergency at all.

Wow! I see from your siggy that you are Psalm and Zoya's mother. I have to say that I find this so ironic, only b/c I've heard SO many people make comments about "trusting birth", etc. after seeing your twins' birth video.

During the aforementioned shoulder dystocia, the midwife freaked out when she couldn't resolve it and left the room.

That is just nuts. I was once at a birth (as a doula) with a shoulder dystocia where the midwife's assistant fell to the floor and started praying rather than helping. I wound up assisting the midwife to resolve the dystocia. She was later dismissed from her apprenticeship. It scares me silly now that I hear that this woman is now out touting her services as an independent midwife.

[zoie2013]

For my first hb, I really believe that if I hadn't been birthing at home, I know I would have ended up with a c-section. Lots of minor complications and issues with me that added up to a long complex labor. I still look back on it with so much joy and empowerment.

My second hb, was a stillbirth. We knew our little girl had died and my mw wanted me to go to the hospital because of hemorrhage danger. But, I knew with my gut that everything would be okay. My mw heard the truth of my words and knew I would never consent to going to the hospital. We ended up ucing, as our mw didn't get back to us in time, and it was incredibly sad, but beautiful birth experience.

I am looking forward to doing it again. I'd hb no matter what unless there was a real risk to the baby or me. Even if I ever needed a hospital birth, I would labor at home as long as possible and have my mw and doula with me. At least beginning at home, if I end up at the hospital, it's because I really need to be there.

[Mindyleigh]

Wow! I see from your siggy that you are Psalm and Zoya's mother. I have to say that I find this so ironic, only b/c I've heard SO many people make comments about "trusting birth", etc. after seeing your twins' birth video.

:thumb Yep, that's me. It IS ironic, I suppose. I don't mean to be a big downer, but when I read about a midwife blaming someone's problem in birth on her psychology, it really bugs me. And then there's the whole abandonment during shoulder dystocia thing. NOT OKAY!!! Bah.

[Maltagirl]

My first was a hospital birth. It's a low-tech, community hospital with no NICU or even epidural capability (they do intrathecals), so the birth itself went fairly intervention-free (I had a hep-lock and they wanted me on the monitor for 15 minutes each hour, and they broke my water).

Postpartum was a total nightmare and I vowed to never give birth in a hospital again.

I had my 2nd baby at home. My labor was mostly uneventful, midwife came less than an hour before my son was born...we attempted a waterbirth but he was stuck at the shoulders. My midwife got him out and he needed some blow-by oxygen for the first hour or so. We were then admitted to the hospital on the 2nd day for jaundice (which was also a problem with my first baby) and treated like lepers. I then vowed never to need to be admitted to that hospital again.

My third was born at home 10 weeks ago. It was the most awful labor -- days long, really, and she was born with her fist up by her face. But, I had my waterbirth, it was incredible! No shouler dystocia this time. We let the placenta come when it needed to (almost an hour after my baby was born) and left the cord attached for a while longer after that...I think these, plus not being separated at all after the birth were helpful in preventing the jaundice that plagued my first two babies. My 3rd had elevated bilirubin, but not enough to need observation or phototherapy.

I'm quite sure that my 3rd birth and postpartum would have been very different had they taken place in the hospital, and no one can convince me that outcomes for ME and MY BABIES are better in a hospital setting.

[mama_at_home]

We had things that were unexpected, but no real problems.

[3xx1xyFamily]

it's such a minor thing, but for a HWBAC it's a big deal... in any hospital this would have been an immediate c-sec.... She was Tachy Cardia (stressed)... her heart rate was in the 180's. A normal heart rate for my baby was in the low 130's. I started to get dehydrated from vomiting constantly, so the MW force fed me (even though I continued to vomit) about 30 minutes later her heart rate was back down and I delivered at home 5 hours later

[Belleweather]

No problems with mama or baby... but a BIG problem with the weather. I went into labor on a day that we were expecting 9-13 inches of snow, on top of the snow we'd gotten earlier in the week that hadn't been adequately cleared yet. The roads were an unsafe mess and we live half-way down a steep hill, so getting to our house in this kind of weather is non-trivial task.

Everyone arrived on time and safely, including the baby, but there was definately a period where the midwife team were considering snow shoes and cross country skiis as possible modes of transport to get to our birth. We were very lucky that our neighbor works with the town fire department and had them come in and clear our street and drive when he heard we'd be birthing that day, and stood out in the snow to help direct the midwives in and help push cars when they got stuck.

[Cookie5765]

My first birth was at a free standing birthing center (homebirth wasn't legal at the time) and the baby was posterior. I dilated from 2-9cm in like an hour (after my water had been broken for numerous hours but then would not progress more. It took many hours and after I hemmorhaged. The midwives (who were not the midwives I had through the pregnancy) were panicy and tense and it was not a positive experience though they did handle it well and I was able to stay at the birthing center.

Birth 2 at home I had a massive hemmorhage and did end up transferring after 3 hours (the midwives were really wonderful and caring, knowing I really wanted a "gentle 3rd stage"). They got the initial heavy heavy bleeding to stop with pit (and another medication) and I had an IV but I continued to "ooze" blood over the next three hours and it wasn't really slowing down so they had no choice but to transfer at that time. The midwives gave me some homeopathics in the ambulance and did manual compression and the bleeding had slowed significantly by the time we arrived at the hospital (I out right refused to go to the nearest hospital and wanted to go to the one that my midwives normally transfer to so it was about a 30-45 minute ride). I received another IV of pit and was able to go home the next morning. They were VERY low on blood so let me go home without a transfussion though they normally would have given one for what my levels were at.

[jgale]

I had two beautiful homebirths without any complications. My second was a waterbirth. Jessi

[jgale]

I had two beautiful homebirths without any complications. My second was a waterbirth. Jessi

[DreamsInDigital]

I had one completely uneventful home waterbirth. I had a minor complication with my second homebirth. I had a PPH that resolved itself after a tincture and rest and nursing and the birth was otherwise completely normal.

[indigo515]

I work with a MW as a birth assistant and I have yet to see a transfer or any real complication BUT because i am difficult :p at my HB had A LOT of pp bleeding. I had the IV, pit, methergine, etc... The bleeding subsided so I declined to be transferred. I felt like crap for nearly a week. pp day 3 my hgb was 6.9 but it climbed everyday substantially.

[lc81002]

No problems. My son did have an odd placenta/cord insertion but thankfully it never caused any problems. It likely could have, so I feel very blessed that everything was fine. It was a random, freak thing so I will definitely plan homebirths with all my future babies too.

[nerdlogic]

My experience isn't common but I was planning a UC but my baby was a transverse lie after broken waters. I had no choice but to get an c-section after over 48 hours of labor. If we decide to have another child, which is unlikely, we're going to go for a VBAC.

[christyc]

Interesting... Looks like we have about 83.61% happening either without complications or handled by the midwife or mom.

In my homebirth, the things handled by the midwife include:
- Baby B posterior, they helped me get into different positions to help her descent, were patient and checked heart tones frequently during the almost-2 hours it took for her to come out.
- Baby B born with cord around shoulder, midwife loosened and removed it before I pushed her the rest of the way out.
- I had a small tear from baby B, midwife stitched it.
- I had excessive bleeding and retained clots. Midwife manually removed clots (OW!), 1 IV and 2 IM shots of pitocin, and methergine.

All in all, nothing too complicated there. Although I did vote "problems with mom, handled at home."

[whoziwhatsit]

Two super-fast butter births for me, although I wouldn't want to do the second one again...little too quick.

[mac5977]

I voted no problems for anybody based on the UC birth of my third child, Douglas. My labor was 2.5 hours start to finish and a dream. Joy, I really will write his birth story soon. ;) But on reflection, maybe I should have said there were problems with me that were resolved with help from the MW I saw for prenatal care the next day. I had a little piece of retained placenta and membranes, but it wasn't a big deal.

My second child, Rowan, was born at a stand-alone birth center with MW's. He had the cord wrapped around his neck and torso and ended up with very wet lungs. Apgars of 5, I think? He was transferred via ambulance to the NICU for 48 hours of observation, but he was fine. :D

[elmh23]

"yes, a problem with mom, but we managed birth at home anyway" was what acutally happened, but looking back, I should have transferred. I hemorraged after he was born and continued to bleed for 3 months before I had a D&C done to take out something (not placenta, not an extra baby, they don't know what it was) that was in my uterus.

I bled with my first baby too but she was at the hospital so I already had an IV in place to help me recover. Next baby will also be a hosptial birth because ds's birth was just a little too scary. And even my doula friend who wants to be a midwife and currently works in L&D as an RN says with my history I should have a hospital birth next time.

[slymamato3]

All 3 of my girls were born at home. 1st 2 no issues at all...#1 39hrs(19 prodromal) 2nd 6hrs much easier:p With #3 labor was stopping &starting. I had a conization of my cervix quite awhile before becoming pregnant. When my cervix was trying to dilate there seemed to be some scar tissue keeping me from truly opening(2 MW's and a student couldn't even find my cervix for about 12hrs or so:irked:. Once we heard the POP of that scar tissue giving way things moved right along and we had a beautiful waterbirth. After she was born she seemed to be having a tough time really breathing and pinking up so we decided to transfer. I was really feeling like she just needed a few more minutes but was watching my concerned DH and felt like we should go. My MW was also pretty freshly certified and she didn't have the experience under her belt to make any other call. Long story short... I got DD latched on while they were transferring us to the ambulance and she was absolutely fine there after.

I had yet to deliver the placenta and had to be catheterized before I could do so. Then they manually swept my uterus (after dosing me up on too much pain med) Thankfully the md was a small woman w/ little hands!

In hindsight I would have saved alot of undo stress just giving dd the extra couple of minutes. But we are all healthy and you never know what we could have faced otherwise. I am still trying to figure out why it was we went thru all of that ... what lesson were we being taught???

[berkeleyp]

Yes problems with baby resulting in death. We finished the birth at home because she died literally 5 mins before she came out.

[mothragirl]

no problems at either birth.

[holly6737]

Tristan had a tight nuchal cord that had to be cut before I could push out his body. His 1 minute apgar wasn't great- maybe a 4. He recovered after a wave of oxygen and is a perfectly active, very intelligent little one year old! (Well, almost... Feb. 25th will be one year...)



ETA: My first birth was a c/s and I would take the vaginal home birth ANY DAY over the c/s- hands down. I felt amazing after my HBAC- physically and emotionally.

[WatermelonSnow]

Yes. We decided to transfer after 44 hours of active labor. We tried every position under the sun, in the water, out of the water, birth stool, kneeling, squatting - you name it we tried it. DS never descended past +1, though when the MW felt his head she declared it "the most molded head" she had ever felt. We further attempted vaginal delivery at the hospital w/ a CNM, proceeded to attempt suction w/ a DO, but when meconium erupted after the second suction attempt a c/s was decided on. After DS was born, my very allopathic-skeptical MW said that "I always thought CPD was a crock of shit, until I saw his head. Even if his head had been born, we never would have gotten that chest out."

[Bethanydear]

2 planned homebirths with zero problems ( 1st babe did fine with 4 hours of pushing, showing stress only in the very last few minutes, nuchal hand and cord and was lightly suctioned/ had blow by o2- 3rd babe was 9 and 9, just perfect)

middle hb was a planned hb, then screened for PIH, then was born at home anyway (probably went from 3cm to 10 and pushing at the moment it was time to leave for the hospital, lol) in the presence of medics, an EMT, and a cop. Baby was absolutely fine.

[Momma2DoubleCuties]

nope no problems, we both were great. It was like I'd always dreamed it'd be

[liawbh]

I voted the 2nd choice, but it's not really accurate.

My waterbirth was great. 11 lb, nuchal hand (which he stuck out as he was crowning!), one teeny tear, no sutures. 6 hour labor, 20 min pushing.

His apgars were great, good latch etc. At ~ 6 hours pp, he went into resp. distress and we took him to the NICU where he was on CPAP then regular O2 for 3 days, on room air one more day.

Final diagnosis? "transitory tachypnea" Translates as temporary rapid breathing.

He's been fine ever since, rarely sick, developmentally great, still way off the growth charts. He'll be 3 in April.

I would absolutely choose homebirth/freestanding bc again. I had a mostly natural hospital birth with #1, and the epis. took 5 months to heal. Plus all the other negatives.

[1stTimeMummytoLore]

after almost 20 hours of labor at home with my twins, one of my waters released, i spiked a fever and both babies' FHT became tachy. we transfered. they were both footling so i had a c/s.

i would like to think i would choose homebirth again, but i have some serious fear issues i would have to work through re:VBACing b/c of some experiences i had during my doula days with previous VBAC clients.

[3cuties]

Yes problems with baby resulting in death. We finished the birth at home because she died literally 5 mins before she came out.


I am so sorry for your loss. :(

[twogreencars]

I answered no problems for mom or baby - and that was for all 3 of my HB's :)

[twogreencars]

Yes problems with baby resulting in death. We finished the birth at home because she died literally 5 mins before she came out.

:hug
so sorry, mama

[ghuaghua]

My homebirth was pretty uneventful, considering it was a VBAC and I was on hepain injections. I was fully dilated for 5 hours and pushing the majority of that time, to birth a posterior, brow presentation baby. His initial APGAR was a '4'-and he needed to have a bit of mucous suctioned, but that was it. Second APGAR was a 9. It was definitely the most amazing experience I've ever had. :love

[Mama Poot]

We had a minor problem with me after Henri was born. I didn't drink enough water and as a result my blood pressure plummeted to 60/30. Had it gone any lower my midwife would have sent me to the hospital, but I begged to stay home and I just kept having DH and my midwife force-feed me things and make me drink more fluids. After a few hours I got better. No big deal, really, just a few hours of laying on the bed unable to move.

[Genesis]

We had no problems with myself or baby at my homebirth. :)

[ABand3]

Ok, I voted option #4, but #3 & #4 both apply to me. Baby was born at home, no complications during labor or birth for either of us. However, I had a post partum hemmorhage, which in itself did not necessarily require transfer (I also has pph with my first two, at a FSBC, managed there with pit & methergin, not transferred). However, this time, even after pit & methergin I fainted, and b/c of low BP and my veins were hard to find, midwife couldn't get an IV started. I came to and felt better, but we decided to call 911 anyway, just in case. They started a line, took me to the hospital (DH followed with baby, midwives followed too). After a bag of fluid and a testing my hematocrit, I went home after an hour or so.

[Bethanydear]

Bumping on up

[FrolicingMama]

I had incomplete separation of the placenta and didn't have contractions to deliver the placenta. We thought we were going to have to go to the hospital, but my midwife gave me Angelica and then helped the placenta out. It was painful and I lost a lot of blood, but I'm fine now and we didn't have to go to the hospital

[ElkMtnsMama]

I voted the last choice (no problems) but I guess I meant "no problems we considered transferring to the hospital for." I did bleed quite heavily after the birth, and the midwife gave me pitocin to help slow this. Also I had a small tear to my cervix, because the baby came out with BOTH hands pressed to the sides of her head, like she was covering her ears, but the tear ended up healing fine after about a month. I guess if the tear had been much longer, I might have needed to consider going in for stitches, to rule out the possibility of incompetent cervix with future pregnancies.

There were no problems at all with our little girl, who came out pink and healthy and started nursing right away! We will definitely hope to have a homebirth again with the next one. It was, over all, an amazing, empowering and wonderful experience!

[nadine]

i had one hospital birth, then 2 homebirths. with my 1st homebirth, my son had a shoulder dystocia and subsequent resuscitation (required only ppv). we stayed at home, but the next day (about 18 hours later), i noticed he was tachypnic, so we took him in- they kept him in the hospital and did a sepsis workup, and it ended up being negative. he had a final diagnosis of transient tachypnea.

with my recent homebirth, there were no complications (baby weighed 2.5lbs less than my son!).

[sweetpeppers]

Problems? I went a week past my due date, and my midwife sent me for an ultrasound which said that the amniotic fluid was low. My midwife said we had to induce right away, and after much crying and pressure from my mom, I agreed. But I really doubt that it was a real problem. You can change the fluid levels just by drinking a lot of water (I hadn't even eaten breakfast that morning). And it's not like ultrasounding is a precise science. Sometimes they don't even recognize twins, they get the sex mixed up, who's to say she didn't measure a milimeter off? The problem was that I was at the hospital, and I think if she didn't insist on induction, that she could have gotten in trouble with the state. It's funny, after my checkup the day before when she prescribed the ultrasound, I had a bad feeling that if I went into that hospital they weren't going to let me out. Moral of the story is, if you feel good, don't let anyone seduce you into a hospital!

[steph117]

Water broke with some meconium, followed by 3 days of labor at home. Full dilation. Pushing. Baby not coming down. xfer to hospital. C-section. Not exactly the peaceful home waterbirth I'd envisioned. :(

[steph117]

Yes problems with baby resulting in death. We finished the birth at home because she died literally 5 mins before she came out.

:gloomy:

Oh, mama, I was so sorry to read this - I am so, so sorry for your loss.

:candle

[ColoradoMama]

We had minor problems with both babies, but didn't transfer to the hospital. One baby had to have some gentle suctioning due to meconium issues. The other baby needed some oxygen. Both are super health and currently rough housing on my chair right now! :lol

[Ladybyrd]

No problems at all. My first homebirth was my 4th kid. 6 hour labor, 5 minutes pushing, no tears, no damage, no hiccups whatsoever. Best birth ever.

[Teenytoona]

I checked problems with mom... but it was kind of a joint effort. ;)

I was at 42.5 weeks, with my first baby and my blood pressure readings were starting to increase a bit more than my MW was comfortable with. So we ended up going the castor oil route (not something I'd do again if I were to have another). Contractions began very hard and furious, but were primarily all lower uterus ctxs. Baby was initially brow presentation. With hours of the mw's having me trying various positions, she moved to compound presentation. I ended up transferring to the hospital for pain meds and I was just unable to rest. (I feel like a weenie for this one compared to what others went through). I ended up with an epi and pit and a vaginal birth (tho the hospital staff were dorks, didn't think I had any prenatal care and did everything to the baby that I didn't want to happen including that damned screw into the head monitor:angry).

I think, in retrospect, that she was not ready to come, and hence all the lower end only contractions. I don't think castor oil will ever be in my repetoire again, but I think this will be the only child I give birth to, so there ya go. I think had I taken a little better care of myself (namely more walking in the last few months), things would have been a bit different. But I wouldn't have changed my decision to HB regardless. The time and experience spent in the hospital was a HUGE eye-opener. That compared to my HB experience was such a lesson in contrasts.

[Jes'sBeth]

No problems really in the end though there were a few concerns. I had back labour and was in intense pain (would have happened regardless of where I was though and at least at home I was comfortable with my surroundings and could control the music, lighting, number of people around etc)

Then all of a sudden things kicked into high gear (I went from 2 cm to 10 cm in an hour and had our daughter 45 mins later... it was kinda intense!) There was meconium in my water so they set up the suctioning thinger close by. It wasn`t needed at all.

I had a really short cord though and as a result bled quite a bit (again, would have happened regardless of where I was) It was a very different birth than our older DD where there was no bleeding. My midwives are extremely experienced though and were MORE than capable of dealing with the bleeding at home. Within 10 mins of our daughter arriving I was lying on the couch no longer hemmoraging with our daughter in my arms more than a touch amazed that I was finished with everything!

So, it was unexpected that I bled but completely within the realm of normal and definately dealt with safely at home.

[joyberryjoy]

i already voted in this poll for my last birth. :D

BUT wanted to add that we had a problem-free 4 hr UC two weeks ago.

thank you all for keeping this poll alive! what a wonderful long-standing sample this is turning out to be. :joy:

[mustangtbn]

My problems were: a 3.5 hours pushing stage (more due to my MW's interventions and bungling once I went to 42 weeks I think than anything else), baby born with cord wrapped twice around her neck tightly enough that it had to be cut (I hated that, still makes me wince to think about), but she was breathing fine, and some slight hemorrhaging, treated with pitocin and uterine massage. My MW was very experienced, so that wasn't the problem, she just leaned more towards the medical model than you'd expect for a HB MW (although at the time my naive self thought that would be a good thing).

We still birthed at home, it was still overall a great experience, and much better than most of the hospital experiences I've heard, and are doing it again, but this time with a MW who is much less med-wifey.

[jldumm]

other

we transferred after 3 days with no sleep and very very little food.
i had been at 9 cm for 10+ hours and was feeling at the end of my rope.
it took 10+ more hours inthe hospital.

we will try again for a home birth

[*MamaJen*]

No problems. We had a textbook perfect homebirth. The baby was born in the caul, and the midwife joked that the only thing she did through the entire birth was clear the caul off his face.
I'd say the poll might be a little skewed towards problematic births, just because mamas who had an issue might be more likely to be interested in the thread. But it's still interesting to me how many problems were capably handled at home by good midwives. Shows how important the midwife selection is.

[joyberryjoy]

agreed mama on the skew. i'd rather mamas who *did* have problems be pulled in to answer though...and i know lots of textbook home birth problem free mamas like you (and me!) will be pulled in to make sure their vote counts too, just cause of the way the subject is phrased.

i agree that it's still a great % showing either no problems or problems that could be dealt with at home so that birth could go on in the location planned. it's actually pretty darn close to other predicted "success" (non-transfer) rates i have seen in much more scholarly statistical offerings--which normally say 90-95%.

i do think it shows that mws can often handle all kinds of things that might be considered problems...i also think it shows that birth is, on the whole, a safe endeavor that *usually* goes right...hence the long long life of the human race.

:joy:

[confidentbirth]

Only drawback of my birth was my midwife was out of town for one day, THE DAY my daughter came... Murphy's Law, I suppose. Her backup was good to have, but I would have preferred my midwife, for many reasons.

[CherryBomb]

I voted #2. Dd2 was supposed to be a HBAC with a CPM- we transferred after I stalled out (8cm for 5 hours) after nearly 48 hours of labor and her heart rate was getting concerning. I had another c/s, she had seizures and spent 2 weeks in the NICU. She had had a massive stroke at some point and suffered severe brain damage. She's doing well now, thankfully (as well as you can do with half your brain).

Dd3 was a lovely hospital VBA2C :love

It's very unlikley I would plan a homebirth again. I know the chances of something going so wrong again are very low, but I've already been on the wrong side of the statistics once, ykwim?

[Lizbiz]

No issues with my homebirth. Fabulous midwives. Long labor though ;). They eventually broke my bag of waters for me to try to move things along. It helped. By the time I got to pushing, I only had to push for 15 minutes to get the little guy out (I was pretty motivated to be DONE with labor.). I would highly recommend a homebirth, but I would also (especially after reading some of this thread) recommend interviewing your midwife VERY carefully and checking several of her references.

I was thrilled not to be in a hospital. I was able to eat/drink, take walks around my neighborhood to stimulate labor, hang out in the rented labor pool, and be with only three other people. Virtually no disturbances (apart from the call from my boss, which I answered - God only knows why! :)) It was so special and my husband was an amazing support. That night we got Chinese takeout and watched the Green Bay Packers. I don't think that would have happened in a hospital!

[thismama]

My baby had a tight nuchal cord (cord around neck), and I had a postpartum bleed. We were able to stay home though, and the midwives dealt with the issues wonderfully. :thumb

[battymama]

Nope no problems at all, it was perfect and wonderful. Lots and lots of hugs to all the mamas who have had problems.

[kitkatkaddoodle]

After 10 hrs of being at 8 cm, I agreed to breaking my water--there was mec and the doppler showed he had significant heart rate drop right after, though it recovered after I flipped over. Transfered because thick mec was one of our preplanned transfer points and had him an hour later with no meds or epidural. He ended up having two nucals and a tight true knot. We all went home later that same day.

I would try for a home birth again and I think my husband would go for it too.

[treemom2]

I had two babies at home (my first child was a c-sec hospital birth). My first babe I had at home got stuck because he was in posterior position. My midwife turned him and he came out within 30 minutes with no problems. My third babe also got stuck, but the midwife I had believed that everything would work its way out. I was at 9cm for almost 6 hours. She finally found her way out. She passed massive amounts of mec and had shoulder dystocia. She had to be transported to the hospital by ambulance where she died 22 hours after birth from severe mec aspiration syndrome. We will not have anymore children because I believe my body was not made to birth naturally and I would never want another c-sec.

[tireesix]

First baby was crappy induction where everything was managed so I didn't know any potential issues for next birth (except DD1 was posterior).

DD2 (homebirth) was posterior and I had a PPH and tearing after birth, the PPH wasn't an issue but they weren't suree whether my tear was a 2nd or 3rd degree because it was such a long one.

This baby will probably be posterior and I will will probably have a PPH and tear (apparently my other health issues make posterior babies, tearing and PPH more likely) BUTI am still going to be homebirthing, especially as I have long second stages (well, over 2 hours) and the hospital really doesn't like that.

[Beeblebrox]

No problems with either girls or with me. First was a hospital birth because I didn't even think of homebirth at that time in my life. DD2 a homebirth :thumb

[ferra]

My babe was posterior (Ow!) and when he was born he had meconium in his mouth. I had a big postpartum hemorrhage. Both problems were managed at home calmly and lovingly.

:joy:

[jjak_mama]

I tried a homebirth with #1 and my BP went out of control during labor. In fact at one point, I passed out and started seizing. The midwife called 911 and I woke up in the ambulance. I had to have an emergency C-section at the hospital since my BP was something like 240/200 right before I was put under.

I will never ever try for another homebirth. I am lucky that I have a supportive OB who let me labor and have 3 successful VBAC's. I am hoping this new one that is due in October will be another VBAC too.

[Chula13]

My babe was posterior (Ow!) and when he was born he had meconium in his mouth. I had a big postpartum hemorrhage. Both problems were managed at home calmly and lovingly.

:joy:


How was your pph handled @ home, if you don't mind me asking?

[Ilaria]

No problems at all...besides baby coming quicker than I expected! (hence the unplanned UC!) :)

[jennyfah]

We birthed at home in the water but had to transfer baby to the hospital due to breathing problems. He staying in the special care nursery for two days for observation/blood cultures. I also hemorrhaged and was treated with a shot of Pitocin since the baby was not available to nurse.

What's reassuring to me is that his breathing had NOTHING to do with where he was born; my birth team was amazing, professional, and on top of it all. If anything it's made me trust homebirth as a safe option more than ever, since I'm proof that things can go differently than planned and still be just fine!


Jen

[knitted_in_the_wom]

I can't select any of the options, because none fit. We didn't have any "unexpected" problems.

With my first homebirth, I bled a bit--500 mls. This was not "unexpected" as I had bled MORE with my previous two births.

With both of my homebirths the boys took a couple of minutes to pink up--but their 5 minute APGARS were fine. This is not really "unexpected" in any given birth, and my second daughter who was born in the hospital also took a few minutes to pink up.

Jenn

[JessasMilkMama]

Yes, with my third baby I was planning my second homebirth. I had irregular and horribly painful labor and I knew something was wrong - turns out my placenta was abrupting (probably due to a fall I took in my 8th month). I am really glad that I had met with the backup OB and the hospital was very supportive. I had an epidural for the pain and she was born without complications an hour later. We did not know about the abruption until the placenta came out, and then it was obvious.

[JessasMilkMama]

Should also say that my homebirth with my second was a wonderful, perfect experience and I would love to have another HB.

[3cuties]

Yes, with my third baby I was planning my second homebirth. I had irregular and horribly painful labor and I knew something was wrong - turns out my placenta was abrupting (probably due to a fall I took in my 8th month). I am really glad that I had met with the backup OB and the hospital was very supportive. I had an epidural for the pain and she was born without complications an hour later. We did not know about the abruption until the placenta came out, and then it was obvious.


Shannon - how was it obvious? Just curious. I never had a contraction after I gave birth and my midwife had to almost pull my placenta out -- when she reached inside she said it was already detached and sitting in my cervix -- just wondering.......

[holly6737]

You all should be aware that some of your posts are being copied and discussed on homebirthdebate.blogspot.com.


Look at the blog post from Sunday "Revisiting the MDC homebirth complications poll".

So WARNING!!! Some self appointed experts with a vendetta against women's reproductive rights can and will use whatever information you post on the internet to further their own agenda. Please also be careful what identifying information you post in the event some might be motivated to contact the authorities for "medical negligence".

[AngelBee]

No problems for me or baby :happyt:

[StrawHatBrat]

I just want to point out, although I am sure we're all aware (in response to the anti home birth blog) how many of the compllications handled at home were small ones ie: a tear, or a bit of excessive bleeding seemingly still in the normal range), and many of the voters have had more than one home birth but can only vote once. These results are very skewed. I'm angry that Dr Amy is trying to use this in a negative light.


I had 3 uncomplicated hospital births, and one (most recent) perfect home water birth.

[aprilibarra]

i've think i've posted here before but my last one ended in transfer. this is my 5th, i've had 3 uncomplicated at home, the last 2 very quickly. baby was perfect all the way thru, with the midwives checking w/ every contraction. but he turned posterior in labor and i dilated but his head wouldn't come down. after 24 hours of labor,we transfered and baby was born w/ forceps w/in 15 minutes of our arrival. Our dr. was the midwives backup, came in on his day off, in the middle of his plans, and left soon after. He was wonderful, and his relationship to my midwife gave me the premium of care. i'm so thankful.

[joyberryjoy]

I just want to point out, although I am sure we're all aware (in response to the anti home birth blog) how many of the compllications handled at home were small ones ie: a tear, or a bit of excessive bleeding seemingly still in the normal range), and many of the voters have had more than one home birth but can only vote once. These results are very skewed. I'm angry that Dr Amy is trying to use this in a negative light.


I had 3 uncomplicated hospital births, and one (most recent) perfect home water birth.

exactly...a mother decides for herself, in this poll, what constitutes a "problem". a first degree tear, low initial apgars, failure to progress for some time or prodromal labor, unexpected positions (like brow presentations or breech births), could all be things that a mother *might* consider a "problem", and therefore vote accordingly (which could certainly skew results towards a view of it as more problematic than it is, statistically.)

and i'll add my own updated stats :wink:

i've had two lovely UCs now with no problems with mother or baby.

[holly6737]

i've think i've posted here before but my last one ended in transfer. this is my 5th, i've had 3 uncomplicated at home, the last 2 very quickly. baby was perfect all the way thru, with the midwives checking w/ every contraction. but he turned posterior in labor and i dilated but his head wouldn't come down. after 24 hours of labor,we transfered and baby was born w/ forceps w/in 15 minutes of our arrival. Our dr. was the midwives backup, came in on his day off, in the middle of his plans, and left soon after. He was wonderful, and his relationship to my midwife gave me the premium of care. i'm so thankful.


:joy:


THIS is the ideal. In my state DEMs are illegal. If we would have had to transfer, I'm sure I would have been treated like a drug addict and my midwife a criminal. It is so imperative for the health care of women who *choose* to birth at home that CPMs be licensed and legal in every state.

[Mama~Love]

I've only had 1 homebirth, and it went perfectly!! Only labored for 3 hours before she came. Wouldn't change anything about it, and would definitely plan another one!

[loitering]

I voted #4, but I'm not sure if it exactly fits the situation. I had planned a homebirth, but after my water broke with no signs of labour and ds not having descended yet, my midwife asked me to go to the hospital for a bit to be monitored. That was fine, and even the OB on call was fine with me waiting to go into labour naturally at home. But after 2 days with no progress, we tried inducing, and when even that didn't work I had a c-section. I know that saying the baby was "stuck" is standard c-section reasoning, but in my case I know it is true.

So it wasn't a big scary problem, but it was a complication that made me unable to birth at home.

[JessasMilkMama]

Shannon - how was it obvious? Just curious. I never had a contraction after I gave birth and my midwife had to almost pull my placenta out -- when she reached inside she said it was already detached and sitting in my cervix -- just wondering.......

It was covered in clots where it had been detaching and then reattaching itself. The bleeding was all internal so I never outwardly bled during labor. Thats what caused such great pain but there were no obvious problems until I had delivered the placenta.

[njbeachgirl]

No problems for mom or baby :thumb

[Kim919]

No problems. We had a textbook perfect homebirth. The baby was born in the caul, and the midwife joked that the only thing she did through the entire birth was clear the caul off his face.
I'd say the poll might be a little skewed towards problematic births, just because mamas who had an issue might be more likely to be interested in the thread. But it's still interesting to me how many problems were capably handled at home by good midwives. Shows how important the midwife selection is.

That is so cool :) I was just reading something the other day about how many cultures think it is lucky it is to be born "in the caul" and mentioned to my dp how I thought it would be amazing if that happened. For some reason he looked terrified and said that it would be horrible and that it would be much better to artificially rupture (he knows nothing about birth.) I was so glad when at my last appt. my midwife said she absolutly will not rupture the membranes if I don't want her to and that babies born this way have much more gentle births. A momma always knows her baby is special, but I love "good luck charms" and that would make the whole experience that much more special. Congrats on a healthy baby.

[guest9921]

Small tear, but it wasn't unexpected.
I had a small cyst from the way the tear from my first birth was sewn, along my scar line. I expected it to tear open because of this. My first was a hospital birth, and I am still dealing with issues from the on-the-back-purple-pushing.

My homebirth was wonderful.
For myself, and for the baby that was born in the safest manner.

[alyrie]

I'm not sure how to vote. After 2.5 days of posterior labor (no real issues other than mild dehydration and no sleep), I was transported since I wasn't progressing past 7cm. Ended up with a c-sect. Baby was fine.

[honeybee]

You know, when I posted this poll I really expected to see a greater percentage not having a problem! Though I know this isn't exactly scientific, we do have almost 100 replies, and I've read again and again that 95% (thereabouts) of homebirths go off without a hitch...in this poll we have results showing only about 55% with no problems...a full quarter (almost 25%) had problems that caused them to take either mom or baby to the hospital etc. (they "sought medical help") and another quarter, or thereabouts (slightly less) had problems, but handled them at home.

What do you all think is the explanation for this high rate of reported problems?

Joy

It's a self-selecting poll. You will ALWAYS get answers skewed to the negative with a self-selecting sample than with a random sample. Satisfied people don't tend to respond to polls so much as people who have had difficulties. It's human nature.

[Ilaria]

Yep, that's exactly right.

[pazerific]

i just wanted to post and say that i had originally voted "yes, a problem with babe we transfered for". we had to transfer for heart rate problems with dd (turned out just fine).

too bad there's not a multiple answer option. we just had a happy easy beautiful home birth last week. :D

[erinspice]

No problems with either that couldn't have been overcome. We went to the hospital anyway, because I had been planning a hospital birth. We were both healthy, though!

[Jade2561]

We had no problems with our homebirth at all. Baby was full term, a little over 2 hours of labor, fast 2nd stage, no tearing, no bleeding. Baby was perfectly healthy and my recovery was very fast. It was pretty darn perfect.

[Red Sonja]

Another wonderful homebirth here (I had already voted in the poll for DD1's birth). ~2 hour labor, 3 minutes of spontaneous pushing, healthy good-sized chubby babe, great recovery for me. :D