Homebirthers?

ihateusernames*

Anyone planning a home birth? I can't have one this pregnancy but I love hearing about how other women's plans are coming. Birthing pools? Lighting? Aromatherapy? 
Anyone had a previous home birth as well? 

dizzymom-2

I can't have a home birth due to medical issues, but I would love to!!! I am, however, planning on laboring as long as possible at home before having to move to the hospital. It's a good compromise for us. I haven't gotten as far as the details, but I'd love to hear what others will be doing at home as well. 

MamaD233

I would like to do water birth but there's only one place in the country I live in that has the option and its 3 hours away. Mom and SO voted no on home birth since I'm a geriatric FTM lol but oh I wish. We even have a tub with a seat built in. Perfect position for labor but oh well

Mrvl

I'm planning for a homebirth. In the netherlands it's really common. I like the idea of being in my own home, own bed and own shower. The actual labour will be in the living room with a midwife present when the contractions are less than 5 minutes apart and last longer than 1 minute. 

In the NL we have something called a 'kraamverzorgster'..a nurse who will be with you in your home during the first couple days. Helping with breastfeeding, checking how you heal, checking the baby but also helps around the house and pushes visitors who overstay their welcome out the door.

Gators&BoSox

Every time I read about birthing experiences in other first world countries I realize how far behind America is! How nice to have someone there helping you the first couple of days, what a nice tradition. As for me we will be in a hospital (that I love and with an amazing staff) but I'm hoping to labor at home for as long as possible as last time my water breaking and lack of contractions complicated that matter. I feel like laboring at home would be much less pressure but we shall see.

nursemama-2

Not planning on it, but a little worried I might not make it to the hospital haha

Cbeanz

I really wanted to go to The Farm this time, but my MW/OB scared me out of it. My second was a c-section due to footling breech position (I got to 10cm in 3 hours but still had a section).  They warned me about non-hospital birth with a uterine scar. Sigh. So I guess I'll be in a hospital again. 

I'm really interested to hear about homebirth plans though! 

kjd291

Add me to the I wish, but not doing home-birth here too!  My husband isn't super supportive of this choice because of all the "what ifs" and insurance loophole jumping.  So doing a nearby birth center with a midwife and pool for a water birth!

Foersty

@kjd291 me too-I thought it sounded really interesting, but my husband and family members were not terribly supportive of that. I wish our families were a bit more supportive! I think it's great that you have a nearby birth center, though, that sounds like a good compromise! GA only has one birth center, which is in Savannah and is several hours from where I live. Guess I'm going with a hospital. 

sunshine507

@Cbeanz could you go to the Farm and do a consult meeting and see what they say? 

jem89

I had a home birth with my second and it was amazing (and super painful). One tip I have is to labour standing with your partner pressing on the outside of your hips (pretty hard). The alternative pressure actually relieves a surprising amount of pain. I gave birth to her on my bed and it was amazing to have her there and not need to move again for a long time. We really enjoyed how peaceful it was. Our parents were able to be downstairs and it just felt very intimate. I felt very empowered by accomplishing this because I never thought I could do it. I really encourage anyone who wants one of these births to go for it. At the same time, there's no shame in a planned c-section, medicated hospital birth or anything in between. I must also comment that DH was very nervous about the home birth but we lived 2 mins from our hospital so that was a comfort for him.

shae86

@jem89 Great tips! 

I'm not having a home birth, but I am planning to deliver at a birthing center about a mile from my home. It's an amazing facility, and since it's a converted house, it has an extremely cozy and warm feel. The birthing rooms have both beds and tubs, and it's up to you how and where you want to labor/deliver. I'm planning on the tub.

I'm also going to take a hypnobirthing class to better prepare myself for unmedicated labor. The hope is that I remain low risk throughout my pregnancy so that I'm able to follow through with this. Of course, the most important thing is that the baby arrives safely, and I'm completely aware that sometimes even the most well thought out plans go out the window. However our babies arrive, whether it's at home, in a delivery room, or on an operating table, it's a small miracle and something to be proud of. 

ihateusernames*

@Cbeanz my uterine scars are holding me back too I could drive to Vancouver and they would let me labour but no hospital close to home will, after two previous csections. So we are having a scheduled Csection, which will have its own benefits too.

browneyes88-2

I am planning a home birth if the stars align.  This will be my first baby.  I'm still researching the ins and outs.  My insurance will not cover any of it, which totally sucks, but I don't care.  If complications occur, I'll head to the hospital which is 15 minutes from my house.  Any advice would be much appreciated.  

ihateusernames*

BrownEyes88 said:

I am planning a home birth if the stars align.  This will be my first baby.  I'm still researching the ins and outs.  My insurance will not cover any of it, which totally sucks, but I don't care.  If complications occur, I'll head to the hospital which is 15 minutes from my house.  Any advice would be much appreciated.  

No personal experience here but I know that mama natural has some good advice as well as Ina may gaskin. Super jealous and please share your plans!

vino831

Man I'm still think about it constantly. While I had an awesome hospital birth considering the circumstances (I started in a birth center and had to move to a hospital due to meconium in the fluid) I currently am on track to deliver at the second birthing center in our area. The benefit of this center is if an issue arises its actually attached to the hospital (So no ambulance ride which was NOT fun while in super active labor)

Now at the same time I love the idea of not having to drive anywhere while in labor – no birthing center, no hospital. Also childcare would be a whole heck of a lot easier (we have zero family in the area with the exception of my brother who lives with us for now but idk if he will be here in March  - and tbh I’ve NEVER left my son with him bc he has zero patience and thinks the best way to deal with a screaming child is to scream back)

I literally have a spreadsheet that I’m constantly adding to which compares my pros and cons of hospital - birthing center – home.



BrownEyes88  I was just talking to a doula I've worked with about this last night (she owns the Doula company I used for my DS, did my placenta encapsulation and will do the same for this pregnancy as well) She has 4 children 1 at the hospital, 1 each at the two birthing centers in our area and the last at home (I think all are from 6 years - 9-ish months) 

NOTE: I'll give you the couple comments she said - not trying to sway or provide input but I find her to be a HIGE wealth of knowledge on top of her own birthing experiences shes been a doula for many years and teaches hypnobirthing (which the class she was teaching was where we were talking last night)

 - she went out of her way to say she would have not had a home birth for her first nor does she recommend home births for clients first. She talked about how it’s more difficult for ftms bc there really is no way to understand what to expect when it comes to labor/delivery (paraphrasing) She also noted there are not many midwives that will do a homebirth for a ftm (Im assume shes speaking on our area)

- there are two different types of midwives that you can hire to do a home delivery. She said if you decide that you want to do the homebirth to make sure that you hire the  Certified Nurse-Midwives  vs a Certified Professional Midwives. CPMs take a sort of fast track to get certified  - they  trained as midwives without having to become nurses first whereas the CNM's are licensed as nurses first, and then complete additional education in midwifery. 

That being said I still think its fantastic you're considering home birth! Are you looking to hire a doula? What about comfort measures or laboring strategies are you considering?

potato3000

I'm so jealous of those of you who have The Farm as an option! I planned on allllll the drugs (a medically induced coma, if possible, wake me when the baby is out) when I got pregnant until a friend gave me Ina May Gaskins book and it totally changed my opinion of labour and delivery.

I ended up having a homebirth with my first and it didn't go quite as planned but I loved it and plan to do the same this time (minus the part where my midwife left to attend another birth because I was only 3cm and she consequently missed my birth by about 20 min because DS was in such a hurry to arrive once he was ready!)

DH wasn't super supportive of the idea at first so I made him watch 'The Business of Being Born' which I know is biased but I also knew it would sway my husband who doesn't put much critical thought into the stuff he sees on tv (I was right). A couple weeks ago he asked 'You'll just have this baby at home too, right? No point going to the hospital' haha, he's fully on-board this time! 

We had a birthing pool set-up last time but I never got to use it (DH was actually filling it downstairs while DS was born upstairs) so I'm hoping I get to this time but I would be okay not using it if this delivery goes just as fast and smooth without it.

vino831

@skj that's aweosme that you had a home birth first go round but HOLY CRAP SHE LEFT?!!? I tell you what those old hat midwives sometimes....when I got to the birthing center with DS within an hour of being there the midwife was talking about how the hospital might be the best place for me. WTH?!?!?!  I later found out she's got this attitude/rep about her... she's know to have little patience for FTMs.

Which kind of midwife was she? Did you have a doula or any other support other than your hubs? What about comfort measures?

My husband is on the fence and I feel like could be okay with a home birth (again I have my spreadsheet I've been reviewing with him lol) 

kiyamurph

@vino831 Thank you for the info you posted. Your doula gave great insight that I didn't/wouldn't have thought about. Personally I'm giving birth at a hospital since my son had to go the NICU after unexpectedly aspirating on vernix. Had I had him at home I'm not sure if he would've made it to the hospital. But for others that aren't sure if they'd do a home vs hospital birth, I think what that doula said was good advice and can help better weigh the options.

potato3000

@vino831 She did! Haha, in her defense I was only 3cm, I was hiding the intensity of my contractions very well (I didn't want her to doubt my ability to go med-free) and I did progress extremely fast for a FTM. I don't hold it against her at all, she's my midwife again this time and jokes that she's moving in when I hit full-term this time and not leaving until baby is here.

Sorry your midwife was so unsupportive. How did the birth end up going? (If you want to share, if not that's cool)

I didn't realize there was different kind of midwives, to be honest, but she's one of four available in our entire province (I'm Canadian) so I was lucky to be assigned one at all.

Midwives are covered under healthcare here, doulas aren't -- so I made a deal with my DH that if I didn't get in with a midwife, I would hire a doula but we'd save the money if I did. I figured he'd be enough support along with the midwife especially if I was at-home as planned.

Turns out, I didn't really need him or a midwife and I'm actually really glad we didn't hire a doula now because I don't think I could handle anyone touching me or talking to me or really being 'in my bubble' at all when things got intense so it probably would have been a bit of a waste (just for me -- I still have a very positive opinion of doulas in general).

...has your DH watched 'The Business of Being Born'?

ihateusernames*

My doula experience wasn't what I hoped for last delivery I mean, she was awesome, I just didn't love having anyone extra there. We won't be hiring one for delivery (Csection) this time but probably will be hiring a post partum doula! They are awesome!!!

Unknown

This content has been removed.

browneyes88-2

@vino831 I am looking into a few doula's, but I'm not sure if I want one yet.  My friend just had a baby in the hospital after she tried at home for 1 day and loved her doula.  I might be looking into her.  My husband is super supportive, but I'm wondering if he is going to get a little over whelmed when the time comes and a doula might be just what we need.

I'll be getting a birthing pool for laboring comfort.  The only labor strategies I have started to look into is the hypnobirthing. It sounds interesting and right up my alley. 

wintersong

Gators&BoSox said:

Every time I read about birthing experiences in other first world countries I realize how far behind America is! How nice to have someone there helping you the first couple of days, what a nice tradition. As for me we will be in a hospital (that I love and with an amazing staff) but I'm hoping to labor at home for as long as possible as last time my water breaking and lack of contractions complicated that matter. I feel like laboring at home would be much less pressure but we shall see.

Sometimes people hire doulas for this kind of support.  

wintersong

BrownEyes88 said:

I am planning a home birth if the stars align.  This will be my first baby.  I'm still researching the ins and outs.  My insurance will not cover any of it, which totally sucks, but I don't care.  If complications occur, I'll head to the hospital which is 15 minutes from my house.  Any advice would be much appreciated.  

I was still liable for 3000 bucks after my hospital birth....so who knows, your home birth could end up being cheaper without coverage. 

wintersong

vino831 said:

- there are two different types of midwives that you can hire to do a home delivery. She said if you decide that you want to do the homebirth to make sure that you hire the  Certified Nurse-Midwives  vs a Certified Professional Midwives. CPMs take a sort of fast track to get certified  - they  trained as midwives without having to become nurses first whereas the CNM's are licensed as nurses first, and then complete additional education in midwifery. 

Sometimes state licensing plays a part. I think in VA CPMs can be licensed for home birth but CNMs are licensed for hospitals or birthing centers. (I may be wrong, this is what I've learned from a different mom who did a homebirth.) So here if you want a homebirth only CPMs would be an option. 

vino831

longliveregina  yeah its definitely looking like its a location/availability thing. I have an appointment scheduled with a midwife group that does homebirths and each of their midwives are CNMs. 

kjd291

longliveregina said:

BrownEyes88 said:

I am planning a home birth if the stars align.  This will be my first baby.  I'm still researching the ins and outs.  My insurance will not cover any of it, which totally sucks, but I don't care.  If complications occur, I'll head to the hospital which is 15 minutes from my house.  Any advice would be much appreciated.  

I was still liable for 3000 bucks after my hospital birth....so who knows, your home birth could end up being cheaper without coverage. 

Yep.  After all was said and done we were in above $ 4,000 for our hospital birth. Ugh. I'm so not looking forward to round two of bills. 

browneyes88-2

@longliveregina my midwife global maternity feel was $3,800 which is not covered by insurance.  Anything lab related is covered but I have a $3,500 deductible first.  And the icing on the cake, my insurance resets April 1st and my due date is March 28th.    All I want is a health, happy, safe delivery! 

The medical industry in the US is completely screwed up.  

R&DsMum

I had a hospital birth with my first and it was a terrible experience for me. So with my second I had a home birth in a birthing tub and I'm planning on doing the same this time around. It was so nice to be able to shower in my shower and lay down in my bed afterwards. Super relaxing. :-)

vino831

@BrownEyes88  & jem89  are you both still planning on homebirths this go round?

browneyes88-2

@vino831 Yep, I'm still planning on a homebirth.  Everything is looking good so far.  I'm leaning towards delivering in a tub.  I met with one doula, and she was wonderful.  I still want to meet with another one just to make sure she's a good fit.  I have been reading about hypnobirthing and I hope to use it as a coping method. Any other advise would be appreciated.     

vino831

Yeah! We are in a pretty similar boat. :-) This is your first though right?  I'm using the same doula that we used for DS. But I did the same thing. When I was preg with DS I met with the one I would end up hiring first and loved her but still wanted to talk to others - none compared!  

We just solidified our midwife last night! I'm SUPER excited!

Where do you live? (I know working with midwives/homebirths are different everywhere) 

I attended a hypnobirthing class for this one (I did hypnobabies with #1) Have you been listening to the tracks too?

browneyes88-2

@vino831 This is my first!  Exciting.  I live in Washington State.  I haven't been listening to the hypnobabies tracks that much yet, but I should start.  Good reminder!  When are you due?  I'm due March 28.  Anything else you can recommend?     

vino831

Listen to the tracks! As much as possible! EVERY DAY! The more you listen to the better. I listen before bed every night - any time I wake up due to insomnia or the toddler and cant go back to sleep, when I get a massage and when I take baths etc. Get comfortable with them at bed time then add in new places (like the bath and the massage)  <-- That is from my class instructor/doula

Our EDD is the 4th. Do you have a midwife already? If not I can send you all of the tips/tricks/comfort measures lists I have for prepping for a home birth (and just birth in general). 

You're a rockstar for doing home birth for your first! It never even crossed my mind. I felt like I was thinking outside of the box when we went to a birthing center for our first. But at that time I only knew people that did epi hospital births. What made you decide to do home birth? 

I'm so stinking excited!!!! Its going to be an estrogen fest at my house (in my doula's words) We will have the midwife - she brings an assistant and a student. We have our doula and a sibling doula then the photographer.  WHEW! Its gonna be an amazing experience!

browneyes88-2

@vino831 I'm going to start listening!    I do have a midwife already.  She's great.  I'm planning on it being my midwife, her assistant, my doula and my husband. 

I don't know exactly what inspired me to have a home birth.  My sister in-law had one 2 years ago and my best friend just tried to have one with the same midwife.  She didn't progress, so she went to the hospital.  I feel like trying to have the baby at home will most likely lead to the least amount of interventions.  Fingers crossed.  Only time will tell!