Deciding between home birth and birthing center.

Sandy8168

Just wondering how those of you that chose to birth at home made your decision. I am currently planning on birthing at a birthing center that is 45 mintues away from our home. The hospital in case of transfer is another 15-20 minutes. We toured the hospital last week and I HATED it. The building was old, everything was outdated, there were two moms to a room and it just overall didn't feel right to me. I'm not familiar with the hospital at all because I'd never been before.

If we birth at home, obviously we would have no commute, the hospital would still be 20 mintues away but it is a hospital I am familiar with in the town I grew up in. Although my husband would like to stick to our "plan" I'm really not seeing the difference in being at home or the birthing center, except for the positives of no commute and a better hospital if needed. Obviously the hospital would be more convenient for our family to visit as well.

So, am I missing something? Are there any cons to choosing to birth at home? Our midwife would have all of the same medical equipment on hand right? Obviously I'll be talking to her about it but I just wanted to get some other feedback. Thanks ladies!

vintagejjane

What sealed the deal for us on a home birth was my last meeting with my OB. I told her I wanted to do things naturally and she said, "uh ok...." then wrote down in my file that me wanting a natural birth was a problem for her and her practice. Needless to say, we started researching birthing centers and midwives. We read articles, books, and watched documentaries. After meeting with our midwife we knew it was the right decision. Our hospital is also only 20 minutes away in case of emergency.. but a midwife does bring oxygen, pitocin and other medical supplies as well. Good luck with your decision!! 

Mamasaurus

The birthing center nearest to me had a ton of rules (about things like how long you could labor in the tub and what kind of fetal monitoring you could have) and a pretty high transfer rate to the attached hospital, which I didn't like. By that I mean, I don't like that the hospital had one of the higher rates of c/s in my area, which was a huge change from how it used to be years ago, when it was one of the only places around here where a woman could get a VBAC. I was on the fence about calling them, and the homebirth midwife I contacted was amazing, so I just went with her right off the bat.

I am glad there is a birth center as an option, but since it is attached to a hospital that is #6 on my list of 8 local hospitals where I could birth, it's not really that appealing to me. I think I'd have a better chance of getting a med-free, low intervention birth at my #1 pick hospital than the birth center because their transfer rate is so high.

pixieprincss

We chose freestanding natural birth center over home--our CPM offers both options For us, they are the same distance from the hospital and they offer the exact same equipment (MW and her bag of tricks).What we liked about the BC is that the bedrooms are much bigger and nicer than ours at home. Our house very is small and frequently cluttered and I knew I would feel the need for everything to look perfect for the delivery if we did it there, which would be a big stressor. The bedrooms at the BC have been decorated to be homey yet relaxing. Also, the BC has huge, amazing tubs. At home, we'd have to get a rental tub, set that up, find space for it, etc. While I adore the idea of a HB we felt that the BC would be more less work and more relaxing (save for the drive there and back).

Sandy8168

pixieprincss:

We chose freestanding natural birth center over home--our CPM offers both options For us, they are the same distance from the hospital and they offer the exact same equipment (MW and her bag of tricks).What we liked about the BC is that the bedrooms are much bigger and nicer than ours at home. Our house very is small and frequently cluttered and I knew I would feel the need for everything to look perfect for the delivery if we did it there, which would be a big stressor. The bedrooms at the BC have been decorated to be homey yet relaxing. Also, the BC has huge, amazing tubs. At home, we'd have to get a rental tub, set that up, find space for it, etc. While I adore the idea of a HB we felt that the BC would be more less work and more relaxing (save for the drive there and back).

Although I am a total perfectionist when it comes to my house I don't THINK I would be concerned about this because most likely I would leave tidying up for when I'm in early labor to give me something to focus on. Our house is clean for the most part and I typically just have to pick up things. I'm also not worried about the space we have available. We have a large garden tub in our master bathroom. Is it typical that you can labor/deliver in your own tub?

Our birthing center is beautiful as well so your reasons for choosing the birth center over home makes perfect sense to me!

Tash13

Our closest hospitals were not appealing to me in the least.  The one most commonly used doesn't allow rooming-in at night because you share a room and your baby might disturb the person next to you.  Visiting hours were extremely strict and even more strict for my son to come and visit us.  The c-section rate was also almost 50% at any hospital nearby.  So scary.

Our closest birthing center is an hour drive with no traffic (I live in the tristate area. There's always traffic).  I didn't like the idea of being stuck in traffic while in active labor or having to drive back home in traffic with a 4 hour old infant. 

After interviewing our MW, researching the risk factors, and discussing it at length, we decided at a home birth was the right decision for us.  The only downside that makes me nervous is that if I were to have an emergency transfer my CNM does not have benefits at the hospital closest to us.  Therefor I'd be thrown in with whatever OB was on-call and may be treated unwell since a lot of medical professionals don't like home birthing mothers.  I am willing to take that chance.  If I decide to do a non-emergency transfer, I can go the half hour to the hospital where she does have privelages and a very open-minded backup OB who she works with often. 

Another thing to take into consideration is it's $700 more for a homebirth, which is not covered by insurance.  This is for her to pay for a birthing assistant since she'd have nurses in the hospital and needs similar back-up at home.  She was also not covered as an in-network provider without getting prior approval from my insurance.

Sandy8168

Tash13:

Our closest hospitals were not appealing to me in the least.  The one most commonly used doesn't allow rooming-in at night because you share a room and your baby might disturb the person next to you.  Visiting hours were extremely strict and even more strict for my son to come and visit us.  The c-section rate was also almost 50% at any hospital nearby.  So scary.

Our closest birthing center is an hour drive with no traffic (I live in the tristate area. There's always traffic).  I didn't like the idea of being stuck in traffic while in active labor or having to drive back home in traffic with a 4 hour old infant. 

After interviewing our MW, researching the risk factors, and discussing it at length, we decided at a home birth was the right decision for us.  The only downside that makes me nervous is that if I were to have an emergency transfer my CNM does not have benefits at the hospital closest to us.  Therefor I'd be thrown in with whatever OB was on-call and may be treated unwell since a lot of medical professionals don't like home birthing mothers.  I am willing to take that chance.  If I decide to do a non-emergency transfer, I can go the half hour to the hospital where she does have privelages and a very open-minded backup OB who she works with often. 

Another thing to take into consideration is it's $700 more for a homebirth, which is not covered by insurance.  This is for her to pay for a birthing assistant since she'd have nurses in the hospital and needs similar back-up at home.  She was also not covered as an in-network provider without getting prior approval from my insurance.

Any extra expenses are already covered through my insurance. Thank you for your feedback!

amainah

I was making the same choice between birth center and home birth.  The birth center I could go to actually does home births as well, but I live too far away for that to be an option for me.  I asked at the birth center if there were any conditions where someone couldn't do a home birth but could have a birth center birth, and midwife said no, they considered both situations as out of hospital and they both had the same guidelines/conditions.   

pinksweetpea2

There is only one birth center near me and it is associated with a hospital...and is required to follow the same policies and procedures as the hospital.  IMO those type of birth centers are just glorified hospitals and are not what I was looking for.  ::shrugs::

That said- even if there was an independent center, I would still choose to give birth at home.  I know that lots of people think that a birth center is the "best of both worlds," but I just don't see that.  Homebirths are just as safe, birth centers don't have any special equipment that you couldn't have at your homebirth and you have to drive to get to one...AND then have to get in a car right after giving birth to go home.   I can't imagine doing that after either of my births.  I was tucked safely in my bed after birth and the only traveling I did was to go to the bathroom.  ::shrugs::

Also, I just feel like there is something to giving birth in your own environment  surrounded by your own germs. 

Honestly, it just comes down to what you are most comfortable with...for me it was my home.  

GL  

Edit- I realize some people choose the birth center route to get their birth covered by insurance or because they live too far from a hospital, etc., but those factors were not issues for me.      

Sawyerplus1

pixieprincss:

We chose freestanding natural birth center over home--our CPM offers both options For us, they are the same distance from the hospital and they offer the exact same equipment (MW and her bag of tricks).What we liked about the BC is that the bedrooms are much bigger and nicer than ours at home. Our house very is small and frequently cluttered and I knew I would feel the need for everything to look perfect for the delivery if we did it there, which would be a big stressor. The bedrooms at the BC have been decorated to be homey yet relaxing. Also, the BC has huge, amazing tubs. At home, we'd have to get a rental tub, set that up, find space for it, etc. While I adore the idea of a HB we felt that the BC would be more less work and more relaxing (save for the drive there and back).

This is very much like why we chose the birth center as well. DH isn't a huge fan of having a homebirth ( despite being very in favor of natural birth. I think he's grossed out at the thought of being left with a big after-birthy mess, to be honest). I would love a home birth this time, but the free-standing BC we're using is a gorgeous, brand new facility that feels very homey (but nicer than my actual home). Plus the huge birth tubs with unending supply of hot water is what sealed the deal for me. I'd rather not have to worry about arranging all that in my own home when the BC is so close, convenient, and beautiful.  As above poster said, it seems more relaxing and less work in the long run, save for the short drive. Maybe for LO #4 I'll look more seriously into homebirth.

pixieprincss

Our MW feels that a tub needs to be a certain depth for optimal benefit in labor. I would see what your provider thinks about the dimensions of your tub as well as any cleaning requirements for it that they may have. Also, factor in how big yoru water heater is or if you will need a portable heater. Our tub is just a normal one and couldn't even cover my belly when PG with DS, so for us I knew that was out.

flyer23

We had a huge Jacuzzi tub in our old house. And two hot water heaters, which meant essentially a neverending supply of hot water My midwife said our tub was identical to the ones in many local birth centers. DS was born in there, and it was totally fine.

Our new house has a tub that is smaller, but deeper. Our doula has seen it and says it should be fine for birthing. I'll double check with our midwife when she does her home visit, but I think it'll be OK.

I've posted this link to my birth pictures on FB a few times, but here they are again

https://earthmamaphotography.blogspot.com/2010/01/perfect-sunday-afternoon-irving-dallas.html

There are quite a few of me in the tub, so you can see how far up the water came. Almost to my shoulders when I was semi-reclined.

julyjennifer

The big advantage to me of birthing at home compared to a birth center is that you don't have to go anywhere.  Your team comes to you.  I can see other people's points too, but for me I would rather not travel while in labor if I didn't need to. 

You are right that the level of care you'll get and the access to "stuff" is likely the same because the midwife will bring equipment to you.  Not counting tubs, but that sounds like you've got a good setup at home already.  I could see having to set up and drain a birth tub at home might seem like a hassle, but for us it wasn't really.  We rented an Aquadoula tub and the gal we rented it from did the setup and takedown.  DH drained it himself using the pump she provided, but I don't think that was a big deal.