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jenniejay
member
Home Birth?
jenniejay
member
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Home Birth?
Are there any particular questions you have?
I had a great experience with my Midwives during my homebirth. I will definitely be doing it again when/if we have another baby.
SAHM to two sweet girls, both born at home; Baby #3 in 2013!
I guess I am just looking for any tips that may make it easier, things I can do to prepare ahead of time. Did you use a birthing tub? Did you spend much time in it? Did you find it difficult to keep the water at the right temperature. What about clean up? Do the midwives take most of the bio- materials with them? Who did you have present? Was there any point you considered going to the hospital?
I guess I am just looking for any tips that may make it easier, things I can do to prepare ahead of time. I would recommend doing a lot of reading - Birth: The Bradley Way and Husband-Coached Childbirth were some of the most helpful. We also took a childbirth class from the Birth Center. Of course, the documentary "The Business of Being Born" has some interesting info too.
Did you use a birthing tub? Did you spend much time in it? I spent probably two hours in the bathtub. I don't remember ever having a problem with the temperature. I think they would simply run more hot water into the tub. This was by far the best place to labor. Although the pain was still intense, the warm water and the position I was in helped me go from 7cm to 10cm relatively quick.
Did you find it difficult to keep the water at the right temperature? I believe if you use a free-standing birthing pool, the midwives will simply boil large pots of water to add in as needed.
What about clean up? Do the midwives take most of the bio- materials with them? The midwives do all the cleanup including running the laundry for you. You won't be doing a thing except being with your new baby and recovering. For me, everything was cleaned up, bagged up and taken out before I even noticed.
Who did you have present? Only my husband and the three midwives. My primary midwive was with me the whole time and the other two came in just at the end for the pushing stage. This is just a personal preference - I'm very private and didn't want an audience.
Was there any point you considered going to the hospital? No. Everything went pretty smoothly. There was a little issue at the end and I had to have an episiotomy (which is extremely rare for midwives to perform) BUT - everything was fine.
A couple of other things, I would never recommend someone do a homebirth without being under the care of a licensed, experienced Midwife that they trust 100%. You should be talking about all these things mentioned above with your midwife.
Secondly, there are very rare cases where a hospital transport may be necessary. If you live 45 minutes away from a hospital, this may not be the thing for you.
Fortunately, we lived right behind a hospital so should something have come up, we could've been in the ER within 2 minutes.
If you have anymore questions, please page me on either Babies 6-12 or BOTB. You can also PM if you would like.
SAHM to two sweet girls, both born at home; Baby #3 in 2013!
Ok, so my homebirth was unplanned so I can't help you with any of the specifics other than:
I delivered in a squatting position in the tub so baby was delivered underwater. I was in my regular bathtub so temperature regulation was not an issue- I started it out rather hot and left room to let the water run whenever I wanted it to. (My 2 older DD's were with me and wanted to play with the water since I wouldn't let them in the tub with me. I didn't want them playing in the gross water so I left the faucet on and they played in that water.) My labor lasted 2 hours and 15 minutes and I spent about half an hour in the shower, got myself all prettied up then realized I was in desparate need of pain relief so I filled the tub- spent about 45 minutes in there. As soon as I was in the water the pain was relieved- I could manage it so well at that point. That is also what relaxed me enough to allow my body to do what it was trying to do- I had two gentle pushes and delivered DD3 with no issue. Delivering at home in the tub was such a natural and wonderful experience for me. I just wish that DH could have been there to experience it with me! Well, and maybe for a midwife to have been with me- just in case...
I am having one in a few months.
From my first birth (hospital water birth) I would say to try to sleep during the early contractions. It will seem impossible, but make yourself.
I sat down in a really comfy chair, put my feet up, and just conciously relaxed my whole body. I drifted to sleep and then when a contraction came I would wake up for it and fall right back to sleep. If you have a long labor you will be so glad you slept when you could!
i did a home water birth and it was absolutely amazing! had a fabulous student midwife (cheaper that way, but a certified midwife is always there too, so it's like a 2 for 1 thing), plan on doing it this way with all our future kids.
when you think you're in labor, get in the warm tub b/c if it is really it the contractions will keep coming, if not they will slowly fade away. when it is the real thing it's best to wait til you're closer to pushing to get in, b/c getting in too early can slow things down a bit. but boy, if you can get in right when a contraction is coming it feels tons better. somehow the water just makes contractions slightly better.
as far as clean up goes... midwives take care of all of that. they throw everything away, they clean up all the mess, they are there for you 100%!
for me i just had my husband and mom with me and then there was my student midwife, the midwife that oversees her, and then another student was there to assist and observe. (they asked me first if i was okay with the 2nd student being there though.) for me those are the only people i wanted there. a benefit of having baby at home for me was just being able to control my environment more. whenever we were ready for visitors, we just called people. it was great. not to mention being able to crawl right into YOUR bed!
and not once did i think we should go to the hospital. the midwives monitored everything and all was well so no need for hospital. and there was never a point for me where i wanted to go to hospital for drugs either. i just had a great experience and felt like super woman after it all. something about going all natural just gives you this high feeling that you did it! your body did what it was supposed to successfully! and i'm telling you, as soon as that baby is out...you can't even remember the pain you just felt. it's quite amazing.
i know that was winded, but hope it helps!
you can do it!