hospital vs homebirth

JJJenks · November 2014

This is my 3rd, considering a home birth. I live 1 mile from a hospital. I have had 2 totally natural births before and feel I am a good candidate for a home birth... Thoughts?

Emeraldeyed315 · November 2014

Go for it!

foodie12rn · November 2014

Would you have a midwife in attendance? That would totally affect my opinion one way or the other.

WafflesFriendsWork · November 2014

I think this is a situation where you have to do what is right for you. Maybe find a birthing center that would be a happy medium? Why would you like to give birth at home?

That being said, there is no way in hell I'd ever give birth anywhere but a hospital. IMHO it's not worth the risk of the million "what ifs" - a healthy baby is my top priority and I will give birth at the safest, most prepared place I can find.

ChristyM87 · November 2014

If your first two pregnancies were low risk I would be inclined to go for it. If for some reason you are not a candidate is there a birth center near you that might be a compromise?

Something else to think about is will your insurance cover a home birth? Something to look into

kyrenora · November 2014

Here are some of the things that I considered when making my decision

1. Is there a large enough sanitary space in your home where the labor can be performed uninterrupted?

2. Do you have someone qualified to perform the delivery willing to do a homebirth with you? Do they agree that it's safe?

3. Is there a higher risk of something going wrong? From what you know already, the answer is no. If you find out later that there is a risk factor, you may want to revisit your decision then.

4. Is the hospital close if something were to go wrong? You've already covered that one, and it is.

5. As pp mentioned, you'll also want to check with your insurance to make sure you are covered.

I decided I did not meet these criteria, so I will not be going with a homebirth, but it sounds like you are in a very different position.

hollowway · November 2014

That is a decision only you can make. But make sure you consider all the possibilities. There are serious birth defects that can't be detected in-utero, and can be deadly if not in a hospital. We experienced this first hand and if we hadn't been in the hospital, we would have lost our DD. None of the prenatal tests or ultrasounds detected anything abnormal and she had to have emergency surgery after birth. I will always be in a hospital when giving birth.

sschwege · November 2014

WafflesFriendsWork said:

I think this is a situation where you have to do what is right for you. Maybe find a birthing center that would be a happy medium? Why would you like to give birth at home? That being said, there is no way in hell I'd ever give birth anywhere but a hospital. IMHO it's not worth the risk of the million "what ifs" - a healthy baby is my top priority and I will give birth at the safest, most prepared place I can find.

What do you think a birth center has that a qualified MW would not be able to bring?

Beachy730 · November 2014

Personally I never had any interest in it, but after my first delivery I absolutely never would. I had a textbook pregnancy and both I and the baby were perfectly healthy all along. While in labor he had really bad heart rate decelerations that caused an emergency c/s. They got me in so quick that I couldn't even take a couple minutes to pee first. There was no warning during my pregnancy at all, and I can't even stomach the thought of what would have happened had I not been in a hospital setting ready to do the c/s immediately.

petrichor14 · November 2014

I'd never do it, personally, but that wasn't your question.

Based on what you've said, and assuming you have a low risk pregnancy with no complications, it does sound like you're a good candidate. Having the hospital nearby is really important, I think. I know every second counts if something goes wrong and a lot of us (me!) wouldn't be comfortable with ANY distance between us and emergency care- but with the hospital so close I don't think you'd be taking excessive risk (just more than some of us would be ok with.)

And I think it's important to be open to other options if things don't turn out the way you'd planned. My mom tried to have me at home, but it didn't work out- turns out there were two of us in there. (She never had any ultrasounds- I don't know if that's even an option these days, but I wouldn't recommend skipping them! The more info you have to weigh your risks, the better.) My sister was stuck with her arm around her head and wouldn't budge, so after many hours my mom ended up in the hospital, epidural and all (and surprise twins!) Years later she had my little sis at home, no complications, no issues, and it was a wonderful experience.

WafflesFriendsWork · November 2014

sschwege said:

WafflesFriendsWork said:

I think this is a situation where you have to do what is right for you. Maybe find a birthing center that would be a happy medium? Why would you like to give birth at home?

That being said, there is no way in hell I'd ever give birth anywhere but a hospital. IMHO it's not worth the risk of the million "what ifs" - a healthy baby is my top priority and I will give birth at the safest, most prepared place I can find.

What do you think a birth center has that a qualified MW would not be able to bring?

_____________________

In my experience, most birth centers are on the campus of a hospital or are very close, have more medical equipment than a MW can bring to your home, and have far more support staff than a single MW.

My personal preference would be to give birth at a hospital with a midwife. Not an option here unfortunately.

My SIL had a textbook, beautiful pregnancy with her son and normal healthy births with her two older daughters. My nephew was born with Down Syndrome and also aspirated meconium. They hd no idea about any of the complications. He needed to be life-flighted and put on an ECMO. This was scary enough that I would never give birth at home.

imavera · November 2014

My first was a hospital birth, and I had my second at home. Meet with a midwife to get all your questions answered; they're happy to do that! They'll determine if you're a good candidate and can tell you their statistics and plans for when things go a little off course. Midwives are highly trained and can handle a lot. They're not just hippie birthers.

ashiscute · November 2014

First, I don't care for the term natural birth. I think mine were natural as well. I assume you mean without medication?

Second, if you find a MW that you really love then go for it. I personally would never do it but I like being in a hospital with an epidural and having people take care of me and my LO. I feel infinitely more comfortable that way. But I can (sort of) see the advantages to being at home assuming you have a great MW and good support.

JJJenks · November 2014

ThInk you ladies, obviously everyone is pretty opinionated on the subject. As a Doula, I believe that every woman is entitled to the type of birth she feels is best for her. For me a "natural" or rather "unmedicated birth" is what I wanted and fortunately was able to achieve my past two labors . The hospital I went to was great however I prefer the intimacy of a home birth as I have witnessed them but never had one myself. The closest BabyCenter to me is over an hour away. I would have a midwife, baby nurse, a doula and my family. The hospital is literally 1 mile away if a transfer was necessary for myself or the baby. I believe it's best to educate yourself on whatever type of birth you prefer, I just thought I would pose the question to see if any mothers had types of deliveries and if they had a preference. Thank you.

MsOCT · November 2014

You sound like an excellent candidate. I had a homebirth for my first, and am planning to do the same this time. A well trained midwife is invaluable and will likely prevent many of the "emergency" situations that occur in a hospital setting.
Everyone likes to think that things happen immediately in a hospital, but in reality, in most smaller hospitals, anesthesia is on call and up to 30 minutes away.

LadyAnnibal · November 2014

I plan to give birth in a birthing center. I agree with PP though. If it's safe for you than by all means go for it!

yelah250 · November 2014

You sound like a great candidate!

SoonToBeGenao · November 2014

We had a birth center birth with number 1. It was a free standing center not affiliated with any hospital and run by certified midwives. This time around we are doing a home birth with one of the midwives that was a student during my time at the birth center. She's since graduated and opened her own practice. We will have a doula, birth assistant and midwife present. I can't wait to rock a home birth. Go for it mama!!

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