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February 2016 Moms
aleksa00
member
Home birth?
aleksa00
member
I'm curious to know how many other women have had, or are thinking about having, a home birth? If you've had a home birth, could you please share your experience? If you're thinking about having one, what are your thoughts at this time? I'm currently a critical care nurse, I used to work in obstetrics, and I have several friends who are OB/GYNs and I am not at all interested in having this baby in a hospital if I can avoid it.
Re: Home birth?
This is all in theory, of course. I had an out of hospital (CNM birth center) birth planned last time and it went by the wayside when I had to have a c/s at 37w for oligo/IUGR/frank breech with no option of external version because my amniotic fluid was too low.
Husband is completely and utterly panicked and appalled any time I mention this to him.
I am familiar with the thriving subspecialty of medical malpractice claims in the area of "wrongful birth". A startling number of the claims are based in the medical team's failure to check or properly interpret the fetal heart monitor. I know that these machines are finicky and difficult to work with and also may cause discomfort for thr baby. But these serve an incredibly imprtant role. Not sure if I could do a home birth with just a midwife level doppler. But I am only just now looking into how home birth actually works.
I was hoping for trying a home birth this time around but it's already looking as though I will be high risk again due to some already high blood pressure readings during my first two prenatal appointments.
I come from the North West were home births are kind of seen as a badge of honor. I know a lot of people who swear by them. At the end of the day, it just wasn't for me and I had my son in hospital.
We recently moved to a country where I believe it is practically illegal to have a home birth (or at least very frowned upon and not incentivized). That said, I plan on having this one in hospital as well.
This time we are doing a home birth. I want nothing to do with the hospital and their lack of knowledge about normal, natural births. I want to be able to mentally relax and get my oxytocin high afterward
I would suggest researching the types of midwives in your area and meeting with some of them so you can talk with them about your questions/concerns. Every midwifery practice does things differently (and some are more clinical than others) so I hesitate to suggest what you can expect. If you have any specific questions, feel free to message me.
Isabella {09-02-05} & Savannah {03-02-07} & Bradley {02-06-10}
I want to clarify that I am not against hospitals - in fact, in a strange way I rather love them - but I firmly believe that it is a place where you go when you need an intervention. When there is an emergency, when you are in critical condition, when you need surgery, when you are ill...hospitals are fantastic, and the medical professionals are trained to think, and prepare for worst case scenario and often perform interventions as safety measures "just in case". However, normal, healthy, low risk birth does not fall into this category! By all means, for some women the hospital is absolutely necessary for the safe delivery of their babe. But normal pregnancy is not a disease, and in a low-risk, healthy woman, the labor is not an emergency and doesn't need to be managed with the mind set of "let's do all possible intervention to prepare for worst case scenario". I have worked in labor and delivery in both Canada and the USA and I believe that the way labor is managed in hospitals goes against the very physiology that happens when you go into labor, and doesn't allow for the natural process. Having an IV put in, being strapped down to a fetal monitor (which someone commented is necessary and "better" than what midwives use - absolutely not true in my opinion, and I'll tell you why I think so in a minute), not being able to walk around and labor whichever way you'd like, bright lights, constant interruptions, beeping machines, talks about epidurals and C-sections and pitocin, perhaps even a tired or less than cheerful nurse (we're human, and we have bad days too)....not one of those is conducive to a wonderful experience, in my humble opinion. I believe that birth should be free of fear and interruptions, the woman should feel safe and secure and comfortable. She should be able to have control of her environment, and move around in it as she pleases, and be surrounded by all the people she loves, trusts and feels secure around. The surroundings matter! The temperature of the room, the lighting, the smells, the sounds, the sights....it all matters in relaxation and in allowing the body to naturally produce a high level of oxytocin and progress labor naturally, at the pace your wonderfully designed body needs. Far too often women's labor is put on a schedule in hospitals and their choices are taken away or not respected. Pitocin is many times used inappropriately to speed things along, which causes bigger and stronger contractions, fear and ultimately the need for an epidural. Epidurals are not risk free as much as people would like to believe they are. More importantly than that though, because pitocin causes stronger contractions, many times this puts baby in distress and then we rush you off to a C-section. You've now had a likely preventable, major abdominal surgery (which too many people neglect to understand the seriousness and severity of)....all because you weren't progressing fast enough by someone's rather arbitrary timeline (I kid you not, sometimes this timeline is based purely on the convenience of the medical team). But how could you progress normally when you're not allowed to labor normally? As far as fetal monitors are concerned: I do not believe they are necessary in normal, healthy, low-risk pregnancies, and here's why: they check for beat-to-beat variability to see how baby is doing and decelerations in baby's heart rate which would indicate if the baby is in distress. Firstly, you don't need to be strapped down. Hospitals do it because a) they're not with you at all times and b) they need something to hold in their hands and glue to their charts to prove that you were being "closely" monitored (rates of litigation are high for hospital labor and delivery deparments - shocker). Contrarily, at a home birth, a midwife is constantly with you, her full attention is on you and your well being and that of your baby's. They can check for beat-to-beat variability and decelerations just fine with their equipment, they can take their small portable Doppler anywhere and use it while you're in any position - they just don't get a fancy printout. Secondly, from the time the hospital fetal monitor was introduced, to just a decade later, the percentage of C-sections went from approximately 6% to 30%...and not necessarily because that many more were actually needed! In fact, the WHO put out a recommendation based on an international study that for safety and necessity the percentage of all births that should be C-sections is around 10-15%. There are also a number of studies that show planned home births to be at least just as safe as hospital births, and with far less interventions. I'll stop my rant now - I'm not trying to convince anyone one way or another but I was asked by one of you why I preferred home births given my medical background. This is where my thoughts are, and I appreciate each and every one of you sharing yours with me! I strongly believe that every woman needs to make an INFORMED choice and go with what is best for her, and in an environment where she feels safe!! Good luck to every one of you!!
I did not know anything about the midwife equipment though. Thank you for explaining that.
Your overall message - that birth is a natural process and we should construct an environment that encourages that rather than one that suppresses it, is exactly why I am exploring home birth now. Whether I do a hospital/home birth though, I am certainly going to do as much as my labour at home as is possible.
thanks for taking the time to write down all of that. I have to go read it again now!
I could not have said it better myself. I will be having a home birth as long as I remain low risk. The only thing I would add is that not all midwives have the same training so do your research just as you would with an OB or a surgeon or a caterer for that matter ha ha (I just planned a wedding so it's fresh on my mind lol). I highly recommend all of Ina Mays books and the Business of Being Born documentaries (there are 5 now, all on Netflix last I saw). Ultimately everyone needs to make their decision based on what they feel is best are right for them and their baby.
I will check with my OB / midwife, of course, but would anyone care to weigh in on whether my gut feeling on advanced maternal age not being a big deal sounds accurate?
Now that you bring it up, I have no idea if a *hospital* would categorize me as high risk. My GP has done so , but just for her own protocol -- at least as far as I know. Starting the administrative process of referral to OBGYN earlier than normal, sending me for a scan earlier than normal and to ensure we don't miss the NT scan window, and also recommending I decline a specific non-pregnancy related course of treatment.
Edit: because words
@DizzyMom1 I absolutely understand what you are saying and where you are coming from. I can appreciate how terrifying it must have been. You have about 5-6% chance of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), especially if you have higher blood pressure, are obese, have a prolonged labor, were put on pitocin, are carrying multiples, or if your care provider decides to give the cord "a little tug" (it happens!). There are also ways to manage the third stage of labor to prevent PPH (with guidelines outlined by WHO), as well as many levels of treatment options that aim to stop or control the bleeding until further management is available. Midwives are trained in early detection and management of PPH and carry all the same drugs and emergency equipment that is available in hospitals for PPH, excluding packed red blood cells for a transfusion obviously. Of course it would necessitate a transfer to a hospital for possible further management (I.e. Surgical) but RARELY is this done in a timeframe that's unacceptable or catastrophic. Things done happen in hospitals instantly either. First you're stabilized (the same way you would be at home) and then a team and an OR are prepped if needed. So, personally - that fear doesn't deter me from a home birth.
Edit: typo
I will PM you
While I haven't made a decision about home birth, I feel so much more knowledgeable.
I noticed the deliberate and explicit men vs women rhetoric as well as in the structure of the film. I learned a lot of stuff I would like to look into further.
It was very watchable. Funny and interesting and compelling. So glad we took the time to check it out.
I am that perfect example of having a perfect pregnancy, was low-risk, no complications, etc...THANK goodness I gave birth in a hospital as my son was born extremely ill - Transposition of the Great Arteries (TGA) and Severe Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn. The combination is extremely rare and comes with a high mortality rate. Had he been born anywhere else (even the neighboring hospital) he would have died. TGA is extremely difficult to diagnose via standard ultrasound so we were not aware of his heart condition until he was born. Luckily, we were at a major heart center so he was right where he needed to be. They seriously saved his life and had he been born anywhere else we would not have my wonderfully and perfectly healthy son today. While I realize my situation is extreme, just please do your research.
I believe home births are truly beautiful and amazing but you just never know when something could go wrong. If you want to go the more natural route, just make sure it is within walking distance of the nearest hospital. I'm not sharing my story to scare anyone, I just want people to look at all aspects before making a choice. Again, I had the most perfect pregnancy and it just goes to show no matter how perfect it could be, things can happen.