Calling all home birthers!

barrelocarol · July 2017

Let's hear your experiences.

I desperately want a home birth after my long labor ending in a csection. Every single thing about a home birth sounds amazing, except for one: The sleep you get when someone is caring for your baby in those early hours. I know you can hire a doula, but that's an out of pocket expense.

Also, everyone who has done a home birth seems to have the best experiences. Ive only heard negative experiences from people who haven't done it.

Sorry for being rambly.

chasingroygbiv · July 2017

I wish. Unfortunately because I am considered "high risk" it's not ideal and I don't think any doula would sign on to be a part of that with me because of my risks.

That said, a couple acquaintances have done multiple home births and have RAVED about it. Makes me even more envious!

heatherdubrow · July 2017

@barrelocarol can you do a vbac homebirth safely?

stow2009 · July 2017

My friend just had one two weeks ago and loved it! It was a loooong labor and the only thing she was worried about was waking up her neighbors (since she lives on the second floor of a complex). No complaints, though! For me, I'm all about the hospital, but our hospital is amazing. Nurses are so supportive of natural birthing choices, and they really make you feel like royalty after you have a baby there. I'm already excited to go back!

Edit: Also, I think some hospitals don't do VBAC? I know that's the reason a lot of moms end up doing home birth if they want a VBAC.

runsoncoffee · July 2017

@stow2009 I feel the same way as you! I once loved the idea of a home birth but was so thankful for the hospital! I ended up with an epidural after a longgg induction but they were so supportive of natural birth and we tried lots of things before I went with the epidural. I'm also excited about returning. @barrelocarol maybe you could look into another hospital or even a birthing center. I'd be hesitant about a vbac home birth but you do what's best for you!

tosh24 · July 2017

Jealous of anyone who gets to have a home birth! I wanted one so badly with my second but I can't even get a midwife to take me on because I have an autoimmune disorder that affects blood clotting ability so I have to have a hospital birth with an OB.

As a compromise, I hired an AMAZING doula and I made sure to prep my body in every way I could over the 9 months so that I could have a nice, calm, med-free hospital birth (exercise, stretches, chiro, massage, eating healthy, etc.). It worked out great and I had a really good birth experience with my son (I did hypnobirthing with my doula). God willing I make it to labour and delivery with this one, I will 100% have my doula again. It really took the pressure off DH to advocate for me as well so he could just focus on being there in the moment. If you aren't able to have the home birth you want, I highly suggest hiring a doula (if expense is an issue, you can look into hiring a doula student who needs her hours) and doing what you can to make a hospital birth as comfortable for you as possible.

heatherdubrow · July 2017

I've ended up with 2 complicated and scary deliveries. Plus I'm a nurse and my H is a doc so I don't think I would ever feel comfortable doing a home birth. But I'm impressed with anyone who does it!

megpeg · July 2017

barrelocarol said:

Let's hear your experiences.

I desperately want a home birth after my long labor ending in a csection. Every single thing about a home birth sounds amazing, except for one: The sleep you get when someone is caring for your baby in those early hours. I know you can hire a doula, but that's an out of pocket expense.

Also, everyone who has done a home birth seems to have the best experiences. Ive only heard negative experiences from people who haven't done it.

Sorry for being rambly.

My hospital won't take the baby out of the room except for testing. You are with it the whole time. I think a lot of hospitals are like that now.

My DH would love if I would try an unassisted home birth, he is a chiropractor and thinks he would be fine to deliver. I am not sure since I have had GD with the other two pregnancies.

pghctwife · July 2017

Hospital sleep, baby or not, is the worrrrrst. In fact your one negative is the biggest reason I would want a home birth!!! Sleep in my own bed. I wish I could give birth, wait a couple hours and go home.

i am not comfortable with homemade birth for myself because we aren't close enough to a hospital in case of emergency for my own comfort. And my first was born with shoulder dystocia - 2 and 3 were uncomplicated so maybe I wouldn't risk out? Dunno.

And i have a fantastic hospital that is very natural birth friendly with tubs and pro nursing and all that. I can even use the nursery I feel I want which at the other hospitals that are pro intervention, isn't allowed. I use a midwife only group also. I feel I get the best of both worlds and if I didn't have this option I would definitely consider home birth. I totally support women who want on, attended by someone certified and safe.

Vbac can definitely be safe depending in why the csec happened. A safe midwife will consider all factors and risk out those who aren't good candidates. My friends had two vbacs at home!

heatherdubrow · July 2017

@megpeg please oh please oh please do not do an unassisted home birth! Unassisted is so dangerous and a chiropractor is not equipped to deal with complications that can arise during and after birth.

megpeg · July 2017

@heatherdubrow I wouldn't. I am too nervous of a person to think about it and bleed too much after. He would never actually want to do it by himself he just likes to talk about it.

heatherdubrow · July 2017

@megpeg ok thanks for clarifying! Unassisted home births terrify me.

brettanomyces · July 2017

I'm sort of tossing the idea around, but it depends on if we find a house to move in to. Now we're in a tiny condo with a 17 month old and a dog and a cat and too much stuff and I would just not want to birth in this environment.

I think I will go with a midwife for this pregnancy instead of an ob. Even with a hospital birth, midwives here aim to get you home within 4 hours after the birth.

mockingjay1 · July 2017

I would also question whether it's safe to vbac at home, although that is probably the nurse in me along with the abruptions I have seen in the hospital. Not to scare you but we just had a mom try to vbac last weekend and abrupted. I can't imagine what the outcome would have been for mom and baby had they not been in a hospital. I know most vbacs don't end that way, but the what if would be enough for me to deliver in a hospital. Seeing what I have over the last 8 years obviously affects my perspective. I think talking to your OB/midwife and seeing what they think would be a good start (which I'm sure you will do).

I think there are many more people who deliver in hospitals, so it's hard to judge who had great births and where. People who have home births (at least well educated people) are low risk. Of course someone who is high risk and hemorrhaged, had pre-eclampsia, blood sugar issues, etc will probably not have as great of an experience to tell as someone who was low risk at home (I hope that makes sense). I think the hospital also makes a big difference. Good luck deciding!

heatherdubrow · July 2017

@dmo1371 excellent point. I had an abruption with my first and it was so scary.

mockingjay1 · July 2017

@heatherdubrow - I can't imagine how scary that was for you. I hope you have a wonderful, smooth as can be delivery this time around.

pghctwife · July 2017

With a vba1c, obvs depending on the specific persons situation, risk of abrupt ion is lower than the risks from surgery. Vba2c I think the balance shifts.

Not a home birth but my sis had a vbac at my same hospital and same midwives after previously with a baby factory hospital. Itwas a really healing experience for her.

heatherdubrow · July 2017

@pghctwife with the right circumstances vbacs are great! Just not sure it's ideal for a homebirth situation.

pghctwife · July 2017

I hear you. I know I'm really lucky to have hospital options and providerswho fully support and allow vbac s for good candidates. I know not everyone has any or many optionsclose to them. The vbac rate and at some hospitals are soooo low. I can understand that if the only option to avoid major surgery, especially if your previous c was questionable (cascade of interventions, early inductions, etc) considering it. And for sure with someone's very qualified, md backup, careful to risk out etc.

babybluu · July 2017

dmo1371 said:

I would also question whether it's safe to vbac at home, although that is probably the nurse in me along with the abruptions I have seen in the hospital. Not to scare you but we just had a mom try to vbac last weekend and abrupted. I can't imagine what the outcome would have been for mom and baby had they not been in a hospital. I know most vbacs don't end that way, but the what if would be enough for me to deliver in a hospital. Seeing what I have over the last 8 years obviously affects my perspective. I think talking to your OB/midwife and seeing what they think would be a good start (which I'm sure you will do).

I think there are many more people who deliver in hospitals, so it's hard to judge who had great births and where. People who have home births (at least well educated people) are low risk. Of course someone who is high risk and hemorrhaged, had pre-eclampsia, blood sugar issues, etc will probably not have as great of an experience to tell as someone who was low risk at home (I hope that makes sense). I think the hospital also makes a big difference. Good luck deciding!

This. This is exactly why I won't do a hbac. Honestly knowing what I know now I wouldn't do a home birth in general, just me personally though. My first was a planned home birth until I got to 41+3 with extremely low fluids and had to be induced. It ended with a c section.
Honestly im terrified to try a hospital VBAC because of the risk of uterine rupture

DDRRT1982 · July 2017

I am a RT and some of the most stunned babies come from abruption deliveries. They honestly scare me and these babies typically need lots of intervention until they recover. Often times they even have to be cooled in order to prevent brain injury from a lack of oxygen. The moms are usually intubated and sedated, so you won't be awake if this happens. So, while everyone might not be trying to scare, I want you to really do some research about the risks associated in a performing a vbac in a non-hospital setting. They are pretty scary. It's unfortunate that you might not be able to have the birth you want, in the environment you want, but it will be totally worth it to have a healthy delivery and baby in a hospital setting. Most qualified midwife's won't take you with a C-section history, so thoroughly research one that will.

barrelocarol · July 2017

Sorry for posting and disappearing! Been on awesome family vacation. Will respond in a bit and thank you for these responses!

kburg15 · July 2017

With my first I went to a clinic that had a group of OBs and Midwives and delivered at a birthing center (which I did) or a hospital. You could see the midwives and deliver in the hospital, and they also recommended doulas (vbac was considered high risk so the bc was off the table). If it was me personally, I would go the midwife/doula route, but do a hospital birth. That way you have people advocating for you who know you want a vbac and won't let you be pushed into anything unnecessary or that you don't want--they can really be a great support system. Personally, I'd feel like this mitigated the risk, while also increasing the chances you have the birth you want.

isntthatspeshul · July 2017

The training I received as a doula pushed me to want a home birth this time as well, however I strongly believe that with a good birth team and a good facility, you can have the birth you want at a hospital and get the access to all the experts, tools and medicine you could need in an emergency. There are a lot of factors that need to be considered to determine whether a person is a good candidate for home birth. If you want a doula, take a chance and reach out to a few. Some are willing to discount, especially those in training. A doula can help immensely with VBAC support!

lifeisbetteronthered · July 2017

@tosh24 not to derail this post, but I was wondering if you have ITP? This has complicated my pregnancies and I'd love to chat about your experience with it.

barrelocarol · July 2017

Ok, so I just finalized this midwife who is amazing! We connected and she has a solid record of home vbacs.

My previous OB is no longer doing obstetrics but is a major vbac proponent and I'm feeling very good about this.

Anecdotally, this may sound like a far off idea, but the actual research data shows overwhelming positivity for it, per ACOG and other reputable sources.

That being said, I am so sorry to be hearing of these scary stories you ladies have experienced! No amount of science means anything when we've experienced such trauma and for that, I'm sorry. Wishing us all peaceful pregnancies with labors we can look upon fondly!

missnc77 · July 2017

I think that when someone lays out the birth they want this early in the game, they may set themselves up for disappointment. It's so hard to know the pregnancy road ahead. Hopefully, we all have flawless pregnancies with no issues. No high blood pressure. No gestational diabetes. No breeched babies. No GBS. Etc. I definitely think it's okay to go into a pregnancy wanting a certain sort of delivery, but don't let that desire cloud your judgement as your pregnancy progresses. Keep an open mind.

I got nervous when I found out that my OB was one of the go to OBs in the state for a cesarean. I decided to stop worrying about it, and reassured myself that at least if shit hit the fan in the delivery room, I'd be with one of the best. At one point during my labor, my daughter's heart rate dropped off the monitor from fetal distress. I had all the nurses on deck in my room flipping me into every position I could get in to find the heartbeat. I could see the panic in my husband's eyes. But for me, I just told myself that they'll give me a c-section, I have a great OB, and the baby will be fine. I truely believed that because of my OB's reputation. They ended up finding the heartbeat, and I went on to have a vaginal delivery. That moment really gut checked me into realizing that you can have all the birth plans you want, but the most important thing is a healthy mom and baby when all is said and done.

Edit: Editing to say that I'm not trying to talk anyone down. Just suggesting cautious optimism toward the birth you want, but also keeping an open mind throughout your pregnancy.

heatherdubrow · July 2017

@missnc77 well said.

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