i have loads of questions about home birthing, the thing i like about it the most is no hospital, i dont like the thought of being alone, i dont want my OH to not be allowed to stay 24/7. but then i worry its first baby i dont know what to expect what if i hav a problem and cant get to hospital in time.
Ni I bought a cheap shower curtian from wilkos for about £3. It was fab and all the placenta was wrapped up inside it. I didnt need anything else. All my births were clean and compact...i guess i have been lucky!
vicky whatever happens i am sure you will be fine. i loved my homebirth but my other births had to be in hossy and the staff were great. i dint feel uncomfortable at all and was home very soon afterwards. some hossys let your hubby stay with you. best of luck x
I just wanted to pop on and say I too thoroughly recommend home births. My beautiful baby boy, Jay, was born at home on Boxing Day and it was a great experience. I have another son who is 15 (yep, a bit of a gap!) who was born in hospital and, while I can't fault anything about his birth experience, I just didn't like being in hospital. It was lovely being at home for Jay's birth - so much more relaxed. The midwives were tremendous and were totally supportive (my actual midwife was off for Christmas so I had someone I'd never even met and she was great). By the time Jay was born there was 2 midwives so you definitely get a greater level of care as they're totally there for you. I had done a hypnobirthing course and the midwives were also very supportive of and interested in that. Jay was born after a 7 hour labour, with no pain relief whatsoever, and he was posterior. That was a surprise for all of us as it hadn't been picked up and the midwives were amazed I'd had him naturally and without pain relief in those circumstances (I guess being so relaxed helped). He was 8lbs 4oz. He is now 6 months TODAY and is sitting in between my legs as I type, he's truly beautiful. He is also a very calm, happy baby and I've read lots of things that say a calm birth can lead to a calm baby and in our case it seems to be the case. He's slept all night since being 7 weeks old (and he's never up before 8.30 am - little star).
So all in all, if you have the opportunity to have a home birth, I'd heartily recommend it. Some areas are less supportive than others but being a first baby isn't a good enough reason to turn it down. For anybody looking for more info, check out www.homebirth.org.uk - it covers everything from what you need (less than you think, the midwives do bring a fair bit) to what to do if you're met with less than supportive medical professionals.
Good luck to you all and congrats to those with new babies.
Sorry, I forgot to add, Jay was born on the living room floor - there was much more room than in the bedroom so that wasn't even an option in my head. By the time I'd had a shower after he was born, the midwives had cleared everything away and you'd never have known a baby had been born there. Our family all descended a couple of hours later and couldn't believe it.
zolo i have heard from you on the July forum - dont get to type much busy reading it so busy, your birth sounds perfect just the way i hope mine to be.
Joannes i do believe that your birth has an impact on your baby, my friend had a baby 6 months ago he was also posterior but she had a really difficult time, he has recently been diagnosed with epilepsy which they say could be linked to a difficult and stressful birth.
I went to wilko's and got 3 shower curtians (better to be safe than sorry - or messy!!) I am 37 weeks today so offically allowed to give birth at home if he decideds to come now I am loking forward to it my midwife is really supportive. It wont be her that delivers whih is a shame but one of the other midwives in her team and they are all supportive of home births thats why they are on the community team.
