Home births
Printed From: OHbaby!
Category: Pregnant
Forum Name: Pregnancy
Forum Description: Pregnant! Wanting to chat to other mums-to-be (or dads-to-be)? Share your thoughts, experiences, and ideas... This is that place!
URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=17162
Printed Date: 21 August 2025 at 9:15am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.10 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Home births
Posted By: gypsynita
Subject: Home births
Date Posted: 13 May 2008 at 8:54am
Hiya  I've just been reading feb's topic on water births and was wondering if anyone has had a water birth at home?? My MW has a birthing pool I can use and we also have a (not very big) bath, so wondering what people thought, if they would recommend it, any tips, etc ??
I'm a little nervous as it's our first, but MW says if anything goes wrong or I chicken out (LOL!!) we can always transfer to the hospital... Any thoughts? ------------- Anita Mum to Cian (Aug 08), Josh (Jun 10) http://lilypie.com"> 
|
Replies:
Posted By: Shezamumof3
Date Posted: 13 May 2008 at 9:04am
|
My midwife asked me about having a home birth aswell. I think for my second baby I would be ok, but I said no for my first cos I dont know what labour will be like and how I will handle it, and Id feel better about it being in hospital.
But I think having a home birth would be lovely, being in your own enviroment and all, I say if you feel comfy with the idea then go for it, and like your midwife said, if you chicken out or anything goes wrong you can go straight to hospital. ------------- |
Posted By: Kim
Date Posted: 13 May 2008 at 10:18am
|
My brother's girlfriend had a home birth just last night. They had problems with the birthing pool - it had a leak that couldn't be fixed so had to get another one delivered urgently.
The labour and birth were fine but she ended up passing some blood clots so had to go to hospital to be checked out for that but she is fine now. ------------- Zac Mark - 30.11.05 Samara Ailsa - 13.08.07 |
Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 13 May 2008 at 12:05pm
|
Homebirths personally aren't my thing, but my aunty has a home water birth using a hired birthing pool with her first and she said it was awesome. She planned the same for #2 and was gutted when he went too far over and had to be induced in hospital. -------------  Maya Grace (28/02/03)
 (02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
|
Posted By: JPP
Date Posted: 13 May 2008 at 1:20pm
|
Heya, I'm having a homebirth/waterbirth this time around and I'm soooo excited and looking forward to it! The hospital is only down the road so if I need to transfer its no biggy. I firmly believe that your birthing is a personal choice and that you must do what is comfortable and feeling right for you or you'll 'tighten up' from anxiety. I know a couple of people who have done it for their first birth and everything went great, so don't let the fact that it's your first put you off, just be well informed about all the choices, read a lot about it if you can and go from there. Hope this helps a little ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://daisypath.com">
|
Posted By: gypsynita
Date Posted: 13 May 2008 at 2:24pm
|
thanks for the thoughts guys -- DH and I aren't particularly fond of hospitals in the first place, and until we moved down here I was planning on having bubs at waterford in hamilton - but a three hour drive is too far!!
Jadey - any books or resources you can recommend? I've had a look at the homebirth association website but feel like it's too one-sided  . Can't wait to hear how yours goes!------------- Anita Mum to Cian (Aug 08), Josh (Jun 10) http://lilypie.com">
|
Posted By: AliaDawn
Date Posted: 13 May 2008 at 3:30pm
|
I absolutely couldn't stand hospital, would've loved a home birth for Seb (but wouldn't have gotten one even if I'd planned for it, ended up being induced for pre-eclampsia)
I guess it depends on your personality - if you don't mind being around strangers, can sleep through someone else's baby crying, wouldn't be fussed sharing a room, love being brought meals in bed, and having nurses there to help then go for the hospital birth. If you like your privacy, would rather have your hubby/partner with you all that time (some hospitals won't let them stay - esp if you end up in a shared room, for me it was torture) can con someone else into bringing you meals in bed anyway (  ) that actually taste like real food.
I'm sorry but for me, my idea of fun isn't having to spend the night away from my DF after one of the most major things that's ever happened to us, with bubs in the NICU, and nothing I would eat but cold toast  and sharing a room with an asian lady (only point out her race because she had constant guests who talked loudly all visiting hours in a language I didn't even understand)  I ended up not even sleeping, and just crying all night.-------------  
 
|
Posted By: Helen21
Date Posted: 13 May 2008 at 3:49pm
|
I also had a very bad experience in a hospital with #1 and really didn't like the idea of going to one for #2, I thought about a home birth after watching a home birthing video but then I got really paranoid about something going wrong so we decided to go with a private birthing unit. It was a private room and we even had our own bathroom with a birthing pool. There was only my midwife and one other midwife running the clinic so there were no horrible over worked nurses like I had in the hospital.
I enjoyed being in the birthing pool during labour but I was told that some women feel the strong need to get out of the water as the baby is being delivered(half way out) which you can't do because the sudden change of tempt can panic the baby. Oh and the idea that if I pooed while pushing, would it just float around, yucky! This is just what my midwife told me so it would be worth getting some books from the library so you understand the full process they have heaps there by the pregnancy books in most places. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
Chloe 12/7/03 Miya 5/11/05 |
Posted By: JPP
Date Posted: 13 May 2008 at 4:46pm
Lol at the poo comment, one of the first questions I asked about the waterbirth hehe, midwife said they just sift the crap out (literally and the other goopys) and put it in an icecream container with lid. I can recommend 2 books my friend, who has had 3 homebirths and 1 of those 10pd 11oz no water and no stiches gave me and a great magazine.
ActiveBirth by Janet Balaskas and HomeBirth by Sheila Kitzinger. The magazine is called TummyTalk and it is put out by http://www.activebirthtaranaki.org.nz/tummytalk.asp - Active Birth Taranaki It's great cos it is written by mums and mw's who believe in the activebirth philosophy and has wonderful birth stories from women who not only have natural activebirths at home but those that choose to do the same at the hospital. In saying that it is easier to go to a maternity hospital than a public as the public health system has a 'checklist' that it likes to go through which often leads to a major cascade of intervention. My major piece of advice though is what is in big bold letters on top of my birthplan 'no matter how hard I try if baby needs out then he comes out even if its hospital'. I am aware that not all births go according to plan and hospitals do have their upsides hehe, baby needs to be out safely at the end of the day, but even if I were to go for a c/s I think I would feel more positive about it knowing that I tried the other way first without putting my boy at harm. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> http://daisypath.com">
|
Posted By: AliaDawn
Date Posted: 13 May 2008 at 5:07pm
|
I'm pretty sure we have absolutely NO birthing units in the area Helen Otherwise it is an option I would consider. You're lucky to have one near you! -------------
|
Posted By: cat007
Date Posted: 13 May 2008 at 11:03pm
|
Personally I take my hat off to any mum that has her first baby at home or a waterbirth. I have assisted with a homebirth and I would have loved to be at home but just cant face the thought of having to clean up afterwards - you go through an amazing amount of towels etc. A waterbirth scares me but the idea of being in a birthing pool during labour and then getting out to deliver really sounds tempting.
I decided after my waters had broken that I wanted to go to a maternity unit instead of hospital but as labour didnt progress enough I had to be in hospital to be induced. (FYI - maternity unit is only 1 hr 20mins away, and hospital is 3 1/2 hrs away from our house!) This time I have no choice - hospital only as it is a higher-risk pregnancy with twins. I still might try a birthing pool during labour until I have to deliver - will see. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  [/url http://lilypie.com">
|
Posted By: gemsmum
Date Posted: 14 May 2008 at 7:40am
|
I want a water birth this time. I laboured in a fairly deep bath last time but it wasn't big enough. The water was awesome though. I was going to have a homebirth with ds but my haemoglobin dropped too low so ended up in hospital. This time I plan to have bubs in hospital, hopefully a water birth, then get home ASAP!
Homebirths always look fantastic, so relaxed. Good luck to everyone, I hope you get the births you want! ------------- http://lilypie.com">  
|
Posted By: gypsynita
Date Posted: 14 May 2008 at 7:51am
wow - that's pretty impressive!! My major concern is the pain issue but i guess it would be a bit naive to ignore everything that can go wrong. Hospital for us is only 15mins away so I'll keep an open mind and bundle myself into the car at the first sign of trouble! My MW has done quite a few homebirth/waterbirths and she said we'll have another MW there to help out, so I trust that they'll have everything in hand...
Thanks for the book recommendations Jadey (love an excuse to buy new books !). ------------- Anita Mum to Cian (Aug 08), Josh (Jun 10) http://lilypie.com">
|
Jadey wrote:Posted By: mum2paris
Date Posted: 14 May 2008 at 7:53am
|
Good luck to all you ladies who want a homebirth - i quite frankly could have had one with ayja, i really should have but was too chicken after i had a bleed moments after having paris.
The main thing to think about, apart from all the good stuff which obviously is very wonderful.... Is just how far you live from the hospital, anything more than half an hour is really not ideal, in terms that well, if things do go wrong (god forbid) you want to be able to get the best help as quick as you can.... and taking 30mins or more to get there can delay that help. I am all for homebirths, as i say i would have loved to have one (mike freaked out at the idea...) but being in a NICU I have seen my fair share of the results of ones that have gone wrong unfortunately.. i definately don't want to scare, just saying if you are really out in the wop-wops ages from a hospital, then have a really good think, or really make sure your m/w is super duper experienced in home-births so that she can tell really early on if thing start going pear-shaped and can transfer you before things get to the point where it's urgent. ------------- Janine and her 2 cool chicks, Paris & Ayja 
|
Posted By: caitlynsmygirl
Date Posted: 14 May 2008 at 1:03pm
|
I love the idea of a homebirth too, i didnt even think of one for Caitlyn , since i didnt get the epidural or any pain relief i wanted at the hospital i may as well have had her at home lol.
Next time i would like too, dunno how DP feels about that,too bad , hes not the one pushing the baby out his vajayjay.... Go with what you feel most comfortable with i say, my daughters stepmum had a home birth for her first and loved it :-) |
Posted By: jaz
Date Posted: 15 May 2008 at 7:45am
|
I had an unplanned homebirth with no.2 (labour was very short and ran out of time). It was great being in my home environment, very relaxing, and I slept much better than I would have in hospital. We were lucky that all went well. If I wasn't coping with the pain or things went wrong it would have been too bad though because I couldn't have coped with getting outside to an ambulance to go to hospital.
My midwife had a policy of not delivering in water as they've had an incident of the baby getting stuck and needing intervention (fortunately in hospital). ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
|
Posted By: Kellz
Date Posted: 15 May 2008 at 7:55am
| Who's your mid-wife? I had Maggie Daddler for most of my pregnancy,..but then she left indep midwifery to become in charge at the maternity annex,..so then I had Bernie Sharp. Her partner Sue is great- Amber (baileyandastin) had her with Astin! |
Posted By: gypsynita
Date Posted: 15 May 2008 at 10:17am
|
MW is twink drayton - she's been fantastic so far I think the "second" she mentioned bringing in for a homebirth was a Sue... wonder if it's the same one? ------------- Anita Mum to Cian (Aug 08), Josh (Jun 10) http://lilypie.com">
|
Posted By: Phat_Cat
Date Posted: 15 May 2008 at 10:43am
|
good on you for wanting a homebirth and if your not too far from hospital then theres really nothing to worry about. Good luck!! I was induced with #1 so no homebirth there but I did labour with no painrelief for 6 hrs in the birthing pool and it was great. Unfortunitly contractions stopped so couldnt continue. This time im going to birth at a birthing centre - would like to do home but DH not too keen and we are 1 1/2 hrs from the nearest hospital so probably not a wise choice... ------------- Tristen - 24/06/07 Rylan - 11/12/08 Angel Babies -14/08/05 & 21/01/2010 Curtis - 26/02/12 |
Posted By: Kellz
Date Posted: 15 May 2008 at 11:31am
Yeah prob is the same Sue,..hope it is cos shes excellent! I found Whak Hosp really good, you dont have anything to worry about if u do have to go there. All the staff were fab, we got excellent care 
|
Posted By: Jay_R
Date Posted: 15 May 2008 at 12:16pm
|
My best friend had a waterbirth at a birthing centre with her first, and a drug free home birth with her second. She is very pro home-births and would encourage any woman considering it to go for it.
Me on the other hand, will be having an elective c-section for number two (if there ever is one!) after my emergency c-section with Joshua. I'm incredibly pleased I was in hospital when I had him after all the drama that occured. And, I have to say, yay for being near the drugs!! I'd planned a drug free birth using water as pain relief, and ended up with all the drugs and a c-section! |
Posted By: tishy
Date Posted: 15 May 2008 at 12:46pm
Unfortunately that's not an option. Well at least my midwife told me that they would be monitoring both babies during labour so wouldn't be allowed in the pool with the bits attached. I ended up with a c-section anyway in the end, so never got that far 
Alia, the only option is Keneperu  , which in reality you'd probably be closer to the hospital at home if complications occurred.
|
Posted By: gypsynita
Date Posted: 15 May 2008 at 1:45pm
|
thanks kellz - it's good to know whakatane's got a good reputation if it does resort to that.
i'm pretty much sold on the homebirth idea now though! only thing that worries me is the pain relief but i've heard so many people say it's not as bad at home anyway cause you're more relaxed... ------------- Anita Mum to Cian (Aug 08), Josh (Jun 10) http://lilypie.com">
|
Posted By: Helen21
Date Posted: 15 May 2008 at 3:38pm
|
I found distractions for the pain to be really good(although I was in a birthing unit) for example watching tv or a good movie, we had one on the tv in the birthing unit and even though the final stages it gave me something to focus on, without it I think I would have used some sort of pain relief.
------------- http://lilypie.com">
Chloe 12/7/03 Miya 5/11/05 |
Posted By: Kellz
Date Posted: 15 May 2008 at 5:11pm
|
Yeah I was menaing if u do end up in there not by choice necessarily,...my best friend had a home birth with her first, and almost with her second but ended up having her in the back of the ambo on way to hosp. She was really traumatised by this as she hadnt even considered the possibility of having to go to hosp at all.
Even if u dont plan to go to hospital, would prob be a good idea to go on a tour around the annex either with you medwife or antenatel class (if u are doing them), just so its not so scary if u do need to go there! The tour was good cos we were told about what all the equipment in the birthing room was for, and in the baby high dependancy room, and general stuff like where the kitchen is etc. Was all helpful for both of us! |
Posted By: JPP
Date Posted: 15 May 2008 at 6:22pm
|
Good on ya for going with the HBirth hope all goes well for you As long as your close enough for a transfer if needed, sounds like you have a good and experienced mw though so thats choice ------------- http://lilypie.com"> http://daisypath.com">
|
Posted By: 11111
Date Posted: 15 May 2008 at 7:40pm
|
i ha a homebirth with my second and it was really awsome I am planning this one at home too. ------------- Deborah Mum to:   
|
Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 15 May 2008 at 7:48pm
|
Tishy - I wasn't allowed in the water in labour either, I had continuous monitoring of both babies. It was all part of my medical birth plan. ------------- Maya Grace (28/02/03)
(02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
|