Has BellyBelly Changed Your Thoughts on Homebirth?

[BellyBelly]

I've been noticing more and more members really get involved in the homebirth debate and also asking questions about it too, so I wanted to start a poll/discussion to see if anyone has changed their views and/or choices as a result of information and support BB has provided. Love to hear your comments

ETA: This is assuming you are not high risk/have complications.

[LionsandBears]

Yes - though more that it helped convince me, even though I was interested in the concept before. I had resistance from DH until he attended the Birth Options Workshop BB used to run, where he was presented by ideas from "experts" on the safety of homebirth (as opposed to my faulty explanations).

Reading more about homebirth stories, whether on BB or other websites, has increased my education and reinforced to me why it is a good option for us.

Some specific things that have helped include statistical data, for example, some articles Julie Doula has added, and the artilcles on the main website.

In addition, reading others' stories about being unhappy about the cascade of interventions they received in hospitals and seeing the long-term impact, such as PND, has brought home how important it is to be well-informed, be an advocate for my own care and have someone on my side, like a doula or IM, in case I do end up in hospital. So in a way, BB has provided both positive and negative reinforement of the idea of homebirth being a great option.

I don't think it's for everyone and I don't think it for every situation, but for a low-risk pregnancy, I think it's a wonderful idea. I will continue to use BB to gain feedback from other users to help me with queries about homebirth.

[PumpkinZulu]

Before BellyBelly, I was a lot less informed, not only on the matter of Home-Birth, but on pregnancy, labour, birth, interventions. I would definitely love a home-birth for my children now, and I feel extremely passionate about women's birthing options and keeping their rights. DF has really come around to the idea of home-birth too; after I showed him various articles here on BB, he is now also very supportive of Home-Birth, and wishes for us to have our babies at home, too

[MummyTummy]

I'm a bit odd I think. I absolutely agree 100% that it should be a birthing mothers choice where they have their baby, and that homebirth should be an available option without complications or conditions.

BUT.....

I couldn't do it. To me the idea of homebirth just conjures up images of chaos and confusion and I just couldn't do it. Me, at my house.... I imagine all sorts of things like the dog running around getting all worried (he does every time I gag or throw up with M/S) or him being in the backyard barking constantly trying to keep people away (he is very protective of me when I am pregnant or with a newborn). I imagine people calling on the phone "How's everything going? Have you had the baby yet? Oh you're in labour now? What are you doing talking to me then? How very exciting blah blah blah...." Perhaps the telephone companies will come to the front door.....or the neighbours concerned about all the commotion.... DS throwing things in the birthing pool with me, or wanting me to pick him up.....

I know every single one of these things can be avoided but I just can't imagine it any other way. I think the reason is that I live very high on a hill and so our house is pretty much open with big windows along every wall most without curtains or blinds. So it has this feeling of being open to the world, which I think makes me feel vulnerable. That is why I just can't imagine a homebirth without all the chaos. There is no dark little cave I can retreat in to IYKWIM.

But in saying that, although this time around I am planning on a hospital birth (with a doula), I am also planning on labouring at home for as long as I can. And I can certainly appreciate the benefits of having a homebirth.

[Bathsheba]

BellyBelly has undoubtedly changed my opinions on homebirth!!! I remember when I first became a member several years ago posting that I personally thought homebirth was risky and that the only thing mattered was a healthy baby. Oh how my mind has changed! Of course a healthy baby is what everyone wants but I have since realised that statisitcally having your baby at home is actually safer than a high intervention hospital birth if the mother is experiencing a complication free and healthy pregnancy. BB has most defintely contributed to this change of mind. A pivotal point was when i went to the BB screening of The Business of Being Born. Highly recommended for anyone considering a home birth.

Personally I have never been able to consider a HB... and now my family is complete. By the time I had my third birth my pregnancy was considered "complicated" due to having cholestasis and I had to be induced. But I did have my own doula in Kelly who brought with her all the principles of low intervention and helped me strive for as empowered and safe a birth as possible.

Well done BB and Kelly!

[~clover~]

I'm another one who believe's in the choice. I have a friend who is having her 2nd home birth soon & I am 100% supportive of her, but my personal choice would be not too.
I am alot more informed now than I ever was before, & I really think if I was to have another baby things would be different, but HB just isn't for me.
I probably would've had to go to hossy with my last 2 at least anyway due to complications, so I kind of don't have that faith in me/my body to get through it without something going wrong.

[Ginger]

BB has changed my thoughts on homebirth, in that, I personally would never ever even consider having one BUT, I can now understand why others would want to have one ITMS? whereas before BB i could not understand why anyone would ever even consider it. i totally 'get it' now and am fully understanding and supportive of anyone that wants to have one.

[Bumperstump Cummerbund]

Not mine but DH's! He's forever reading over my shoulder! I've wanted a HB for years, and DH always said he would prefer my first birth be in a hospital 'just in case'. Since reading some of the more traumatic stories from mums on here, as well as some of the great stories, he has agreed that we'll have a HB, health permitting - YAY!!

Thanks BB!

[lindsaymaree]

Belly Belly has been a saviour for myself and DP, this is our first pregnancy and we were totally blind to anything to do with pregnancy & birth.

We'd gone into this thinking...do what we're told and make things as easy as possible by taking what ever drugs numb the pain. A homebirth was totally out of the question, I couldn't think of anything more scary or "unsafe".

It's wasn't untill halfway through our pregnancy that I started to raise my concerns with DP that I really didn't feel like I had any idea of what was going on...yes we had regular doc appointments and they monitored the pregnancy well, etc. But they weren't telling us WHY they were doing such and such, or explaining alternatives, just giving us their reccomendations. I'd purchased one fairly mainstream pregnancy book but still didn't feel it was answering all my questions.

So I started doing some extra reading online, purchased some DVD's, etc....became fairly addicted to reading every article posted on belly belly ;p I couldn't beleive the volume of information I might have missed had I not found a site like belly belly.

I feel so much better educated...and so much more confident in my pregnancy!! I'm no longer racked with fear about the labour, I'm excited for it!!!

So getting back to the question ;p YES belly belly has definately opened my eyes to the misconceptions I'd held in regards to pregnancy and birth. I can see the positives on a natural, comfortable labour in a home environment and would consider a homebirth in future!

[fionas]

Yep, definitely changed my views. I don't think I was opposed to homebirth before given that generations and generations of women have birthed at home, just that I was unaware of the statistics about the safety. The cruncher for me is that a hospital will take half an hour to prep for a caesarean and I'm only 20 mins away from a hospital in heavy traffic.

Having said all that, I wouldn't personally do a homebirth. My last birth has not given me confidence that I can get a baby out vaginally (even though I did with forceps) and TBH a vaginal birth is just not that important to me. I respect the fact that it is for many women, but I just don't have that emotional need for it. Maybe it's because I'm immensely proud of my last birth and if I got pregnant again, I know I'm in for a lot of pain throughout the pregnancy again that I just don't want to 'do' labour again. For me, the pregnancy itself would be like doing nine months of labour that I don't want or need to do the pointy end of it.

But without the health condition that gives me so much grief during pregnancy, in an ideal world, my ideal model of care would be this:

Give homebirth a go with a midwife that I'd seen throughout my pregnancy.
If I needed to transfer to hospital, take my midwife with me and be greeted by my obstetrician who I'd also seen throughout my pregnancy.

Unfortunately, we have to choose midwives OR obs and that seems crazy to me. I want to get to know both.

[AngelPunks]

I'm classified as high risk, if I wasn't, then I'd be going for a home birth, hopefully I'll be able to at a birthing centre - I'm totally uneasy about giving birth in a hospital.

[~ Mylitta ~]

I voted "I have been more interested in homebirth but am still unsure" because I think it's closest to my situation. A part of me has always wanted a home/water birth, but my DH is too worried about the "what ifs".

[Nelle]

I didn't vote, because my category is 'I would definitely have one if I could afford one'. Cost is still a prohibitive thing here for me - I know some IM's are amazing and allow people to pay afterwards with their maternity payment, but financially we would need that money for other things.

I certainly think that BB has educated me on how to go about organising a homebirth, how to reassure others that it's as safe as hospital birth, it's put contacts at my fingertips, and stories of homebirths.

[tiffanny]

HB is just not an option for me. So I have not even considered it when thinking of future pg.