Pixie, how do you know what the syncto does to a baby?
Rosehip Fairy, maybe it was caused by the synto and maybe it wasn't. The medics who attended the birth and the baby afterwards weren't able to say for sure and neither can I. The exact same thing can and does happen in spontaneous unmedicated births - as I said earlier, another member posted that this happened during her homebirth https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...in-moving.html.
I'm just glad that medical backup was available when it was needed, and we didn't have to transfer after something went wrong.
We were given the choice whether to augment the labour or not, and in the circumstances we chose to do it. Also with pain relief, while the midwife and the OB (who were both awesome btw) both said that the augmented labour was intense and I would probably need an epidural, at no point was it pushed on me. I was given the options for pain relief and allowed to make the choice that worked for me. I was lucky I progressed quickly and so I didn't need much.
Even if I hadn't had this experience with DD I would still choose a hospital birth for the same reasons Jac and Janie mentioned. As it was my first baby, I appreciated the 24hr help with BFing etc, and for a subsequent child I think I would appreciate the space from the responsibilities of home.
Maybe a lot depends on the hospital and/ or your OB if you have one. RF did you have your baby in the UK or in Aus? As I understand it in the UK you wouldn't have any choice about the hospital or care provider. Here you can choose your hospital/ dr and if you don't like them you can change them.