Homebirth General Discussion #1

[Cassius2]

Who have you chosen Cassius? We're near each other so probably looking at the same midwives I've chosen Helen Brown from midwives naturally.

hmmm i thought i had replied to this this morning...but it is MIA LOL! (oh gosh i hope i didnt reply in another thread )

I am with Nicola Dutton (through Midwives Naturally!!). ha ha! it is pretty cool that we have found the same group of middies! i have heard excellent things about Helen...my second midwife has worked with her before and raved about her and her approach!

you should come along to the 'meet the midwives' night! we will be at the next one....

[Tegam]

DH and i tossing up FB as they just come so quickly but have really thought about it and i want the support, pity the cost but im not going to hospital for my last baby, not whenthe c/s rate is over 70% scary! Would love to try a birth pool but dont they take forever to fill up? this is going to be a summer baby, pity i cant just use the pool... OH YUCK the visual i get is gross LOL

[Smoke Jaguar]

OH, man, what a combination! Nic and Helen are excellent together and you'll have a laugh with them I really must find my birth DVD to send them for the MTMW nights, particularly the waterbirth info nights.

[Cassius2]

OH, man, what a combination! Nic and Helen are excellent together and you'll have a laugh with them I really must find my birth DVD to send them for the MTMW nights, particularly the waterbirth info nights.

ohhh i was so bummed to miss the waterbirth info night...but just couldnt find someone to watch DD. the next session is birth stories. should be nice...i just love the company and chatting lol!
soooo relieving to hear that you reckon those middies are great! i am happy and loving Nic, but obviously havent birthed with her before...just going by the recommendations of my support midwife (and good friend!).

Tegam: i guess it really depends on your hot water system with regards to filling times. but we were told to fill with cold water first then top up with hot water...so that might cut down on time say if you fill it when the niggles first start. they also told us to buy bubble wrap so that when it is full and steamy you can cover it and it retains heat (apparently) for some time. but my info is all theoretical as i havent done it before

[meow]

I have Helen as my primary and Nicola will be my secondary midwife. I chose Helen and she recommended Nicola as my secondary based on what I told her about my hopes/plans for the birth. Should be great!! Which midwife from midwives naturally did you decide against Cassius? Is that a bad rec? Should I ask you to PM? There was one I wasn't fussed on but I'm not sure I can say?

I went to the midwives naturally waterbirth info session- I wanted to check out the midwives. I was still in the first trimester and had worked that day so I was SO tired and didn't stay afterwards but I decided to call Helen based on seeing her chat and answer questions. I just knew there was going to be a connection there- had the right *vibe*.

Kaos- those extra medical costs are what scare me! I don't mind paying for my midwife, but I hate that that excludes you from other maternity care that you could otherwise get publicly. I've decided to do the GD test privately so fingers crossed I get the all clear or else Helen said I may be able to go to the Royal Women's for GD care. Otherwise I could pay for the testing equipment and manage the GD myself. I doubt I'll have it though.

[Tegam]

Cassius: My first niggle to bubs in my arms was 10mins flat out. Timed properly as we phoned MW straight away and 10mins later to say bubs was born. I was in the shower and said to DH no dont leave me i want you near me, DH said, im just getting the kettle on, i said no stay with me, then sat on the bed and pushed, then asked for a mirror as i couldnt see if that was a head or cord, 2 more pushes and baby and placenta was out! OMG quick LOL. Waters didnt break til head out. No time to run a bath LOL

[meow]

Wow!! I hope things go the same for you next time... but I guess every labour IS different and the next baby could decide to be posterior for example and slow things right down. Milk your midwife for after birth support if nothing else!

[Freya]

Just lurking in here, we are TTC baby #4 starting this cycle and s/he will be home waterbirthed even though Dh is not very keen. Last bub was a birth centre waterbirth and the previous two were OB attended hospital inductions.

Anyone in here from Sydney and can recommend a good IM?

[Antheia]

OMG Anna!!!!! I knew this day would come! lol.

Id like to recommend my midwife. She lives in Rosemeadow. PM me if your interested in her details.

[Antheia]

DH and i tossing up FB as they just come so quickly but have really thought about it and i want the support, pity the cost but im not going to hospital for my last baby, not whenthe c/s rate is over 70% scary! Would love to try a birth pool but dont they take forever to fill up? this is going to be a summer baby, pity i cant just use the pool... OH YUCK the visual i get is gross LOL

It took our birth pool approx 1 hour to fill. However i never got to use it because DS came too quick. He was born in the bath instead which only took a few minutes to fill. No idea how i managed to birth in there though cause it wasn't a very big bath.

[~kaos~]

they also told us to buy bubble wrap so that when it is full and steamy you can cover it and it retains heat (apparently) for some time.

What worked really well for us was putting a space blanket over the top of the birth pool until I was ready (I spent a lot of time in the shower). I thought I'd try it out because it was less bulky than bubble wrap, and cheaper.... and it worked really well.

As for freebirthing just because bubs comes so fast, I think that homebirth is more than just giving birth at home. It is all the antenatal care and education that you get in your home, and the postnatal visits. I wouldn't be worried if my middy wasn't actually there for the birth, it is all the before and after stuff. If bubs comes so fast that MW doesn't make it, then everything is probably going to be fine. It is if the labour drags on that having that support and professional eye there is important. I don't have a huge issue with freebirth as long as you've educated yourself really well, but are you willing to go without antenatal and postnatal care?

[Cassius2]

Cassius: My first niggle to bubs in my arms was 10mins flat out. Timed properly as we phoned MW straight away and 10mins later to say bubs was born. I was in the shower and said to DH no dont leave me i want you near me, DH said, im just getting the kettle on, i said no stay with me, then sat on the bed and pushed, then asked for a mirror as i couldnt see if that was a head or cord, 2 more pushes and baby and placenta was out! OMG quick LOL. Waters didnt break til head out. No time to run a bath LOL

Hooley dooley lol! that must of been INTENSE. and yup, def no time to fill a tub lol.

Meow: the midwife we decided to not go with was simply cause i met Nicola first and we really hit it off and i felt weird seeing someone else considering that we got on so well. kinda like cheating on a lover LOL! so bummed that we missed the waterbirth one...was it good? sooo need to organise a proper babysitting arrangement for DD....darn it not having extended family!!

[Antheia]

As for freebirthing just because bubs comes so fast, I think that homebirth is more than just giving birth at home. It is all the antenatal care and education that you get in your home, and the postnatal visits. I wouldn't be worried if my middy wasn't actually there for the birth, it is all the before and after stuff. If bubs comes so fast that MW doesn't make it, then everything is probably going to be fine. It is if the labour drags on that having that support and professional eye there is important. I don't have a huge issue with freebirth as long as you've educated yourself really well, but are you willing to go without antenatal and postnatal care?

This is exactly why i am paying $5500 this time only to know they are most likely not going to make it again. Bub came so fast last time that i called her while i was in transition because that's when the pain started after only 5 contractions. But having that care before and after is just priceless. And i consider them my friends. So as soon as i found out i was pregnant, i contacted her straight away without a seconds thought.

[Roryrory]

Wow I love hearing these stories of speedy births

I had another appointment with my MW today - she is so ace Her approach (and that of the MWs in the Sunshine Hospital) is that they don't tell the woman to push unless there is an obivous need for the baby. This is unlike the Mercy FBC where I was told "if you don't start pushing now you're never going to meet your baby (after only 3.5hours of first stage). Plus they are 100% for a natural 3rd stage.

The only things that will rule me out at this stage are breach or GD - neither of which I am planning on LOL!

[Antheia]

Wow I love hearing these stories of speedy births

I had another appointment with my MW today - she is so ace Her approach (and that of the MWs in the Sunshine Hospital) is that they don't tell the woman to push unless there is an obivous need for the baby. This is unlike the Mercy FBC where I was told "if you don't start pushing now you're never going to meet your baby (after only 3.5hours of first stage). Plus they are 100% for a natural 3rd stage.

The only things that will rule me out at this stage are breach or GD - neither of which I am planning on LOL!

Can i ask why they won't let you have a breech birth at home? Not meaning to be nosey sorry. It's just even though my midwves havent dealt with a breech before, they would still allow me to birth at home if i were comfortable and everything was ok with bub.

[Freya]

Speedy births is the reason why I will be homebirthing our next bub. None of my labours have been over 3hrs. Ds1 was 3hrs (induction), Ds2 was 90min (induction) and Ds3 was 2hrs (spontaneous). Even though my last birth was amazing, I kind of felt like leaving home to go to the birth centre for all of 7hrs was annoying. Plus I think my eldest would LOVE to see a baby brother or sister being born. Id like for it to be a truly family affair. Im most comfortable at home and have extremely easy labours. Dh isnt so keen but I truly dont feel it is his choice, all of my labours involved him sitting on his butt while I did the hard yards, he didnt even do any supporting things ie pain relief etc. I would have homebirthed last time but there was no IM close enough to make it to a birth. Im taking full advantage of being in a major city this time

ETA - Anth, I will def be looking for a breech friendly IM too. I made plans to birth Stellan breech if he ended up that way but I would have had to do it in the hospital and not the bc but my midwife was happy to back me up against the OBs. Its another perk of homebirth, no OBs to try and scaremonger.

[Tegam]

first two bubs were posterior and who knows how tom was LOL. Really hoping this will be slower but not too long LOL maybe an hour?

[Roryrory]

The program at Sunshine Hospital is a pilot, so they want the outcomes of the trial to be "as good as possible". So they are initally ruling out anything that will risk a bad outcome (so no VBACs either, and I think first timers are out too but I am not sure). Sunshine and Casey in Melbourne are the first two hospitals in Victoria which are offering publicly funded HBs, so while some might think it is a backward step to "concede" to the medical/OB profession and let hospitals take over from IMs, personally while I suuport IMs if the public program can make HB more accessible then I am all for it