Home Birth and Private Midwife FAQ

Hi all,

My wife is currently in the process of establishing herself as an independently practicing midwife, offering home birth and/or antenatal and postnatal care.

We are compiling a "FAQ"-style brochure that we can give to people who are considering a home birth but who are unsure. But to do this, we need some Frequently Asked Questions! *grin*

If you would be so kind to help us, then we'd appreciate you all posting questions that come to mind about a home birth. What things would you want to know about home birth? What concerns or reservations would you have? What would your partners want to know, and what would their concerns or reservations be, if any? That kind of thing.

With the moderator's permission, I would be glad to link to the finished product.

Thanks in advance for any and all help.

Regards,

Michael

** Michael has Kelly's permission for this post ** Sarah_H

What a great idea. I wish I had thought of that :)

I would like to know if Victoria travels to Sydney ;)

Seriously though Michael what a great idea. When I don't have kids making a noise around me I will think and post some Questions.

There is always a chance :)

OK.

What about pain relief ??
What if I need to transfer to hospital ?
What if I need a caesarean ??
What if baby needs resuscitation ?
Do I need a Dr's permission ?
Do I have to go to the hospital after my baby is born ?
Do I need anything special to give birth at home ?

Oh I have more,
What if baby needs assistance getting out ie, forceps ?
Can I have my children present ?


So that is what I have for now. Are they any good Michael. Yes, I do know the answers to these questions already, but other's might not ;)

Maybe some detail about prenatal care? Info on glucose tests, ultrasounds etc. Will you need to see an Ob or get a GP's referral?

Trish already thought of all the good ones. Thats why she's member of the month ;)

PMSL good on ya Nat. Guess I have a little experience in that side of it hey.

Oh yeah, post natal too, what sort of visit's are included ?
Are you on call 24 hours a day ?

Haha Trish, everything I thought of, you had already written! :D

Sorry Danni :)

Maybe I should have refrained from answering. It's like being the one in the class that has already done the test ;)

I bet you were always the annoying "Miss-know-it-all" in the corner at school with her hand always up!! :D

Nope, that sure wasn't me Danni. I was the quiet one. Not a nerd though.

Haha really? Of course you weren't a nerd! ;)

Maybe you could also include a list of the benefits to mum and baby in a homebirth, and some of the options that are available at home that aren't always in a hospital.

I am considering a home birth (as you obviously saw from my post in L and B forum) and my BIGGEST concern is will my baby be safe! So statements outlining the facts about the safety of homebirth, and the emergency equipment that the midwife carries with her would be really important to me.

Another question that isn't on my mind a whole lot, but that others have mentioned to me is "who cleans up the mess?" That's why my sister doesn't want to have a baby at home. I thought that was kind of funny, actually, but I guess to some people, that's a big concern.

Maybe also, how will my baby be monitored during labour?

HTH! All the best to Victoria in her new career!

Not sure if all of these would be "frequently asked" but these are all things I'd want to know in addition to the questions already posted in no specific order:

- Do you chagrge on a sliding scale? Do you charge by the hour or as a total fee? How to you accept payment? Would you wait to be paid until we receive the Baby Bonus? Are any of your services covered by insurance? Do you welcome barter exchange?
- Are you experienced in Waterbirthing?
- Are you experienced in Hypnobirthing
- Are you experienced in atypical birth such as breech and twins and how competent do you feel to manage atypical births i.e. which situations would you not feel comfortable managing at home.
- What risk factorsin myself would make me an unsuitable client for you to manage at home?
- What risk factors in my baby would make me an unsuitable client for you to manage at home?
- What alternative treatments do you offer e.g. Aromatherapy, massage, Homeopathy?
- What other non-birth support do you offer e.g. do you take soiled linen home to wash? Do you bring any food to the birth?
- Do you have a video/book library for me to use in preparation for the birth?
- What supplies do you bring and what do I need to provide myself?
- Do you have a raport with the maternity staff at the hospital I would transfer to if necessary?
- Why did you become a midwife? What do you like/dislike about being a midwife? What does being a midwife mean to you?
- If you have children what is/are your personal birthing history/ies? If you haven't birthed yourself in what way do you think this fact might help/hinder your role as a midwife?
- Would you be prepared to learn a bit about my culture/religion so that my beliefs would be understood and accomodated during the birth, particularly those that pertain to birth?
- What support do you offer to my partner, children and any other people who would be attending my homebirth?
- Where do you hold pre-natal ppointments?
- Do you have references from previous clients?
- What is your transfer rate?
- Do you do suturing?
- How many clients do you take on who due around the same time?
- Do you work as a team with another midwife, student midwife, doula or student doula?
- Who do you have as back up if you are unavailable?
- What reasons/situation would cause you to back out of attending a homebirth? If that happened would I pay a reduced rate?

Oh wow, I hadn't read Cricket and LocusMammas replies when I was thinking, lol. They just about covered it all.

I was also going to ask about things like stitches, and what happens if 2 clients birth at the same time?

I think everything that I can think of has been posted, I guess my biggest concearn would be, what would need to be done if there were complications, and how would that be acheived? , and how would we eusure the babys and my safety if complications were to occur?

I had never thought of the who would clean up the mess side of it but that is a pretty valid question who does do that hmmmmm LOL sorry but thats got me intregued, I have honestly never thought of that at all.

I wish you loads of luck Victoria.

I[ve heard of some who do clean up. Mine didn't but I had my sister at the birth and my MIL and SIL staying with us so maybe they would have if we had had less helping hands already.