Having the baby at home (1 Viewer)

[shower another shower]

Gwan, Sarah! Congratulations!

 

[billygannon]

Cool! Congratulations Sarah

 

[coraline]

Congratulations Sarah .|..|.|..|.|..|

 

[Squiggle]

Thanks everyone, we're very happy and excited. And it is so nice to have the Antenatal visits at home, with the midwife free to take as much time as is required and answer any questions we might have. I really don't think you can beat consistent one-on-one care.

Also, I'm fortunate in that everyone has been very supportive about the idea, including my GP, which makes it so much easier - I'd have fought any opposition, it's just nice not to have had to

 

[sweetoblivion]

And it's going to happen. Midwife engaged, HSE Home Birth approval letter duly received and the Home Birth kit sitting in the hallway at home. Family history of trouble free births going back 3 generations on both sides so can't see any reason why I should have to go to the hospital, but will be booking in to one just so they have me on file.



Actually, from my recent research it looks like there is now more support for Home Birth and hospital alternatives in Cork than there is anywhere else in the country.

Congrats! Hope things go really well for you.

Glad to hear the situation has changed in the last 3.5 years.

 

[Squiggle]

I was feeling jealous of all Cork and Kerry inhabitants, the HSE there will pay the full cost of a Home Birth apparently. Up here you need to combine the HSE payment and private health insurance, and will still have to foot part of the bill... still, for a level of care that surpasses what you would get as a Private Patient it's well worth it.

 

[jonah]

Wow, congratualtions and best of luck with the home birth- I've only heard good things.

 

[Space]

Congratulations.

 

[washingcattle]

Congrats.


The important thing about home births is to chose a location to nest. If cats are anything to go by under a clapped out car in a garage is the perfect spot. After that it's a doddle just leave out plenty of cream in saucers and wait patiently for your young to open their eyes properly and sprout fur.


Glad to be of help.

 

[GO]

Way to go Squiggs!!

I'm made up for ya's!!!

 

[nlgbbbblth]

deadly news! Congrats Sarah, all the best

 

[theweeyin]

Congrats to the pair of you!!

 

[cpr]

Congratulations Sarah! I'm delighted for you and Eric.

 

[Goodbye]

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[Serpico]

Don't want to hijack this congratulatory thread but in case anyone checks this out with regard to homebirths, we had our baby at home. Funding is different in different parts of the country but it seems Munster is the most, ahem, profitable place to have a homebirth (didn't cost us anything in the end, including private midwife and lots and lots of care and attention up to, during and after the birth). Whole thing went perfectly, no drugs (just a tens machine) and the whole experience means I would whole-heartedly recommend it to any healthy woman without any diagnosed complications. The baby was born in our bed with our choice of music playing throughout (hardcore fans might want to run it past the midwife first, we had inoffensive chill/ambient stuff). The midwife was gone home by midnight leaving us with a new daughter (who is now 2 and a bit) and the three of us slept in our own bed surrounded by pillows (they were set up so that mammy and baby could lie feeding while I was over a little wall). Can't imagine even the best hospital birth coming close to that.

Statistically you are as safe or more safe having your baby at home as you are in a hospital. If you want the literature on all that then the homebirth association is the place to look.
http://www.homebirth.ie/

 

[Squiggle]

It wasn't supposed to be a congratulatory thread. I'd intented to bump Diddle's original thread to confirm that I was sticking to my earlier stated intention and re-open the discussion.

So glad that you and your lady had such a positive experience Serpico. Did you buy or hire the tens machine?

I've had two antenatal visits from my midwife now, so nice to have a bit of a lie in and then wait for her to arrive in the comfort of my own home, rather than have to drag myself into the hospital and wait there.

I had a booking appointment with one of the maternity hospitals (unnamed for reasons that will become obvious) last week. It's my emergency backup, keeps the HSE etc happy. There was absolutely no privacy, blood tests taken on a seat in a corridor, examination booths with glass doors and no form of soundproofing. Because of that, even in the waiting room, I could hear the awful time the woman who went before me was getting. I vaguely overheard her asking if there was any test that could be done to tell her whether her twins were identical - nobody could have avoided hearing the bollocking she got from the midwife. A five minute screamed rant! Why did she want to know? What difference would it make? On and on. I could hear the girl sobbing after about 30 seconds and still the uniformed one continued. Then there was more loud humiliation ahead for the girl when the heartbeats couldn't be found and her dates were questioned loudly. I was on the verge of walking out at that stage.

Luckily I got a pleasant person who was very interested in hearing more about the why and how of homebirth and who said goodbye by saying with a big smile "It's been lovely meeting you and talking to you, so you know I mean this in the nicest possible way, but I hope I don't see you in here again"

Just a glimpse of hospital, but it was enough for me. I came out tops in the Russian Roulette last week, but I wouldn't want to have to consistently take that gamble.

 

[I Bleed Black]

Congrats Sarah and best of luck with the home birth!

 

[magicbastarder]

Statistically you are as safe or more safe having your baby at home as you are in a hospital.

i wouldn't draw a conclusion that 'home births are inherently safer' though - because i suspect home births happen far more with women who aren't expecting complications?

 

[Squiggle]

i wouldn't draw a conclusion that 'home births are inherently safer' though - because i suspect home births happen far more with women who aren't expecting complications?

I'm guessing that Serpico was refering to healthy women with 'normal' pregnancies. For them a planned home birth is safer than a hospital birth, statistically, as (to list just a few reasons) they are not at risk of being exposed to hospital bugs, they have dedicated one-to-one care and there is less stress on mother, and therefore baby.

If complications are expected then that completely changes the situation.

 

[Serpico]

Spot on with both of the above posts. I was referring only to healthy women with no reason to expect complications and Squiggle's comments re:hospital risks are probably the main reason that statistic holds up.

The tens machine was brought by the midwife so we didn't need to buy one but I do remember considering it at the time. As you get into the final stages of the birth I'm not sure how much benefit it is but leading up to that it seemed to help.

Having just referred to the final stages I'd just like to say that my wife's experience was as far from the screaming, heavy breathing, sweating film-style births as you could imagine. The contractions became quite intense but at no point did she scream or give the impression that anything horribly painful was going on (and no I'm not a scientologist and did not have large posters with "Quiet Please" written on them) just something incredibly intense. There was some grunting as the baby crowned and then again as she slipped out but slip out she did.

I was completely shocked as I was expecting a lot more drama and struggle but now you know it doesn't always have to be screams and shouts and craziness. It can be quiet and (relatively) easy and quick. The "proper" contractions began at about 7.30pm and baby was in our arms by midnight.

I couldn't tell you the amount of hospital horror stories there are among our friends and yet some of the girls still insist that they wouldn't be brave enough to try a home-birth. Personally, having listened to them (and Sarah's account above) I wouldn't be brave enough to try a hospital one.