Hiya girls

Iv decided today i want a homebirth and was wondering if any of you had one and would you recomend it?

what kind of stuff do you need etc and is there any advice u can give me

I havent even discussed it with midwife yet but I know they promote it at our hospital as there are pictures and info about it all around but until now i was dead set on a hospital birth

Im 30+1 today so not overly long to prepare

any help wud be soooo appreciated

Hi!

I planned a home birth with my baby boy who is now 16 weeks - he's my first but all the midwives I dealt with really encouraged me in my decision which was great. Well, what you need - depending on whether you want a water birth, you would need a pool (you can either hire one or buy an inflatable one - they are several ones avaiable online) and all the bits that go with it (pump etc) and then some covers for your soft furnishings, old sheets etc. Apart from that, just things that you would normally have at home anyway (bucket etc). When your midewife visits you at home to book the homebirth, they will give you a list of things that are needed.

I had to unfortuntaly transfer to the hospital as I was not progressing after 13 hours of intense, painfuul labour but still think that home births can be lovely. My piece of advice would be to be open minded - plan to give birth at home but don't beat yourself up if you need more pain relief and thus transfer to the hospital or obviously if medical intervention is needed.

Hope it goes great for you!

hi
firstly i would say good for you - if thats what you want stick to it and go for it!
have you looked over int he homebirth forum? there are a few of us on there - a few who have had baby/babies at home and a few who are planning to - you will get lots of info from past posts
also log onto homebith.org - vvvvvv useful site!!

i am v biased - i had a wonderful and relatively easy birth at home and would highly rec it!

stuff i would recommend you get?:
lots of asda smart price shower curtains to put down on floor or bed
a bucket or two
an old duvet, covered in black bin liners taped together and then covered in an old duvet cover (used as a nest to snuggle into)
old blankets sheets towels
candles/oils/music ( i personally didnt use the music nor the oils that much in the end)
your pillow - great for snuggling into or biting into etc - i had my v pillow which i could literally wrap around me
honey - great for energy ( i couldnt think of anything worse at the time but i had been warned to get some in and it gave me the energy to puch grace out!!)
a good lamp/lighting in case you need stitching - my lamp was pants and ended up with my hubby holding it over the midwife's shoulders while she was stitching me - yuk yuk yuk!!!
if you have a pool check it before hand and make sure it can be filled quick - we nearly didnt have enough time and then when i did get in it did nothing for me - fortunately i didnt freak out - i had expected to give birth in there as i am such a water person but no dry land it was lol!!
incontinence pads from chemists - packs of 30 from lloyds huge - great for lying on, great for lying on after the birth to protect sofas/beds/changing baby on/and for sliding your bum on to get in and out of bed to svae putting pressure on stitches
plenty of paracetamol/ibuprofen for after
lavender oil for baths after
tea trea oil to put on your pads after
plenty of pads
tena lady pants - v unsexy but an abs lifesaver if you have to go out quickish after the birth - put your pads inside and they give ultimate protection and are quite comfy too!
big black pants in a size or two up
big pjs
plenty of tops/bras as you will leak loads

pack a hospital bag for you and baby in case you transfer in and if you dont you will have everything ot hand anyway!!

midwives do read birth plans so have yours ou ready and they will find it!!

be flexible with what you want but if everything goes to plan dont forget to ask for what you want - if there is a choice make sure they know what you want!!

oh and lastly a giggle.... i got through contractions by thinking of as many chcolate bars as i could - i was delighted when i thought of another one...no riding on a crest of a wave for me lol!!

i'm sure there are more tips but i cant rem atm and hubby glaring at me to finish on laptop...so anything else you need email me - i think my button is activated!! otherwise head on over to homebirth and have a nosey - my birth story written by my hubby is ont here so feel free to have a mooch and then anything you think of let me know!!!

lastly - good luck!!

jane xxx