Hi

I went to my first homebirth group meeting. We had to travel quite a way as there isn't one local to us and I am so glad I went.

It was an extremely informative evening and my husband, who was slightly dubious, is now fully behind it to the point that he has even agreed to pay for an independent midwife if we receive opposition from the NHS. i came away feeling very positive and very determined about my choice.

I would thoroughly recommend them to anyone who has even remotely considered a homebirth.

Hi glad you found your home birth group useful - I agree that a lot of men that come to mine change their mind after hearing more about home births and their many advantages.
Is there any reason why you might get opposition from the nhs? xx

Hi Arg

With Emilia I suffered a third degree tear and they also said I had Pregnancy Induced hypertension. I disagree with the hypertension as I have always suffered white coat syndrome. There was never any protein in my urine. My Bp was up from the beginning but they started getting itchy feet about things and booked me in for induction just before term. Ironically my BP was the same at that point as it was at my 12 week appointment. I argued the point with them as I was not happy with any intervention but my uric acid went up and I gave up the fight. My BP was always fine when I checked it at home.

When I went for my booking in appointment they straight away said no to the homebirth but I wrote a letter to the HoM and they agreed to my homebirth in theory. I saw a consultant the other day who seems to have accepted my white coat syndrome (I had a 24hr BP test done at my GPs and I also took along my home BP readings as it was slightly raised at the appointment). He also says that a natural birth will be fine. and has released me from his care.

I feel a bit cheeky as I did not inform him of my decision to have a homebirth but it was in my notes.

I feel like I am getting there but I am currently only 24 weeks so a way to go yet.

Hiya, I've never been to a Homebirth group I didnt even know they were taking place!!!
I have had two of my children at home.............I would reccomend it to anyone. Being at home to have them wasn't my Hubby's cup of tea....until it happened and he said that compaired to my first birth in hospital it was amaizing!!
I really loved being at home, my own bath, coffee and having my kids around. I felt safe and i think it helped my labours be easier as I was so relaxed.
Hubby's worry too much but if you have a great midwife as I did then it will be a super, a well worth it experience.
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I'm planning a homebirth (36 weeks at the moment) and attended a homebirth meeting in Reading back in August. Although a couple of the people there were a bit more hippyish than I expected they were really nice and it was nice to speak to people who had been through it or were planning on going through it.

I would recommend the meetings to anyone. It allows you to talk through some of the issues and it reassured my husband as well.

Actually looking forward to the birth now.