Does anyone know (hosp/home births)

Both my births were pretty straight forward and in a hospital so I can't say for definate but I would think it depends on why you had a episiotomy, forceps & hemorrhaged with your DD as to whether you can birthat home or not with your next baby

Apart from the haemorrhage, Totally go for the home birth hun!

You would need to investigate the reasons behind the haemorrhage first. But that would be something a MW would discuss and I reckon if you found a MW keen on homebirth she'd be all for it!

The episiotomy and forceps are often a result of the hospital itself, more than your body!
And a plus to being at home is you are much more comfortable which usully means less intervention!!

If you can find a good midwife then go for the homebirth.

My 1st was an emergency c/s (7lbs 12oz) then my second was nearly a c/s and i gave birth to her on the operating table in theate, i had a 2nd degree tear and episiotomy (9lbs!). With having the c/s im not supposed to have homebirths but my next 2 births were at home with an amazing midwife and im getting ready for my next homebirth in about 11wks time.

Edited to say that at my last birth my midwife left a needle of meds (not sure what it actually was) at our house when she left, she didnt tell me what it was until the next day when i pointed it out and she said that i had actually bled more than she liked after the birth and had left it incase i hemorrhaged. So that might be something to ask your midwife about.

Edited by fadeless

I read this earlier this morning and have been thinking on it all day, as it hit very close to home for me.

I had quite a large PPH after my first birth, ending in a transfusion, and five days in hospital / crappy recovery.

For my second I had a wonderful (and quick!) homebirth with NO trouble whatsoever, and supported by a wonderfully knowledgeable and hands-off midwife.

What I learned between my first and second births was really valuable to me, including that a previous PPH is not an indicator of whether or not you will bleed in subsequent births - unless you have a clotting disorder or similar.

There are also *heaps* of things you can do / strategies you can put in place to help prevent or lessen the chance of PPH. For me the first of these *was* staying home, I was so much more relaxed and comfortable.

The next was make sure I stayed hydrated, Powerade was my friend as I didn't really feel like water oddly enough. Not being able to empty your bladder properly after baby is born (but before the placenta) can sometimes mean you are more likely to bleed (or at least not be helpful).

I had some herbal tinctures on hand that I was going to use just in case the bleeding got heavy, and if those were no good then I had a vial of synto and syringe on hand in my fridge that my mw had given me at about the 38w point. Fortunately we never needed to use these!

A couple of other things that I'd put in my birth plan were *no* VE's were to be done at all (unless in dire emergency, like cord prolapse or something), and also no cord traction was to be applied when birthing the placenta - for me the less interference the better.

Lastly, getting baby to the breast (although not forcing it, as some babies are just not interested straight away) for a feed as soon as possible was important - it gets even more oxytocin flowing and causes the uterus to start contracting down again (v. important).

If you want a homebirth, you can have one - just make sure you plan for it and do lots of reading on third stage.

Edited by HippyMama

Just popping back with a link I came across on Facebook today that I thought you might be interested in reading Sabrina

Three Tips for a Successful Home Birth