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Pregwithnumber1 
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Location: Lower Hutt
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 Topic: Homebirth - anyone doing it?
Posted: 11 February 2010 at 2:02pm |
Wow these forums are fun! Just added my ticker too, so hope that works 
Hey just out of curiousity - is anyone here planning on having a home birth? I'm seriously considering it as I am not good with hospitals and I would feel much more relaxed being at home. I have a midwife who specialises in homebirth and she knows her stuff, so I have confidence in her. My family aren't sold on the idea, even though I live literally 2 minutes away from the hospital.
Just wondering what everyone else was doing and if there were any other mums-to-be planning on having a home-birth here?
Cheers
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High9
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Posted: 11 February 2010 at 2:22pm |
I thought about it initially, but my mw doesn't do home births and doesn't plan to start now  so seeing as this is my first I figure I'll just go with the flow and birth at a hospital but will definitely look into it a bit more if we have any other babies.
Is there anyway your mw and your family can sit down together to discuss the homebirth, like why you'd like one, your mw can talk about pros and cons, etc, your family can voice their concerns... Your mw might have a few stories up her sleeve which could sell it to your family!
I know there are a couple of women on here who've had home births so your bound to get a few replies from them soon!!
All the best!
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Madiandmini
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Location: Hawera, Taranaki
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Posted: 11 February 2010 at 2:54pm |
2 Mins away? Wow, I say go for it!! 
I think in soo many ways it'd be better. More calming for you, comfortable, you can yell as loud as a want LOL
I think it'd be great. I would be doing it with this baby except the mw's in my town are crap (Not my words) so mine is 20mins away and has access to a fantastic birthing unit. They do roasts for tea  hehe
Talk to your mw, like nkap9 said, they will have alot of great stories.
++ It'd be soo cool to tell bubs that they were born in your house
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yermasyada
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Posted: 11 February 2010 at 3:14pm |
Yup, we're having a home birth (bar any emergencies)
It's not that I hate hospitals or anything, I just can't see the point in going unless I *have* to. I'll be much more relaxed at home, and have everything I need right here. Plus my own lovely bathroom
I'm 'hypnobirthing' too, so the plan is for a very relaxed and sedate atmosphere. Much more achievable at home. I'm actually really looking forward to it 
Milliemoo
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minik8e
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Posted: 11 February 2010 at 3:20pm |
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Just to threadjack...
Madiandme are you using Elizabeth R???? It is sooooooooooo nice!!!!
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Pregwithnumber1
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Posted: 11 February 2010 at 3:27pm |
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yermasyada
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Posted: 11 February 2010 at 3:43pm |
Yup, he's my first
Why have fear and dread when you can have calm and anticipation. That's what I think anyway. I do tend to have a very positive outlook though and I'm quite laid back.
Mine & my baby's health is the most important thing. In the unlikely event of an emergency, I will of course transfer to the hospital. I love the thought of birthing my baby in peaceful, homely surroundings though, hence the home birth.
Milliemoo
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RinTinTin
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Posted: 11 February 2010 at 3:44pm |
Go for the homebirth I say.
I birthed at River Ridge which is a birthing unit in Hamilton and thats about as close as you get to a homebirth without actually being at home, IYKWIM.
If I have a second I'd seriously consider a home birth.
Go with what and where you feel most comfortable. If your comfy and relaxed the birth will be alot easier than if you're up tight and stressed out.
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HippyMama
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Posted: 11 February 2010 at 4:44pm |
I'll be back later as I am FAK (feeding at keyboard) but we homebirthed and it was awesome - the English language fails me unfortunately in being able to describe the awesomeness.
It was just so much more relaxed and easy to handle for me, I laboured in my own bed, had my own food and drink, and after she was born just chilled out in my lounge with the mw. DH, DD and a friend.
I am happy to answer any questions you might have
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Mama to two earth walkers & two angels.
Remember, you are not managing an inconvenience; You are raising a human being. ~ Kittie Franz
Next Slingbabies! Meet - Friday 4th May !!
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Anonymous55
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Posted: 11 February 2010 at 5:04pm |
I'm planning a homebirth, too!
It's my first and I'm due on the 10th of March.
I live one block away from the hospital, which makes me feel really safe and I have a lovely team of two mw's. I'm getting my birthing pool next week, so if everything goes well I'll be paddling around the pool in my own lounge with baby between my legs, haha!
I don't mind going to hospitals at all for an appointment but I really hate the idea of staying overnight, so let's hope everything goes well and I don't have to throw my homebirth plan out the window!
I'd say totally go for it, especially since you're very close to the hossy, too!
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AandCsmum
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Posted: 11 February 2010 at 5:08pm |
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If you live 2 mins away then definitely go for it.
What your family think doesn't overly matter, it's what you & your DH are comfortable with. Your DH might not be so comfortable with it cause he would worry about yours & your baby's health.
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Kel
A = 01.02.04 & C = 16.01.09 & G = 30.03.12
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mummyofprinces
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Posted: 11 February 2010 at 5:48pm |
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I dont see why not, go for it if its what you want!!!
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Cassie
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Posted: 11 February 2010 at 8:17pm |
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I'm homebirthing this time around, really wish I had last time but I was a bit chicken! Hubby is still a bit daunted about me wanting to have this one at home but really? we were in and out of hospital so quickly last time (grand total of four hours, didn't even go upstairs to the maternity ward), it would have just been easier to stay home! Barring any problems, I'm definitely going ahead with it this time. We live close to the hospital too, so having that as a back up is fantastic.
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bext1
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Posted: 11 February 2010 at 10:13pm |
no too scared!! plus I live 20 minutes at least in no traffic to the hospital
Off topic slightly but pregwithnumber1 - if you are due June, then how about joining us in the Due June 2010 thread.
see you there! 
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monster
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Posted: 12 February 2010 at 12:39pm |
I'm planning a homebirth with this one. Last time I had a really straightforward and quick birth at a nearby birthing centre, so I figure it'll be easier to stay at home (especially if it goes even faster this time around!). I won't be any further away from a hospital as I was last time, in fact I think I'm a bit closer. I'm just hoping all goes well with this pregnancy as going in to a hospital would feel a bit strange for me, I think.
Good luck to you - it sounds like a great plan in your situation.
Edited by monster
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MumtoMany
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Posted: 12 February 2010 at 1:41pm |
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I had a home birth last time and loved it. I did however have breastfeeding problems which i thought may not have gotten as bad had i been in hospital. I think i will home birth again if im allowed to and this pregnancy goes well. I would love to use a birth pool however i have no idear where you can hire the ones that heat as our hot water tank isnt that big and our bath is tiny. Sorry off track hahaha
I say go for it. If you feel safe and happy at home your labour is more likely to go better and maybe quicker.
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DD 12 DS 9.5 DD 6 DS 4 DD 23 months and here comes number 6 
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gypsynita
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Posted: 12 February 2010 at 2:26pm |
I had a home (water) birth for my first, and planning it again this time round....
My family were a little apprehensive - to put it lightly!! i believe mum's comment to me at approx 36 weeks was "oh, so you're still doing that?" like it was just a phase I was going through or something! She is now a total convert and tells every pg woman she meets how great homebirth is!! trust me they'll come round when they come to visit you at home and see how relaxed you and baby are!
i was in a similar situation to you - close to the hospital, hate hospitals, and mw is really experienced in homebirths.
it was a great experience (well, as great as birth can be ) and by far the quickest and best experience out of my whole ante-natal group. could have just been luck, but i think a lot of it had to do with being more relaxed in my home environment.
any q's feel free to pm me
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Anita
Mum to Cian (Aug 08), Josh (Jun 10)
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HippyMama
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Posted: 12 February 2010 at 2:54pm |
For pool hire try Aquabub  They can also provide an electric pump etc for a small free and that makes inflating the pool heaps quicker.
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Mama to two earth walkers & two angels.
Remember, you are not managing an inconvenience; You are raising a human being. ~ Kittie Franz
Next Slingbabies! Meet - Friday 4th May !!
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T_Rex
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Posted: 12 February 2010 at 3:18pm |
I attempted a home birth but despite being totally relaxed and confident about it, things didn't quite go to plan. The MW who was very experienced in home birth said she felt we should head to hospital after 21-odd hours in labour and having stalled at 5cm for most of the night.
DD ended up being a very emergency vonteuse a few hours later, so she did make the right call.
The transfer was a bit rough, but I'm 35km from hospital. We certainly had plenty of time because the MW was experienced enough to make that call early. I was quite happy at home at that point but we'd agreed that if anyone said hospital was needed then we'd transfer.
I was really glad we tried at home because I've been surprisingly ok with how things turned out and I think if I'd started out in hospital, I would have had a caesar.
Also, we kept it between me, DH and MW (and OhBaby!) that we were planning a homebirth until after the fact. I didn't see that it was their business, nor did I have any interest in them telling me I'm "brave". Since coming clean afterwards, lots of people have responded "isn't it lucky you decided to transfer?" (because in all likelihood our baby would have died had we been at home when her heart rate crashed) but what they don't get, is that it wasn't LUCK that we went to hospital, it was planning and the MW's experience. Yes, we wanted a homebirth, and I'm a wee bit disappointed that we didn't get one, but more than that we wanted a healthy baby and healthy me, so we had contingency plans in place to ensure that we would move to the hospital if it appeared that might be necessary.
So from someone who tried it and failed, I still wholeheartedly recommend it if you are comfortable with it
As for the pool, our MW loaned us her one, and we borrowed a collection of kettles to help heat the water.
Do you think we can get this stickied? I think a homebirth thread would be great
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kakapo
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Posted: 12 February 2010 at 4:38pm |
 Bellasmum wrote:
I had a home birth last time and loved it. I did however have breastfeeding problems which i thought may not have gotten as bad had i been in hospital. |
With DS, I had a planned hospital birth with a homebirth midwife - was a fab experience, totally natural and drug-free. I think of it as my *home birth in hospital*. We then had BFing issues, and stayed in hospital for 6 days trying unsuccessfully to get him to latch and feed. During that time I received a huge amount of conflicting advice about what to do from just about every staff member on duty during that time. In retrospect, perhaps we would have been better off at home supported by just one or two people who could provide consistent advice? Like Bellasmum, I sometimes ponder the "what ifs?".
With this pregnancy, I chose to go with the independent midwives again. However, they have now made a stand that they will only do homebirths as they're so frustrated with the policies etc of our local hospital. (They will of course organise for transfer during labour if required). Living 50 kms from hospital, this thought scared me a little at first, but after attending the Homebirth Aotearoa conference last October I now ask myself "why wouldn't I want a homebirth?". I understand things don't always go to plan, and a transfer to hospital may be on the cards, but I'm feeling really positive and looking forward to the experience. Establishing BFing scares me, but labour and birth don't lol.
Do you have an Active Birth or Homebirth group in your area? (your midwife should know). They usually have regular coffee groups that both pregnant women and mothers are welcome to attend. And great resources - books, DVDs etc to lend. I highly recommend reading "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth" if you can find a copy ... it has lots of inspirational, positive birth stories and tips for natural birth.
Edited by kakapo
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Homebirth - anyone doing it?
