30 week check up...

Hi Girls and bumps,

Had my 30 week check up at the midwide yesterday and all is perfect. My BP 120/70, baby head down and facing the correct way and is a very good size. Measurements are all fine and midwife was a happy lady with me and the wriggler. She doesnt want to see me for 4 weeks unless something is up or i feel that i want a check up. Really lucky midwife is fantastic.

Got chatting to her about the birth yesterday and she asked if we had considered home birth since all was going so well and I seemed relaxed and unphased (not sure this is how i would describe me but hey i must give a good impression), we kind of had but were a bit put off as it is my first and you never know what will happen. I would like to give birth at home as i recon i would be much more relaxed, i totally hate hospitals with a passion and it has been stressing me about staying in over night etc, so in a sense this would be good if it were at home, however then the thought of the 'what if's' come in to my mind the hospital that we have chosen to look after our care is a good 40min away by ambulance and i worry that if something goes wrong thats a long way away. Advice/experienes etc etc would be much appreciated.
Take care everyone

Debs and 30wk+2 wriggler.

Hey

Firstly im pleased everything is going well with your little one and secondly i wanted to tell you about my experience of giving birth both at a hospital and at home.

My third baby was a planned homebirth however towards the end of my pregnancy my iron levels dropped too low and the hospital advised me against it. So following their advice i had him in hospital. I was told that due to my iron levels being so low i was at serious risk of bleeding and they needed me at hospital incase i needed a blood transfusion. He ended up being born on valentines day 1999, and considering id already had two other children i can honestly say it was the most awgul experience ever.

I went to the hospital at around 1am in considerable pian and they examined me and said i was only a few centimetres dilated and told me it would be hours before he was born. I had a bath to help with the pain and by about 3.30am i was in a lot of pain. I asked for pain relief and was told it was too early for any and by this point i was begging for something to take the pain away. The midwives wouldnt even examine me and i was told there was no way i would be in as much pain as i 'claimed' to be in. A few minutes later i sent my OH to find a midwife as i needed to push but they were busy.

No one came and i could feel baby was on his way, When the midwife finally came she realised that my waters hadnt even broken so she broke them and it turned out my son had opened his bowels and was in severe difficulty. At 4.04am my son was born with the cord round his neck and wasnt breathing, as the midwives hadnt even expected me to deliver so earlier it took what seemed like ages for a doctor to arrive. I felt helpless not being able to do anything while doctors tried to get my baby to breathe, they then took him off to special care and i was left alone for nearly 3 hours without even so much as a look in by a midwife and not knowing if my baby was alive. By this point my OH was going mad. He found me a wheelchair and wheeled me up to the Special care unti, the midwives didnt even noticed id gone.

Thankfully my son is now fine although he has growth problems and at the age of 10 he is the same height and weight as his five year old brother.

His brother was also a planned home birth and this time i actually had him at home and it was the most amazing experience ever. After the trauma of Callums birth in hospital there was no way id ever give birth in a hospital again.

My son was due on the 28th September 2003 but the due date came and went with no sign of my son putting in an appearance. The 2nd of October came and i woke up around 5am with a few twinges. I woke my husband up and basically we played the waiting game wondering if this was the real thing.

At around 7am we woke our other children up and got them ready for school. As we only live a 10 min walk from the school i decided to walk them there hoping that the walking would help speed things up.

By 11am i was getting regular contractions and contacted the hospital who asked how far apart they were and how long they were lasting, because my third child was a very speedy labour they sent a midwife round straight away.

A second midwife arrived just after midday and it felt really reassuring that i had the sole attention of two midwifes who wouldnt disappear to check on other ladies in labour (that happened to me in hospital).

One of the really good parts about having a home birth is that one of the midwifes was actually the one who had undertaken all my checks throughout my pregnancy and having someone there who knew me made a huge difference.

Also being able to do what i wanted during my labour helped so much, and it was great to be able to get in my own bath and walk in my garden etc to help with the pains. Everything seemed so much more relaxed than being in hospital and at no time was i worried about my sons safety.

Shortly after 2pm the contractions were coming thick and fast so i went upstairs to my bed were my son would be born. After an hour at 3.15 i gave birth to my son, Connor, who weighed 7lb 4oz in my own home with my husband by my side.

Id made arrangements for my father in law to pick my other boys up from school and they walked in at 3.30pm and my husband brought them straight upstairs to see me and their baby brother and seeing their faces when they realised what had happened was fantastic.

We didnt have to wait for visiting time for them to see him and they met their brother at only 15 mins old.

All in all it was a wonderful experience and as im pregnant again im hoping for another home birth.

I think there are pros and cons in whatever you decide but i guess all anyone can advise is that you choose whatever you feel most comfortable with.

Wishing you well in whatever you decide.

Katie and 20+1 pink bump xx

Thanks for your replys

Thanks very much for your replies, hubby and i are still trying to weight up the pros and cons but i think we are veering towards hospital...however we do have a bit of time to change our minds 200 times before then.

Thanks crunchy its friday, i am pooped. Busy weekend too as hubbys kids are at their mums and we have some more of the loft conversion to do...oh the joys.

Hope you all have a good weekend and take care
Debs x

Hey hun

That's great news, glad everything is going fab for ya.

I have to be honest, I am totally against home births. I was considering one with my son but decided against it. I don't think I would have been allowed because my son was born at 36+5 (classed as a premature baby). Anyway my son was born normal vaginal delivery but came out purple, cord wrapped round his neck. He needed to be resuscitated and was an incubator for 2 days. He need antibiotics through a drip, vitamin k and help with his breathing.
I know he wouldn't be here now if I had a home birth. The doc didn't even know if he was gonna make it that night. Thank god hes now 14 months and other than mild asthma he is fine.

Sorry to be doom and gloom...I'm not trying to put you off its just things do go wrong, I had a perfect text book pregnancy upto that point.

Good luck with whatever you decide.
Love Toni, Rhys (1) and Lily bump (26wks) xx

I tried to have one

i had a text book pregnancy with my little boy everything was fine throughout so i opted for a home birth for the relaxed atmosphere and so my partner didnt have to travelt he hour o the hospital, however i had meconium in my waters so endedup being taken by ambulance which with lights and all took 40 mins when i got there my little boys heart was slowing so i had to push him out asap doing this resulted in a third degree tear. my little boy however was healthy and happy once he was born. but had i of been told any of this or had any advice i would have opted for a hospital birth to save the last minute rush and the worry of the whole thing, im not saying this would happen to you but you should be aware of both good and bad stories, hope all goes well whichever you choose xx

Hey debs,

just popped over from B&T, still like to keep an eye on you all even though I graduated 7 months ago! I also hate hospitals with a passion and really wanted a home birth, think they sound so lovely and relaxed. Unfortunately Kaitlyn was measuring small in the last few weeks of my pregnancy and the midwives talked me into going into hospital, was gutted tbh but they scared me with what could happen. In my case it's a good job they did cos it turned out she was back to back and I had a horrible labour ending with a forceps delivery cos she was in distress. Was only thinking the other day how different things could've been if I'd dug my heels in and stayed at home, not sure she'd even be here. I hated being in hospital, hated my midwife and couldn't wait to get home but I will always be grateful that they got my little girl here safe. I'm sure other people will reply with wonderful home birth stories but the great thing about this site is you can get lots of different opinions and then make an informed decision. Good luck whatever you decide,

lotsa love,
Clare and Kaitlyn (7 and a half months) xxx