I am considering a homebirth

[mikaylasmummy]

I have so many questions but I cannot remember half of them.
I am really considering a homebirth, but need as much info as possible about it..
How does it actually work?
Do I let my hospital know, my gp?
What are the procudres of it?
Do I need a midwife or doula present?
When I am in labour who do I call???
Any other info would be great...

Any one had a homebirth who wouldn't mind sharing there experiences?

Thankyou

[AM]

How does it actually work?

If you want to have a mw present, it pays to find one as soon as you are pregnant, as they can be a bit like hens teeth in some parts of the country. Depending on where you live, you can come under public funding if you 'fit the criteria' eg: WA/NT.

Your mw will take care of all antenatal, labour/birth and postnatal care, you can let your GP know, and you can book into hospy as a back up plan, some people find they get more hassle from doing this than it is worth, so simply don't bother. In the unlikely event of a transfer, you would simply enter by emergency with your mw, and would be treated, your mw would be able to communicate all necessary facts.

You can also opt to birth simply with a doula, some will attend homebirth without a mw if that is your wish, or you can simply go it alone with or without partner, friends, other family etc.

Totally up to you, as it is your body, your baby, your birth!!

What are the procudres of it?

I'm not sure I understand this question fully, but I will answer as best I can. my mw would check my urine for protein/ketones etc, she would listen to the babies heart, measure my fundus, chat to me for hours! We would talk about diet, exercise etc. You can have much less monitoring than this if you want, simply talk to a mw about it. I had one vaginal exam only during my first pregnancy, in labour, and none at all during my second pregnancy and birth.

Do I need a midwife or doula present?

Not if you don't want to. Many women freebirth, with just themselves, or their partner, or friends etc, it is all about trusting implicitly in your body, and also being able to trust your intuition if something feels wrong, or if a rare complication arose. A couple of great places to look for info about freebirth/purebirth is www.purebirth-australia.com

and

[link removed by moderator]

When I am in labour who do I call???

If freebirthing, noone, otherwise, your doula, I rang mine before my mw, and when I was feeling that it was SERIOUS i rang my mw.

Cost can vary widely depending on where you are, from around $2000 to about $4,500 but a lot of people will use the baby bonus, and if you have private health cover, some will cover a part of the cost.

If possible, get in touch with a homebirth group in your area, and get to know people who have btdt, and can offer suggestions, stories, moral support (it can be a tough choice sometimes, if people give you a hard time)

Come and join our hb support thread, and you will pick up things, and can ask as many questions as you like

A birth pool can be something you may think about using, and most hb'ers will delay cutting the cord or leave it intact (lotus birth) to allow the baby to recieve the full amount of nourishment from the placenta possible.

Most hb'ers will decline Vit K and Hep B at birth, but these can be arranged at a later date if so wished.

Um...can't think of anything else right now, either that or I could write out a BOOK about it, but i think neither of us want that!

All the best, keep researching, read as much as you can, talk to as many people as you can.

[mikaylasmummy]

WoW, thankyou so much for the advice ApprenticeMomma.
I will def look alot more into it.
So if I do have a freebirth with no one present other than my partner, do I need to go to the hospital afterwards for the standard checkup?
I cannot think of the name, but 3 days after bubs is born do I need to go into the hospital for that test that they do where they prick you baby's foot and get blood?

[AM]

If you freebirth, it is totally up to you if you want to go to the hospy after, most freebirthers I know wouldn't go near a hospy if you paid them! (unless there was a problem of course)

Totally your choice. If you choose to have the heel prick test (Guthrie) done again, totally your choice (I did not have them done) and if you have a mw, you can get her/him to do it, or freebirthers would perhaps go to hospy.

[mikaylasmummy]

Thankyou again, sorry I forgot another question.
In regards to the placenta and cords. I read that it's best to wait at least 10mins before cutting the cord and delivering the placenta, though when I had Mikayla the doc done it straight away almost.

[AM]

Yep, I mentioned this in my first post. Most homebirthers will let the cord stop pulsing, so eah, 10 minutes or so, and a lot will keep the cord attached until the placenta has been birthed, usually the only reason for cutting it beforehand will be if the cord is short, and the placenta is taking it's time to come, and you would like baby to go to the breast, which will also help to expel the placenta.

Look into Lotus birth as well, it is fascinating!