Chill out and make life easy on yourself (Home Births)

Member Name: bruffyboy

Product:	Home Births
Date:	10/11/08 (52 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: All your own resources are to hand, very relaxed

Disadvantages: Blood on the sofa :(

This review is from the dad's perspective!
To begin with, we had our first baby at a hospital, and I wouldn't recommend a home birth for baby number one, as it's a good opportunity to get accustomed to the whole thing.
With baby number two, we couldn't help but feel the hospital experience had let us down a bit: very impersonal, and being thrown out after visiting hours, it was a bit too 'out of our hands'. So, my wife decided she fancied a home birth, and I agreed. So this is how the day went:

1) Early contractions. We weren't sure whether it was really happening or not, and felt a little out of our depth: was this it or were they just tightenings? To be on the safe side, we shipped baby number one off to grannies and phoned the midwife, who told us she'd pop round and check us out.
2) Stronger contractions, and arrival of midwife. By the time the midwife arrived, contractions were getting stronger. The midwife told us wife was 3cm dilated - woohoo.
3) The midwife stayed with us from this point, and we chatted, ate, drank and were merry in the living room, with wife just pausing and breathing through each contraction whilst rocking on a birthing ball. We had relaxing music playing, and wife free to move around where and when she liked.
4) Things started getting painful, so wife fits on Tens machine.
5) Contractions getting very close, midwife calls second midwife. The law states that home-births must have 2 midwives present.
6) 2nd midwife arrives just in time for pushing. Wife lies on sofa, pushes, pushes, baby Elijah is born!
7) Midwives clean up whilst we hold baby.
8) Two hours after birth, midwives go home, and we go to bed with new-born baby!

So there it is, and her are pluses and minuses:

PLUSES:
a) You're in your own home, you know where everything is, have privacy, comfort of your own furniture, your own loo, food and drink at your disposal.
b) When it's over, you're able to just go to bed and not be disturbed by a dozen other mums and babies!
c) Very relaxed atmosphere, although I guess it is what you make it.
d) Midwives provide all sheets and stuff to protect furniture.

MINUSES:
a) If anything went wrong (didn't in this case) you're further away from a doctor than if in the hospital.
b) We did manage to get some blood on sofa (leather and washed off but it was pretty grim leaking down the sides).

In conclusion, I recommend home birth to those who are confident enough for it. It's way more relaxing and empowering for the woman, and all your resources are at hand.

Summary: Definitely worth it if you're brave enough