home birth

this is a subject very close to home lol, ok just a little humour to get things started.

firstly planning is the key to a successful homebirth. you need to educate yourself as much as possibe so you get the idea of what may be involved and what you

will need to have to get you and your baby through a tough time.

at 37 weeks my midwife came to drop of a few things as from that moment it was safe for me to have the baby anytime, a homebirth will not take place before 37 weeks unless there is no stopping a labour ofcourse, they gave me the oxygen tanks they use just incase the baby needs a little help breathing after he or she is born, believe me it is a scary feeling having them sit in your house but most of the time they don't actually have to use them it's just a precaution.they also have a bag packed with all sorts of things they may use during your labour or delivery, like clamps, scissors, gloves, syringes, also some meds aswell not to stop the pain but the ones they use to stop the ammount of bllod you may lose if your losing to much like i did.

i also made a list of things myself, i had a new romper suit for the baby, towels, blankets, pads, a wash cloth, a bowl for the placenta, plastic so we could place it underneath me to stop most of the mess getting on the bed, old sheets to place over the plastic, i had ice cubes stocked up in my freezer so i could keep well hydrated during labour, i had a roll of string just incase the midwife didn't make it in time we could stop the placenta from putting the blood back into the baby which can be dangerous, a cd player with calming music to help keep the scenery relaxed.

now homebirths are alot safer than we all give them credit for, ofcourse you wouldn't have one if you are a high risk pregnancy but if you are classified in the normal range and have no previous complcations it should be safe to go ahead with one but always consult your dr or midwife before planning and setting your heart on it.

recent studies actually show that homebirth is no less dangerous than having yor baby in a hospital, it's just if there are complcations that arise during the labour it will ofcourse take longer for help to get there as the hospital has everything on hand there is only so much they can bring to your home.

also there is no more risk of your baby getting an infection from an unsterilized room, i was actually told that there is less chance due to the fact that i have lived there and the baby has pretty much obsorbed everything i have so she was less likely to get sick from being born at home. and as most of us know you usually get sick from being in a hospital because that's where all the bugs are.

my only other advise to you is to make sure this is what you really want, you will always have the oppertunity to change your mind at anytime as long as the baby's head isn't crowing lol but to stop all the added anxiety for you just make sure your doing the right thing for yourself and your child, if you are unsure then don't do it there is no point putting yourself an your baby through added stress, but if you are sure then good luck and i wish you a safe and healthy delivery at home