Charlie O'Brien blog and having a baby at home

I've got about 16 weeks left of my pregnancy. I know that is still four whole months but as the cliché goes, time flies and I know this baby girl will be here before I know it.

I'm definitely not as organised this time. We still need to swap all the rooms about in our house and I've hardly bought anything. But all of that can be realistically sorted in a week or so.

More important to me at the moment, is preparing myself for the birth experience.

My last birth wasn't great. After a fairly textbook few hours in the pool, dilating nicely

but when it came to pushing my son got stuck.

I ended up with an assisted delivery, was emotionally and physically traumatised and my recovery was very slow.

I'm not naive. I know that very often, birth circumstances are completely out of your control and there are many aspects that you CAN'T plan. But equally I don't think it hurts to go into the process positively, knowing your options and preparing for a positive experience.

So as well as hiring a doula who I've already met with twice, (more details in a

future blog) I am also considering a home birth.

The idea of home birthing is still met with horror by many people who firmly believe you're better off being in a medical environment. But for me I'm not sure that is true.

I believe that had I been given a little bit more time, had less pressure put on me, not given drugs to speed things up and subsequently forced to try and deliver my son on my back he would have come without the need for forced assistance or trauma.

More and more I'm feeling that I would be happier and more relaxed in a familiar environment, away from strict time pressures and the constant worry of unnecessary medical intervention. I also only live a six-minute drive from my nearest hospital.

So I'm currently in a place where I'm doing lots of research into my options and of course, I need to know all the pros and cons.

The Birthplace Study 2011 found compared to women planning a hospital birth, those planning a home birth have a lower risk of having a caesarean section and a lower risk of an assisted delivery, i.e. forceps or ventouse and less risk of haemorrhage.

Birthplace results show 88% of planned home births were normal births compared to fewer than 60% of planned obstetric unit births.

There is also less risk of infection at home for both mother and baby.

I haven't made a final decision and I've got plenty of time to consider all options but I'd love to hear from you if you had a home birth? Tell me your experiences!

Charlie

x