Jo's Blog

Now - where would you have your baby? To be honest, I hadn't seriously considered anywhere else other than the hospital. After all, I wouldn't dream of servicing my own car outside on the road or plumbing in my own bathroom, why would I think of having a baby at home. Surely it is better to have your baby in hospital?

But having talked to some friends about it suddenly the idea is more attractive. Would it feel reassuring to have your own things around? Your own music, bathroom, contents of the fridge etc at your fingertips. Would hubby find it easier to endure 24 hrs of my labour if he had his X-box, internet connection and comfy sofa at his disposal? But then what about the neighbours? How might they feel to hear the loud part of labour through the paper thin walls? Or what about people passing by in the street if I'd forgotten to shut the curtains? Plus I'd like to have a birthing pool but where on earth would that fit? I can't imagine hauling it up to our tiny bathroom and I feel the conservatory would be just a little too public.

Follow up:

I've been reading various accounts of home births on the internet and mostly I find them very inspiring and encouraging. I'm not sure I can identify with the anti hospital feeling that some of them present, but I guess that is the more extreme end. Often it seems to be as a result of bad experiences in hospitals and I guess that might put you off a bit? But I don't have any anti hospital experiences and all the health professionals I've encountered so far during my pregnancy have been good or at the very least, bearable!

I won't be having our baby at home. Hubby and I have talked about it and although I'd quite like to give it a go I think it would just be too stressful and ultimately more difficult than being in the care of professionals with some decent pain relieving medication nearer than an ambulance ride away. Plus I'm not sure I could get the house clean enough to give birth in. The last thing I want to be thinking about as I'm puffing away is 'flip, I wish I'd given the floor another wipe before the midwife arrived'. I think it would put me off my stroke.

Hubby says he thinks we could have number four at home. We aren't having four children so he knows he is safe saying that. We are not having any more after this, and that decision is final.