Howdy,
This topic came up in the Episode thread and rather than hijack that, I though I'd start a new discussion.


My wife often dreams of having a Home Birth (we're pregnant with our third now) and I've always been uncomfortable with the idea.

Con1: It just sounds messy.
Giving birth is messy from start to finish.
Someone's gonna have to clean it up and it will be me.

Con2: Having the space.
In conjunction with Con1, you need to have the right space and environment for this. Making sure that Mom is comfortable and that you have everything you need. For some this doesn't present a problem, for us and our small house, it does.

Con3: What to do with the kids
If it's your first delivery, great, no problem.
We now have to small, curious, and abundantly helpful toddlers. Occupying them while this is all going on is on the other side of impossible.
Even for a wee small hours birth, I suspect.

Con4: It's illegal.
Well, it is for us.
Our first child came via C-section and NJ does not allow Home VBAC deliveries.
Yes, we could do it ourselves, with no support staff ( no Doula ) but that flys in the face of Pro1 for the hospital... Competent, available, un-emotionally attached support staff.


That's my $0.02.

Good idea pfann... I shall move my comments here as well...

A hospital has ALL of the necessary equipment to deal with pretty much ANY emergency that could happen, along with MULTIPLE professionals in the building at any given time with the skills to use said equipment. And they all know pretty much where everything is located, including the patient. So that 'comfort' level or feeling of 'safety' in a hospital is clear to me. (Even with a "Low Risk Pregnancy" that Cait mentions, I wouldn't be comfy without all of the above on hand.)

But also, along with all that specialized equipment and trained staff, there's even people paid to clean up all that stuff! We've all seen how messy birth is... Sorry, I in no way shape or form want that mess ANYWHERE in my house... Ok, MAYBE the garage (if I had one) because that'd be fairly easy to hose clean.

Seriously, keep your placenta off the carpet thank you very much.


You bring up a great point about the kids and family... and what about pets? Even the basic logistics of a such a serious procedure happening in my home would overshadow an otherwise joyous event. At least for a ScorpioNeurotic such as myself.

Can anyone here offer, ahem, hands on advice from a personal experience with a home birth?