10 days ago I was in hospital recovering from an emergency c-section with my newborn by my side.
My home birth didn't turn out quite the way I planned, but I wanted to write a post about how I'm still 100% supportive of home births.
My home birth was amazing - for the first few hours at least. I had some niggles in the early evening that I thought could turn into labour, and my beautiful midwives came down early in preparation of a speedy birth. Contractions started around midnight, and I laboured with my husband and my midwives by my side. Totally supportive and always focused on giving me their full attention to help bring our baby into the world.
However 4 hours in - we came to a mutual decision that things weren't quite right. The baby had moved down and I felt my cervix open wide and began pushing, but nothing was happening. His head wasn't quite in the right spot and no amount of body shaking, thigh slapping or different pushing positions was moving him.
His heart rate was perfect - all the way through.
It got to the stage where I felt the contractions change - the pain felt different, sharper. Like a searing pain. My pushing urge left. The baby moved back up, under my ribs again. My midwives listened to me when I said something wasn't right. They agreed that there was something happening, even though there were no physical signs of anything amiss - it was just our gut feelings we decided on transferring.
When I got to the hospital after initial examination - again, perfect heart rate on the ctg monitors at the hospital - I don't think the registrar quite knew why we had come in - or the midwife on duty. Until I haemorrhaged.
Action stations! Whisked off for an emergency csection (which I had been asking them for since I got in there and to have it performed under a general - they wanted me to have a spinal and I refused) and found out later I had a hole in my uterus and placental abruption. 2 very rare complications that could happen in any birth - and both happened to me.
It has been said that how lucky I am to have been in the hospital - perhaps I should have been in there from the first contraction instead of being at home. Respectfully to all those people - the medical complications would have happened the same. Regardless of where I laboured, it was going to happen. I truly believe that had I been in the hospital with midwives that did not know me as much as my independent midwives know me - they wouldn't have believed me. Why would they? All monitoring said my labour was going along just fine - baby was not under any stress or showing signs of being in trouble. My contractions were still strong and intense.
I am of the firm belief that this birth proves that home birth is safe. In the movie "The Face of Birth", there is a midwife being interviewed about the safety of home birth and what happens if something goes wrong. She discussed the ripple effect - you know your birthing woman so well that you notice the slightest ripple of change in the water, before it turns into something more serious.
And that's exactly what happened here. My midwives acted at the ripple in the water and didn't wait for the wave.
I will always give my full support to people wanting the choice to have a home birth, and I believe that each birthing woman should birth with the people that they feel will give them the best possible outcome.
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