Hospital or home

Hi, I'm also hesitating...
I'm leaning more and more towards home birth because of all the comfort at home. On the other hand, pain relief is only available in the hospital...
The hospital is just 5 minutes from our house, so if something happens, you're there quickly and a team is ready to help right away.

I'm still not sure either. On the one hand, staying at home seems nice because it's familiar and you don't have to travel to the hospital and back (even though it's only a 5-minute drive from my house). At home, you're in your own environment with your own things.
On the other hand, giving birth in the hospital also feels like a safe and comforting option. Especially since you can get pain relief there.
It's so hard to predict how you'll feel at the moment of birth, whether you'll want pain relief then, or where you'd prefer to be... it's tricky. And I'm already such a wishy-washy person

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that I live on the 4th floor (no elevator), so it might well end up being at the hospital anyway. I don't know exactly what the rules are and whether you're allowed to give birth at home in that case. If something comes up and you have to go to the hospital, I think they won't carry you down on a stretcher either (I read that on another forum). So if that's indeed the case, it makes the decision a bit easier. Do you have any idea about this?

True, Mippoe—they shouldn't carry you down on a stretcher... I don't know if you'd be able to walk down 4 flights of stairs yourself while in labor and then still have to go to the hospital, haha!

I'm not pregnant yet, but if I have the choice, I'd like to give birth at home... according to my mom (a maternity care assistant), it's handy to have a bed downstairs then. I guess I'll bring the guest bed downstairs by then! Maybe I'll think differently once I'm pregnant, but for now, I'd rather be at home!

xxKruimel

I’d say hospital.
I have a great experience with it. If it were a second baby, I’d still choose the hospital. After a few hours, you’re back home. You can sit around, walk, shower, do whatever you want. And if something happens, you’re in the right place. I had to go to the hospital because our little boy had pooped in the amniotic fluid.

I'm going to the hospital. By the way, I think very few people give birth at home in Belgium. I don't know anyone who has done it, and I have a very large family...

I gave birth in the hospital seven months ago and I recommend it to anyone who'll listen. Super support if you want it, your maternity nurse can already be there and you can just leave the mess there. Once everything's done, you can go home, or if not, you stay one more night and don't have to go back home to the hospital.

And did I convince you all!?

Love

Hihi no, sweetheart, I'm sticking to my plan to give birth at home if possible!
I did see with my sister-in-law who just gave birth that the new maternity ward at our hospital looks amazing and the care is fantastic, but I still want to stay at home (also because of the costs for a non-medical indication)!

xx

East or west, home is best... I'll stick to being cozy at home in my own, familiar environment. If things don't go well, we'll just take a trip to the hospital!

I’ve discussed this a lot with many girls around me and some moms. Home birth is just as safe, provided (and here’s a list of all the requirements):

You give birth between 38 and 42 weeks
The placenta isn’t low-lying
The baby has engaged properly (checked via ultrasound)
You don’t have any medical issues
You live within 30 minutes of the hospital
You don’t live on a floor higher than the 3rd floor (unless there’s a lift that can accommodate a stretcher)
You trust yourself

So, if all that’s good? Absolutely, the midwife is trained to deliver a baby and has the necessary first aid kit for if you tear or need stitches afterward.

You’ll also need quite a few other things (some come in the postpartum kit from your insurance, but check first)

Your bed needs to be at least 70-80cm high
2 trash cans for the afterbirth and in case you suddenly need to use the toilet
Several sheets (you don’t want to replace your bed after birth)
And a few other things you can find online

If you’ve got everything ready and are willing to put in the effort to give birth at home:

DO IT!!!!


I’m a big supporter of home birth like how I was born and many in my family. I plan to do it myself too, though I’ll have to rent a bed!

No sitting in the car with contractions, no sudden wet seat if your water breaks in the car, no strange midwife or OB, no crowding during labor with clamps or suction, just at your own pace, not getting back in the car after exhausting hours. At home, you’re at home, just fold up the sheet with all the stuff and throw it in the bin, and you’re done.
The only thing is: if you need to go to the hospital. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen, and that afterward you can rest comfortably in your bed with the baby in your arms.

Good luck!

It's quite funny, my second daughter came so fast that the midwives said you should have chosen a home birth. She said maybe consider it for a next pregnancy. I was already 9 cm dilated when she arrived and had to rush to the hospital like an arrow. I almost gave birth in the car. Greetings, Summer

I would choose the hospital because you don't have to arrange everything there.
I gave birth to my 2 children
in the hospital without medical reason.
I don't worry about the costs, you pay it back to other things anyway.
And I found it nice because they make up your bed, they help you comfortably.
And I stayed there for the first night because both times it was at 1 o'clock
at night and it was winter so too cold for the baby to go home.
So the first night after giving birth you can nicely recover, sleep quietly.
Greetings, Marilouise

that's true, yeah, at the hospital you don't have to do anything
so it's choosing between paying for doing nothing or paying less and doing it yourself.
I just don't see traveling as something nice, traveling with contractions and traveling back, I'd rather be cozy in my own bed and don't want to go outside (even though I'm having a summer baby)
especially since I can see the hospital from my house, so it takes more effort to get in the car than to just lie down.
but what does your gut say

Summer, I’ve heard that after 7-8 cm you’re not allowed to go to the hospital anymore. Then there’s a high chance the baby will be born on the way or in the hospital hallway.

I had to give birth in the hospital because I'm chronically ill, but in hindsight, it's fine too. I had a severe hemorrhage; if I had gotten that at home, it wouldn't have ended well. Now I hope to get pregnant again, but I'll go to a different hospital.
But if you're healthy, do what feels comfortable for you.
xxx

Ike 1987, why are you going to another hospital?

not the best experiences in the other zh!
my son ended up with a cut on his cheek because of their negligence! luckily everything is fine now. xxx

Phew, that's less...
Where I live, there are also hospitals I wouldn't want to go to if something went wrong during the home birth.

you can just let your GP know that you're free to choose your own hospital!
but i just had a lot of bad luck and was too unsure to say anything about it, only afterwards but yeah by then it was too late. just always choose what feels right for you and what your heart tells you, then it'll really work out!!!!