Sorry if this topic has been done to death. I've been working since June in OB, focusing mainly on L&D. I have two children of my own, the first one was a fast and uneventful hospital birth, the second was a homebirth (acynclitic and OP, so labor was VERY long and difficult - if I had been in a hospital, I'm pretty sure I would have been sectioned, but all turned out well in the end).
I'm facing the prospect of perhaps having one more in a couple years. I had previously thought that any other children would also be born at home. But now that I've been working in L&D and getting a glimpse of all the potential emergencies and behind-the-scenes things that could go wrong, I'm seriously questioning the safety of homebirth. I guess you could say I'm having a crisis of faith that birth is a natural process that doesn't HAVE to be managed in order to have a good outcome.
Anyway, I was just wondering if other L&D nurses, knowing what they know, would ever opt for a homebirth for their own.
maybe it would be worthwhile to seek out midwives someplace else, and perhaps, pay the bill???
Just a thought. That was what my sister had to do, to get the midwifery care and experience she so desperately wanted.
i am totally paying out of pocket for my homebirth and prenatal care because my insurance at work doesn't cover lay midwives or homebirths. actually, i am going to try to fight them for some reimbursement, but am not holding my breath. i read the policy and nothing says they don't cover them and under their out of network providers, it says any provider licensed by a state or federal agency and she is. not that i mind paying for her services, it is worth it for us. our medicaid here covers homebirths and my midwife is a provider, i guess i could quit my job. LOL!
i have tried scoping out OBs at my hospital and there are none. i won't see a man for prenatal care because of being sexually abused as a child and the women haven't inspired much confidence in me, they seem more cut and epis happy then the guys. i think in a transfer situation i wouldn't care who was "catching" the baby, be it man or woman, but not for PNC.
As a L&D nurse, I am very supportive of home birth. Many patients think we are doing them such a service by tying them to a bed and pumping them full of pitocin so they will deliver on the day shift. Honestly, the most serious complications I have seen were DOCTOR INDUCED!!!! IE pit to distress, rupturing the membranes when the pt is -3 and whoops a cord prolapse, how did that happen??? Also the main methods we use in the hospital for shoulder dystocia are not always the best, suprapubic pressure and Mc Robert's manuever, most suprapubic pressure I have seen has been done incorrectly anyway. Hands and knees actually opens the pelvic diameter, and most well trained home birth midwives would know this. Yes, the hospital can do a great service to high risk women, but it is the preffered method of all women. Of course you should not deliver at home unless you are completly comfortable with it and educated about the pros and cons. Maybe I have just seen too many doctors taking advantage of patients, but this is the way I feel. I suggest all professionals in OB to read "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth" by Ina May Gaskin, you can find this book in any larger store and it is written by a CPM that is internationlly known. I could not put this book down once I got it, and have shared it with my co-workers.
In an interesting counterpoint to those nurses who wouldn't homebirth because of what they've seen, I decided to homebirth in part because of what I've seen in the hospital.
Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
maybe it would be worthwhile to seek out midwives someplace else, and perhaps, pay the bill???
Just a thought. That was what my sister had to do, to get the midwifery care and experience she so desperately wanted.
Oh, definitely. If I were to decide on a homebirth, I would fully intend that I would be paying her out of pocket. I was just saying that if I DO choose to birth at the hospital, I don't have the option of using a CNM, only an OB.
:rotfl: Ok, why is it still in the freezer? My husband was in charge of burying the placenta after my homebirth. Apparently he didn't dig the hole deep enough because our dog dug it back up! :chuckle He made sure that he made it deep enough the second time around! :rotfl:
Homebirth: Been there, done that, have the placenta buried under the tree to prove it. :rotfl:
I have had one wonderful hospital experience and one great homebirth. Very different experiences, both very satisfying. In an interesting counterpoint to those nurses who wouldn't homebirth because of what they've seen, I decided to homebirth in part because of what I've seen in the hospital. But you guys know my story, so I won't pontificate any further.
Alison
OMG..speaking of placenta under the tree... we did save the placenta from our homebirth. But we were renting etc and stuck it in a rubbermaid container in the freezer where it's been for 4 years LOL. Well, we just sold our place and I cleaned the fridge out but left all the unopened food because it was too far to transport it so I left it for the new people. I just realized (after a month) that I left the placenta!!! OOPS!
DH talked to them (before we remembered) They said they appreciated us leaving all the frozen stuff for them, veggies and stuff as it helped with their food budget right after moving. They didn't ask about the container!
OMG..speaking of placenta under the tree... we did save the placenta from our homebirth. But we were renting etc and stuck it in a rubbermaid container in the freezer where it's been for 4 years LOL. Well, we just sold our place and I cleaned the fridge out but left all the unopened food because it was too far to transport it so I left it for the new people. I just realized (after a month) that I left the placenta!!! OOPS!
DH talked to them (before we remembered) They said they appreciated us leaving all the frozen stuff for them, veggies and stuff as it helped with their food budget right after moving. They didn't ask about the container!
Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.
OMG..speaking of placenta under the tree... we did save the placenta from our homebirth. But we were renting etc and stuck it in a rubbermaid container in the freezer where it's been for 4 years LOL. Well, we just sold our place and I cleaned the fridge out but left all the unopened food because it was too far to transport it so I left it for the new people. I just realized (after a month) that I left the placenta!!! OOPS!
DH talked to them (before we remembered) They said they appreciated us leaving all the frozen stuff for them, veggies and stuff as it helped with their food budget right after moving. They didn't ask about the container!
Please......please tell me they didn't .......Please???
breastfeedingRN
209 Posts
i am totally paying out of pocket for my homebirth and prenatal care because my insurance at work doesn't cover lay midwives or homebirths. actually, i am going to try to fight them for some reimbursement, but am not holding my breath. i read the policy and nothing says they don't cover them and under their out of network providers, it says any provider licensed by a state or federal agency and she is. not that i mind paying for her services, it is worth it for us. our medicaid here covers homebirths and my midwife is a provider, i guess i could quit my job. LOL!
i have tried scoping out OBs at my hospital and there are none. i won't see a man for prenatal care because of being sexually abused as a child and the women haven't inspired much confidence in me, they seem more cut and epis happy then the guys. i think in a transfer situation i wouldn't care who was "catching" the baby, be it man or woman, but not for PNC.