Hi all,

This is actually a question that came up in a conversation recently after my friend found out she was pregnant. This is her first pregnancy. She is adamant on having a home birth. She hates hospitals with a passion and even after the baby is born, she doesn't want to go into hospital like you normally would after giving birth at home.

Another of my friends had a water birth last year with her daughter Ella and it had me freaked out. However, lately I've been watching some clips on water births and I'm considering having our baby as a water birth. Though, both Zoe and Harper were hospital births and now know the routine inside and out.

This bought about a question from me, what are the pros and cons of having a home birth, a hospital birth or a water birth?

Are there any mothers on here that have had a home birth or water birth?

I would also love to here all your opinions and thoughts.

I don't have any kids but in my child development class we watched hospital births and a couple water births. I thought the water birth was really interesting and I actually thought it may be something I would consider doing. It seemed to be more comfortable and lessened the pain. Home births are way too risky and I don't understand why any parent would risk their child's life. I know a lot of women do it but there's no way I would ever do it. Plus then you can't have anything to relieve the pain and also something could go wrong with the mother.

Alyssa

This is my own personal perspective I'm sharing with you, and I do respect the opinions of others. Especially as some of my dearest friends have opted for the at-home births.

Since your friend is uneasy about hospitals, I strongly suggest at least, having her take a tour with you or someone who has delivered before. Doing homework on the most comfortable and best equipt hospital in the area for childbirth. As she may end up having to go to a hospital for her delivery if things go wrong. By doing this she can feel more comfortable with the idea of them and how things work for that proceedure. I didn't deliver at the nearest hospital to me as I had bad experiences with the doctors there and had heard aweful things about the comfort level from women who'd delivered there. In comparision I did my homework, I and got a fabulous OBGYN that delivered at a new hospital that I'd heard wonderful things about from those who delivered there and was rated highly in the medical world for delivery. I do believe in being selective about things like this and some of the best people to ask are the mothers themselves.

However, in my opinion, the cons really out-weigh the pros for an at home delivery. There really isn't enough information out there on the "what if factor" of at-home births. I feel like at home births are painted as these beautiful comfortable events..and let's face it, it sounds great, but the baby part is the best part and most important espeically when considering the babys health. As for the delivery part, well, pain is pain is pain no matter where you are. The doctors and nurses are there mainly in case things go wrong. To me, the hospital or at home style you go through can be the same basic process as if your at home, so it mainly comes down to environment or beliefs.

As far as environment goes, most hospitals/doctors today will let you bring modern conviences into your room if your being induced (which can take forever). My husband figured out a way to hook up the DVD player from home, as well as the Wii while I was having contractions (3 days)and it was a great distraction from them for that time until my water broke. We had the option of playing soothing music and I often watched the hospitals calming channel of classical music and fish in the ocean. My room was the one I delivered in and it looked like any other room.

I know that I couldn't have delivered my child without the help of a hospital and staff. The doctors told me I was measuring so that my son was most likely going to be 7 lbs. he was healthy and there wasn't any foreseen reason why I had to be in a hospital. My husband contracted the flu on my sons due date, so I waited to be induced as inspite of everything, he wasn't comming naturally.

I wasn't showing like I was carring a 10.3 lb baby, but I vaginally delivered one, alas but not without the help of hospital staff. I couldn't have delivered him on my own at home even if I had wanted to. I look at it like this: I was all set up in a hospital and registered in advance, I saved money on ambulance and the annoying check in period was done in advance so there was no waiting on admittance or rush to the hospital. I don't know what would have happend if I tried to deliver at home, I could have bled to death before I got help and my child could have been a lot bigger.

I honestly loved the hospital. They were sweet and it was an overall good experience in spite of such a hard delivery and T.V.'s dramas portraying terrifing portraits of hospitals today. It was very peaceful and calming for me. More so than if I was at home, it gave my body much needed time to rest/heal where as at home my stuborness would have got me right back on my feet to chores inspite of doctors orders to take it easy. In many ways it helped me to actually like hospitals.

I also have a cousin whose mother delivered at home with a mid-wife. During the delivery, the child’s air supply was temporarily cut-off, and because of this, the child grew up with noticeable disabilities. The unfortunate thing is, if he was delivered in a hospital with experienced medical personal, which monitor the heart beat and the child before they are even delivered, this possibly could have all been prevented and would have drastically changed his life. The hard truth of the matter, is that accidents happen, that all births are not the same (this was her 3rd), that this simple choice of hospital verses at home, could have meant the difference of life of disabilities or a life free of them for him. In my opinion a child's health is never worth the risk of a few hours of extra comfort or money saved when a life or quality of life is at stake. I believe in taking precautions and 'if to error to error on the side of safety,' but be knowelegable and be prepared, as there are always risks even in hospitals.

As for the water birth, I've never personally considered and haven't read up on them enough to respond to it but think that I wouldn't be opposed to it as long as it was done in a hospital facility.

I realize that my opinion is really con at-home birth, I couldn't in good-conscious say something I don't feel. With that said, I do know that there is just as strong opposing opinions that have just as much passion for their feelings regarding this topic.

Best of luck Hope this helped.

Joselyn C. Eusebio, MD

Dr. Eusebio is a child development consultant at UERMMMC. She is the current president of the Philippines Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. She is also a fellow of the Philippine Pediatric Society and an international fellow in Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics in the Children’s Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center in New York, USA.
She is happily married to Dr. Emmanuel Eusebio, Chairman of the Department of Opthalmology in the AFP Medical Center. She enjoys reading books, newspapers and magazines during her free time as well as surfing the internet and watching DVD concerts.

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