Bev

Home Birth

To begin with I wasn't sure about home birth at all. What if something went wrong? It didn't seem as safe as giving birth in a unit and I was worried about the mess it would make in our home. My wife was really adamant that she wanted to have the baby at home but our

midwife said it wouldn't work unless we were both comfortable with it and on the same page.

We had lots of discussions with our midwife around what home birth is like. She talked a lot about there not being any difference safety wise between being at home and at a birthing unit like we'd been when we had our older daughter Riley. She had an answer for all of my

questions and gave me lots of reassurance. She has also had lots of tips and tricks for being prepared and assured me there wouldn't be mess.

We were given a list of things to have at home and made sure to get prepared early. Having loads of towels, and tarpaulins wrapped inside old duvet covers made me feel more comfortable and ready.

When the day came it was cool to think we didn't have to go anywhere. While Liv was having contractions I even made a steak dinner then set up the pool.

Being at home was a bit strange but really nice. It was a different but calm experience to be sitting on the couch watching TV with a coffee while Liv was having contractions next to me in the pool! I could tell when contractions started to amp up and rang our midwife to come over. Being at home meant i didn't feel out of place at all and had jobs i could do to support Liv. It was pretty awesome to see Teegan born in our lounge.

Cleaning up afterwards was easy. Being prepared meant we didn't really have any mess. After the midwives left I crashed out on the couch while Liv and Teegan were cuddled up in the bedroom. In the morning I went and grabbed us takeaway coffees and brought Riley

home to meet her little sister.

If you’re thinking about having a home birth, do it. It’s just as safe as going to a hospital. Midwives know what they are doing and make everything calm and comfortable. Get yourself prepared with lots of towels, sheets and tarpaulins. Have a nice dinner, settle in. It’s pretty amazing to be able to be there for everything with your new baby, not having to leave your wife and baby at the hospital or wait around there the next day for hours to be discharged and be able to go home. Go for it, you won't regret it.