“They say your second baby comes quicker than the first...I can confirm 'they' were correct!!” - Suzy

Birth Story Series – Suzy’s Welwyn Garden City home birth

Past client Suzy found the benefit of classes again with her second child and shares her 2023 birth story below. Suzy attended Pregnancy Yoga and the Antenatal Course in 2020 ahead of the speedy and unplanned home birth of her first son.

She had planned to give birth at Lister Hospital in Stevenage, but her son had other ideas and arrived quicker than expected, and she ended up having an unplanned home birth in Welwyn Garden City.

She decided to return to our Refresher Antenatal Course whilst pregnant with her second son, to help her recap and remember the techniques from the first time, but also to consolidate and make sense of what happened the first time round.

Suzy decided to plan a home birth at her home in Welwyn Garden City for this pregnancy, due to the speed at which her first baby arrived - but as you will discover, her second son still took her by surprise!

Suzy’s Welwyn Garden City home birth story - the early stages

Suzy says, "they say your second baby comes quicker than the first...I can confirm 'they' were correct!!

Around 7.30am I thought I was having Braxton Hicks, but I soon realised they were more frequent. However, I was really unsure if I was going into labour or not as I felt okay and they weren’t very strong. So, I carried on the morning as usual but got my sisters on standby to collect my 2.5yr old son just in case.

At 12.15pm I decided to call triage for advice as I was certain this was not just Braxton Hicks now and they were getting stronger.

Triage wasn’t convinced I was in labour either as my contractions were so sporadic but none the less they called the midwife in my area (I was having a planned home birth) who gave me a call at 12.30pm.

I asked her to come check if I was dilated just to put my mind at ease.

The midwife arrived at 1pm, examined me at 1.20pm and told me (to my surprise) I was 6cm dilated!"

All systems go!

“It was time to set up my living room like a scene from Dexter! Plastic sheets and shower curtains to protect our home at the ready!

By this point I could only focus on my breathing as the contractions were very strong and close together. Two weeks prior to this I had my final Active Antenatal class with Jilly, so the techniques were fresh in my mind and oh wow did they come in handy!

Especially as the midwife left the gas and air in her car and didn’t have time to go get it!

My waters broke at 1.45pm and with some big controlled ‘out breaths’ Oliver was born at 2pm! I was in labour for a total of 40 minutes!”

I often get asked, 'because it was so short was it less painful?'

“Absolutely not! The breathing techniques massively helped me control the situation and I felt empowered when doing so! But it was by no means less painful!”

“I feel very lucky to have had the home birth I had planned and urge other expecting mother’s to consider the same path if possible as there is no place like home!”

Words from Jilly - Home Birth facts

Suzy is correct, there is no place like home. A 2019 systematic review (published in The Lancet 2020) compared studies including 500,000 and discovered that planning a home birth versus planning a hospital birth resulted in overall:

• More than 40% less chance of giving birth by caesarean

• More than 50% less chance of having an operative vaginal birth

• 70% less chance of using an epidural

• 55% less chance of an episiotomy

• More than 40% less chance of experiencing a 3rd or 4th degree tear

• More than 60% less likely to receive oxytocin augmentation of labour

• More than 75% fewer reported maternal infections

Split into nulliparous (first babies) and multiparous (subsequent babies) the results were as follows.

Nulliparous – first babies - home birth stats

• 30% less likely to give birth by caesarean

• 25% less likely to have an operative vaginal birth

• 50% less likely to use an epidural

• 25% less likely to have an episiotomy

• More than 35% less likely to receive oxytocin augmentation of labour

Multiparous – subsequent babies - home birth stats

• 60% less likely to give birth by caesarean

• 60% less likely to have an operative vaginal birth

• 45% less likely to have a 3rd or 4th degree tear

• More than 50% less likely to have an episiotomy

• More than 65% less likely to receive oxytocin augmentation of labour

“Regardless of why the decreases exist, the magnitude of effect and the remarkable consistency of the findings do much to support home as a choice of birthplace. However, readers need to interpret the safety of home birth within their particular context…the findings indicate that home birth care is safe for low-risk women in settings where home birth care is well-integrated into the local health care system, and who begin labour with a plan to give birth at home.” Hutton et al (2019). Perinatal or neonatal mortality among women who intend at the onset of labour to give birth at home compared to women of low obstetrical risk who intend to give birth in hospital: A systematic review and meta-analyses. doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2019.07.005

In the words of Dr Sara Wickman, “home birth isn’t just for those who manage to stay in the ‘low risk’ box either! Research shows that home birth is also safer for women who are labelled as ‘high risk’. (Let’s acknowledge that this labelling is often inaccurate, unhelpful and offensive though.)”

Planning a home birth under Lister hospital?

Local statistics for Lister maternity unit show that home birth rates sit between around 0.8 and 2.3% – local home birth is supported but not advertised enough.

It is safe, and a valid option for most people to consider so consider talking to your midwife about it. If more people request the service because it is a sensible choice for your birth, the more it will be supported and staffed.

You may find that your midwife puts doubt on the ability of a midwife to get to you on time, or might suggest that you should plan to go into hospital anyway - and whilst that is important thing for people to be aware of, you should absolutely plan for a change in situation, it should always be your choice where to birth your baby and staffing should not be an opportunity to dissuade you from the birth you choose.

Thank you so much for your birth story Suzy, and for opening up a conversation about home birth!