This week was somewhat quiet and uneventful. No major changes physically, no appointment with my midwife, no big news…But I have been thinking lately about my birthing options, and still haven’t decided what to do!! Should I opt for a home birth, or should I choose and register myself at a hospital?? I know I have a few months to decide, but the time will go quickly and I’ll probably be undecided up until the moment!
Let me give you some history… For both my previous pregnancies I chose to use a private midwife for all my antenatal/birthing/postnatal care. I liked the comfort of seeing the same midwife for all my appointments, and I loved the more relaxed and homeopathic methods that a midwife uses in comparison to many private doctors. Both times I had hoped to have my baby at home (I had visions of dim light, candles, music, my own bed, my own bathroom, etc.), but unfortunately both my babies were born in the hospital, one with an epidural and the second completely naturally. My labours were both extremely long and very painful. Both times my body took a really, really long time to dilate to the full ten centimeters, and despite what people had told me, my second labour took even longer than the first.
So, while I still love the idea of having a baby in the comfort of my own home, I’m also afraid that a third labour will be just as long, just as painful, and will result in the same way – at the hospital. Maybe this time I should just head directly to the hospital from the start, ask for an epidural, and enjoy a less painful and dramatic birth. (It would be nice to avoid a late-night, last-minute, traumatic drive to the hospital!) But then again, perhaps the third time will be the charm? What to do… what to do?!
