Experiences of hospital booking appointments for women planning a homebirth

[aussiemidwife]

At the recent Pregnancy and Parenting Network we discussed lots of issues regarding unexpected outcomes. One of the issues we explored was whether or not attending a booking appointment at hospital was a positive or negative step. Many women at the group said they had a positive experience with the hospital midwives and the booking process and were pleasantly surprised. Some did have a negative experience due to unprofessional attitudes and being inflexible regarding hospital policy (a couple experienced bullying behaviour). My impression of the discussion was that most saw attending a booking appointment as a positive experience, it facilitated information sharing and that details were available if a hospital transfer became necessary smoothing the way. It is a choice of the woman if she attends this booking visit or not. A few hospitals now have a process where the private midwife can fax in the booking information and the booking was done without the woman actually attending the hospital - this was viewed positively by most women.

What is your experience with booking or not booking into the local hospital as a backup for a homebirth? Is it something you would recommend?

[RachaelM]

Personally i tried to make a booking appointment at a hospital. During delivery no one is 100% sure that they are going to have a normal or a cs delivery. I would really recommend exploring different hospital packages just incase the need occurs. I gave birth in a hospital and i researched on the package that was inclusive of post-natal clinics for 3 months for both my son and i. I found this as a really good way of saving money and i received good baby care advice.

[mom2many]

During my last planned homebirth, which did end in transfer, I found the booking process to be a positive experience. The backup caregiver was extremely supportive, even when I transferred I spent some time on the phone talking to him to make sure that the hospital transfer was the best thing for my situation. It was very surprising, especially since the area/hospitals around me are typically very unsupportive of homebirth.