If you have chosen to have a home birth, you should have been given contact numbers to call when you go into labour. You should call as soon as you believe that your labour has started so that the midwife can arrange to visit you.
You will be offered a visit to see how you are coping, and how regular and long your contractions are. They will also offer to check your observations (temperature, blood pressure, pulse and urine) and listen to your baby’s heartbeat to ensure they are coping well with labour too. They may offer you a vaginal examination to help assess your progress.
If the midwife feels you are in the latent (early) phase of labour in your home birth, they will return at a later time, as this phase can last for long periods. They will offer advice on coping with this phase, including advice on pain relief, mobilisation and staying hydrated. The midwife will ask you to call them when your contractions have increased in length and strength, are coming more frequently, or your waters have broken.
It’s very important that you let the midwife know if your waters break, if the fluid becomes coloured (normal amniotic fluid is clear or tinted yellow; call a midwife if the fluid looks green or brown) or offensive smelling, if you experience bleeding or you are concerned, so that they can assess whether they need to return to you more quickly if necessary.
If they feel your labour is established, a midwife will remain with you at home until your baby is born. They will support and offer to monitor you and your baby throughout the labour to make sure that you are both coping well.
During your labour, your midwife will offer to:
- Check your observations (blood pressure, pulse and temperature) at regular intervals
- Listen to your baby’s heartbeat regularly
- Perform vaginal examinations (as necessary)
- Call a second midwife to be present at the birth
Pain relief options for homebirth in the UK
- Entonox (gas and air)
- Aromatherapy (you or your birthing partner will need to supply this)
- Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) machine (you will need to hire, buy or borrow)
- Birthing pool (you will need to hire, buy or borrow)
After the birth
The midwife will stay at your home for a couple of hours to ensure that you and baby are well. They can help with baby’s first feed and give any advice you need. When they leave they will ensure you have contact numbers to call if you have any concerns, and they will contact you the following day.
Home birth concerns
Midwives are trained to detect any potential complications during labour. If your midwife is concerned about you or your baby, they will discuss options with you and your birth partner(s). Depending on the situation, they may suggest re-evaluation, or they may feel that you should be transferred to a maternity unit immediately. This will always be discussed with you so that you can make an informed choice.
Where to give birth? The options
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