Hi, your first pregnancy seems similar to my cousin's 1st, in fact she was induced in the end because of high blood pressure & had a very long & difficult labour. Her second child was born much more quickly, she didn't suffer the same problems with blood pressure, went full term & started spontaneous labour that was only about 6 hours from first pain to birth (hospital birth). So there is a chance this pregnancy could go completely differently. Also my 1st baby was back to back which was progressing well at home but slowed down considerably once I got to hospital & ended up being 23 hours from start to finish with an epidural that didn't completely work, episiotomy, a  a forceps delivery and tons of stitches. My 3rd baby was another back to back but a home birth, very similar labour but I believe being at home reduced the time in labour & she was born at home without assistance or pain relief & no stitches. My 2nd baby was not back to back & was 3 hours from first pain to birth so just shows you have different each one can be.

there is no reason why you can not have a homebirth as it is your decision and yours alone. if a doctor says they will not 'allow' you a homebirth they are wrong - they do not have the authority to give you permission or not. All you have to do is listen to their advice and make your own decision based on the risks - but make sure you are fully informed. Lots of doctors try to scare women into having a hospital birth. They may be justified in worrying if you had a difficult last pregnancy but you should remember that every pregnancy is different and just because something happened in one pregnancy does not mean it will happen in this one. Check out www.homebirth.org.uk and AIMS - they are good sources of information. hth x

Hi Everyone,

Just wondering if anyone knows where Id stand on the possiblilty of having a homebirth.

Im 13 weeks preg with my second baby. First pregnancy went smoothly until 36 weeks when suddenly my BP shot up which sent alarm bells ringing with every mw cos of pre eclampsia risk etc. Even so, I had no other symptoms of pre eclampsia so they let me carry on with pregnancy but monitored me daily. When it came to being in labour, I had to be monitored throughout because of my high BP and my ds was back to back. After 12 hours of labour, I was about to be rushed in for emergency c section but some magic doctor managed to turn my ds and I ended up having a normal birth.

Because of the probs in my last pregnancy, Ive been put on the high risk care category so can I still be considered for a home birth??

Ive got my 1st consultant appointment on the 20th oct so I plan to chat to him about it, and my next midwife appointment is the 21st so will chat to her too but was wondering if any of u could give me a heads up of the answer I should expect??

Thanks everyone,

Laura and bump xxx