Home birth humble pie

Last Friday I vented my spleen on the subject of homebirth, following the publication of a report by The Lancet that questioned their safety in relation to newborn babies.

Today, however, I find myself dining on a sizable portion of humble pie in light of the incredible reaction to my post and the well informed, interesting and occasionally plain frightening comments from readers of my rant.

I had argued that The Lancet had got it right, that it made complete sense to choose a hospital birth over a home birth for the sake of the expertise and equipment on hand at the hospital. However, I have been blown away by the detailed responses from readers, particularly those highlighting the reasons behind their choosing a home birth and the statistics/proof of their success. It has made for very interesting reading and has triggered much debate in our household.

As you know, Mrs B and I are edging ever closer to B-Day ourselves and we have always thought that hospital was the only option for us. I still think that, for us, and as this is our first baby, we will go down that route. But it certainly won't be a decision that we make lightly and, following the comments, we will spend the next few weeks researching our options and birth plan thoroughly.

One thing I failed to mention in my original post, however, it that our local hospital, perhaps unusually, includes some brand new 'birthing rooms' that have been designed to appear more homely (mood lighting, private room, en suite, birthing pool etc) and it is these aspects of the experience that appeal to us.

Indeed, without consciously knowing it, Mrs B and I have been drawn to the idea of a homebirth, at hospital. And is this evidence of the fact that the NHS is becoming more aware of the importance of giving mothers-to-be a homebirth-style experience?

So, many thanks to everyone for opening our eyes, the power of blogging is incredible and here's hoping you can all offer as much advice when Mrs B and I stumble in to the various parenting minefields that we're bound to come across in the years ahead.