juno midwives

So you’ve done your research and you’ve decided on a home birth…but where do you start with the actual preparation? We get asked a lot of questions about this so here are some helpful pointers to get you started.

Choose your team

Consider who you want around you during your birth. Find out if your local hospital has a dedicated home birth team – it’s not uncommon to have never met the midwife caring for you when accessing home birth care with the NHS. A stranger entering your birthing space, midwife or not, can have a really big impact on your labour and birth. Choosing an independent midwife, getting to know them (and them you!) guarantees you both access to a homebirth and a known midwife at your birth.

Exploring the role of your partner during your labour and birth and what that looks like to you both will really help work out if and how they will be able to support you during labour or birth. It may be worth looking into different kinds of support to assist you and your partner – such as a doula. A doula can provide emotional and practical support in line with your wishes and birth plan.

Accessibility

Once you’ve worked out who your birth team are, you want them to be able to access your home as easily as possible, especially if you live somewhere fairly remote. The app what 3 words is a really useful way to share your location if you live a bit out of the way. Also think about where your midwives can park – are there any restrictions on the road? Do you need to organise a permit?

Children and pets

There is no right or wrong answer to whether you want your other children to be at home whilst you’re in labour and if you want them to join you in your birth space. It all depends on the relationship you have with them. It may be wise to make arrangements for someone to take care of them so you don’t have to worry about their needs. This goes for pets too. In my experience dogs are lovely but can be needy, whereas cats don’t have a care in the world! Either way don’t forget to consider them in your plans.

The birthing space

Being in your own home means you aren’t restricted to one room, like in a hospital or birth centre. You’ve got complete freedom to roam around your space. Movement can be a really important coping strategy in labour so you might find you naturally do this as labour unfolds. Do you want to be close to a bathroom? If you plan on using a birth pool, have you considered the best spot for that? It’s a good idea to also think about a post birth area and prepare this ahead of time (absorbent bed pads have saved many a mattress and sofa!), so you can settle down without having to think about organising anything. Your birth team can help you with all of this.

Setting the tone

Sound and lighting can trigger our senses in positive and negative ways. Low lighting is key to promoting oxytocin release. Think lamps and candles and avoid the big lights. Combining low lighting with a playlist of calming music and soundscapes can help to switch off the thinking brain and get into the zone for labour. Try to recreate the same sort of environment as you would for a romantic night in.

Equipment

Hospital birth rooms are always heavily equipped with things that beep! Remember this is your space and what you choose to have in it to aid your experience is up to you. Birth balls, peanut balls, labour combs, TENS machines, aromatherapy diffusers – whatever you wish. As independent midwives we carry these things but we find some people choose to invest in their own and use these in the latter few weeks of pregnancy. Here at Juno Midwives we are trained to support you in labour with aromatherapy specific to childbirth and this is included in our care packages.

Inflate the pool before labour starts, like, way before!

If you’re planning a pool birth it’s a really good idea to have a dry run. Inflate the pool and play around with it in your space to find where it fits best. Once the birth pool is full of water you won’t be able to move it! You need good access to taps but most birth pool kits come with reasonably long piping. If you are planning on using a pool for birth you may need to hire one or if you are planning your care with us we offer this as part of your home birth care package.

Towels & blankets

They deserve their own bullet point! Collect all your old towels and put them somewhere within reach, they’ll come in handy. They are useful for if you get in and out of the pool during your labour. Once you’ve birthed they’ll help keep you and baby cosy and warm. Blankets, bedsheets and old duvets will come in handy too. Blankets will offer an extra layer of warmth once dry and your bedsheets can be used to protect furnishings and carpets from all the wonderful kind of mess that comes with birth. Don’t worry your midwives will clean up after!

Snacks and drinks

Snacks for you. Snacks for your partner. Snacks for after. A fridge and freezer stocked full of healthy pre-made dinners. Snacks for your midwives are not essential…but…ahem…we really like curly wurlys. You’ll find snacks that sustain you and give you a boost of energy are really good to stock up on. Nuts, dried fruit, grapes, a variety of cereal bars, ice lollies and a lovely isotonic drink to wash it all down with. Popping the grapes in your freezer will also make for a really great hydrating and healthy snack.

Hospital transfer bag

On the rare occasion that you or your baby require medical input you want to be prepared. Pack a hospital transfer bag. Key items for you would be pads, underwear, a set of comfy pyjamas and some clean clothes, toiletries and a spare towel. Some clothes (vests and sleepsuits), nappies and cotton wool or wipes for your baby too. Partners, you’re going to need to pack one for yourself, just think of what you’d need for an overnight stay. Don’t forget a toothbrush!

If you have decided you’d like to plan a home birth but are struggling to put that plan into words then we offer in-depth birth planning appointments as well as home birth care packages. Get in touch with us if you’d like to find out more.