really tragic.

i had my first one at home with a lovely privat midwife - experienced in home births. it was not really planned to have it at home. but she said we might not reach the hospital and so i decided better to have it at home than in the ambulance. still remember my husbans face

it was the perfect birth for me, my son, my midwife and even for my husband. everybody in my home country germany thought we were nuts. there is a lot of fuzz about pragnancy and childbirth in germany - too much in my oppinion.

with the second one i was confused about the article in daily mail about higher risc of childdeath with homebirths. in the end i decided to go to the midwifeled ward in st thomas'. the midwifes were great. i had my second perfect birth - again without any pain relief. they allowed me to bring my privat midwife, who worked as a support. it was good to know that the doctors were just around the corner. but i was also happy just to be with the midwives - i think the real experts for normal pregnancies and childbirth. the next day we took our second healthy son home.

it's so difficult to give advice about this toppic. i think you can also have a really romantic birth with candles, music and what ever in a good nhs hospitals. i recommend -if you can affort it - go for a privat midwife. she knows you and will tell the staff what you like and what you don't like. often we and our stressed husbands would say okay to everything because we don't know better. and if the ward is too busy to look after you - an issue in nhs hospital- she will be here for you.

good luck to all pregnant woman!

This is such an emotive subject that I think it requires a cool, rational approach based on the evidence of the safety of home births in your area and on your age, health, proximity to hospital, anxiety tolerance etc. For what its worth, my experience of trying for a home birth was mixed. The private antenatal and postnatal care was wonderful but the birth itself was not managed well; when labour got going with a vengeance, our (very expensive and experienced) private midwife was miles away and my husband had a very alarming hour on the phone, being told to prepare towels etc! In the event, the baby was horribly stuck and I had to be transferred to hospital by ambulance for an emergency C - but only after I insisted I couldn't push any longer. He was born with a head like a toilet roll but healthy and has thrived. We were minutes away from St Georges, thank Heavens. You really can't predict how the birth will go. My third child was born naturally at Chelsea and westminster where the care was outstanding (and free!).

Absolutely agree that there are risks associated with homebirth but I would add a couple of caveats to that. Firstly, this article is from the daily mail - not exactly the most reliable of newspapers and its business seems mainly to be to put the fear of God into people about anything and everything. Also, I started out having a homebirth with my first daughter - unfortunately things didn't progress and I ended up having to go to hospital (my husband drove me with the midwife in front). During the entire pregnancy and birth I was carefully and expertly monitored by my midwife to make sure that home birth was safe for me and my child - there was never a point at which I felt that I or the baby were in any danger at all.As soon as she felt that things were not happening (WELL before there was actually a problem) she called the hospital and we made the transfer. Of course there are examples of inexperienced midwives, of cases were it has gone terribly, tragically wrong but if we start going down that route then we should look at the number of neonatal and maternal deaths at private hospitals who don't have emergency departments, at the rising number of staph infections in new borns in hospitals, at the appalling aftercare mothers receive in this country and it goes on....To balance out the statistics here, I know at least 10 other women who have had several home births each without any problems. And I know one women who nearly died in hospital after a massive bleed postpartum and another who lost her baby after a seemingly routine birth. If you look behind those statistics though you might find that the women who all had healthy home births would have healthy births anywhere whilst the two who didn't were going to have problems anywhere. Obviously, home birth is not for eveyone and it carries risks but I would still much rather have that choice available.

There have been lots of comments on this story on an Aussie website I read sometimes. But it must be said that there is much much less support for home birth in Australia than here in the UK.

http://www.mamamia.com.au/parenting/hom ... ond-child/

How terribly sad

I agree, although I respect people's choice to do it provided they are advised of all the risks and I do think hospitals are often a source of bacteria and infections that are best avoided by a newborn or a new mum.

A friend who works as a neonatalogist in a large hospital is adamantly opposed to home births. She told me when something goes wrong at home, sometimes the time to transfer to hospital can be too long. The parents look to her to help the baby, and she can't. Made a big impression on me.

Then when my daughter was delivered in hospital, she experienced sudden severe distress, and a normal labour suddenly became an emergency delivery. Her cord blood oxygen was at the lowest safest level when she arrived.

So I wouldn't do it personally. But if you research the risks, I do think it's your own choice.

Hello Everyone
I noticed this story in the Mail this morning.

I know there will be lots of details that are not in the article but it does enforce my own view that home births are just too dangerous

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic ... -home.html