4th + pregnancy? unassisted homebirth?

[FruitfulVine]

We are expecting our fifth baby in November. Is there anybody else out there with lots of pregnancy experience? (that's one way of putting it)
I am considering having an unassisted (by midwife/doctor) home birth this time. I have always had them in the hospital before, but all the doctor does is catch the baby anyway, so why not let my husband do that in the comfort and privacy of our own home, right?

[kim]

Hello!! Welcome and congrats!! I'm having my 5th at home with a midwife in the next week or two. You should have a chat with Tara. She's got 7 kids and has done unassisted homebirths. She's a prostar.

[FruitfulVine]

Congrats to you too, Kim, and nice to meet you!

[JY]

Congrats! I've had 12 children - but all at the hospital (one at a time, of course). Sorry, otherwise I might be a panic girl. LOL Enjoy whatever you decide.

[melloyellochelle]

Congrats and welcome!!!

I have two kiddos, both hospital births. But when we have #3 I plan to have the birth at a birth center. I could see us going into home birth eventually. But really, after reading Tara's post I don't think we are there yet (at least, not DH), even with a midwife. Anyway, I'll be interested to hear more on your journey and what you decide to do. Very exciting!!

[ChamomileFriend]

Congratulations! I have had 2 in a hospital and 1 at a birthing center. I might be willing to try an assisted homebirth if we found a midwife willing to attend but I am not *there* yet in terms of being willing to try an unassisted homebirth.

[FruitfulVine]

I found an Unassisted Homebirth website, called ChristianUH, or something. It had lots of birth stories, but they all date back to 2008 and earlier. It looks like a ghost site.
My husband is awesome. I trust him totally. He has been there and cut the cord for all of our children's births, of course, but he has also been present at childbirths from a very early age. His grandmother was a midwife in rural central Mexico. Near Huauchinango Puebla. She was awarded the "key to the city" when she had delivered over a thousand babies. I could really kick myself for not letting her deliver any of our first four babies, but I just wasn't the woman then that I am now. I didn't have the confidence in myself, the trust in my husband-and by association, his family; and I was at a very different place in my walk with God as well. Unfortunately, she passed away last year.
We are in the middle of planning a move to rural Mexico. We already have the land bought and the house built (one room of it anyway!) We were planning on moving in August, but with news of this baby, we are now considering putting off our move until after the new year.
So a lot is still up in the air. Luckily, we still have plenty of time to decide everything. We are praying for God's guidance in our decisions, while still looking at all of our options very carefully.
Where will we be living? Louisiana? Mexico? A lot of our other decisions may well depend on that decision. Here, I have Medicaid, and I could have a natural birth in a hospital for free if that's what we decide. I just wouldn't have a baby in a Mexican hospital. I have had dental work done in Mexico, and I was impressed. But we lost our first child because of medical incompetence in a Mexican emergency room. My husband took me to the ER in Mexico City because I couldn't breathe and I was going in and out of consciousness. The doctors took me away from my husband and held him in a holding room while they stripped me to search for bruises on my chest, suspecting abuse. Then they x-rayed my chest, looking for broken ribs. They found that my bronchial tubes were obstructed and swollen almost completely shut. They then gave me a few shots of steroids and other things (never knew what), and almost immediately I woke up and could breathe again. As the doctor was writing me a prescription for antibiotics, he very casually said "I've never seen such dark nipples on a white girl." I was unaware at that point of anything I had been through, so I was shocked at that comment. "There's no chance you might be pregnant, is there?" I assured him that I was married, so of course I might be pregnant, but wasn't aware of it. He THEN gave me a pregnancy test, which was positive. My excitement didn't last long. He told me "Well, if your husband had mentioned you were pregnant, we wouldn't have done those x-rays (this was the first I heard of the x-rays), and we wouldn't have given you those shots. You will probably pass the embryo in a few days. It should seem like a period. No need for you to come back in."
Sure enough, I had was seemed to be a heavy late period a few days later. It was two years after that before we finally had our first daughter. Those two years were torture. I wondered what we could have, should have done differently. God has given us peace now, but still, I would rather have a baby at home than in a Mexican hospital. I'm sure they're not all like that. But I wouldn't be comfortable.
I will continue to do research, and prepare for any decision we end up making. It's not something we take lightly. It will require lots of prayer.
In the meantime, I appreciate all of your friendships and encouragement.
Thank you, Tara, for the guidance and reading suggestion.

[melinda]

hello and welcome, congrats on baby #5, I would absolutely love to have a homebirth if God ever blesses me with #5 but dont think i am a good candidate lol maybe if tara comes delivers it for me lol anyway God bless and pray for happy healthy pregnancy