hey guys, jus wanna know if anyone has opted for a home birth n wat was it like? im lookin into it as an option 4 baby numb 2 coz my hubby n i dont hav medical aid yet n my parents one payed 4 my 1st but wont pay again, so id jus like 2 hear from been-there-girls about home birth n weather u regretted it or not n how diff was it 4m hospital birth? if anyone else has other birthin methods 2 suggest... im all open

thanx girls!

Do you mean home birth with a midwife? I don't know where you live, but that usually costs about as much as the hospital. I have been doing a lot of studying about home birth for the past couple of years, and as far as I can tell it is better for the mother and the baby as long as there is nothing wrong.
If you can not afford to pay for the hospital or a midwife, you might want to go to a crisis pregnancy center and see if they can help you (I'm not sure if they would be able to, but it's worth asking, right?).
If you are talking about home birth without a midwife or anything, that is not a good idea because just in case anything did go wrong (i.e. the placenta didn't come out completely or you started hemorrhaging or something)than it could end up being the difference between life and death. You could always call the different midwives around your area and see if they would be willing to accept a payment plan (say, ten bucks a week if you can't afford anymore).
Let us know what you decide!

home births have risks because if there are any complications your baby cannot be given immediate care which could increase the risk of sids

Is Medicaid an option? I think it is very important that babies are insured from day one and you should be too. I don't think it is worth taking a risk as far as trying to wing it without insurance. I know it's not the ideal but it is better then nothing. Jessica

honey home birth is even more than giving birth in a hosptial
cos the doctor needs to actually come to your house
and monitor you once you go into labour
i know cos my mom asked our gyne- just to get a private room
in a hospital to give birth is like a extra R5000
its a tough one- cos i got myself onto Fed Health
just b4 i got pregos- even if you were to try get on medical
aid now they wont cover anything to do with the
pregnancy!you will only get cover if you in a accident-
but not the baby!
south africa is a hard place there no help -
thank goodness i am on one.
maybe try tslking to your folks first and see wat the say
let me kno how you go!!!

Hey, home births are definitely an option so long as the pregnancy is low risk which they will only be able to tell later on in the pregnancy as further complications can still occur right up to your due date.

Since you are from SA I belong to a wonderful site which you should visit www.earthbabies.co.za which is all south african ladies. Most of them have done home births and some have even done unassisted (NO help) which like mentioned is really not a good idea and is even actually not really allowed in this country (SA)!

A home birth consists of a pair of midwives who aid you through the birth and they always have a gynae on call in case anything goes wrong.

The average cost for a homebirth is R3900 including 3 postnatal home visits by the midwife. The cost for a hospital birth can average out at R20 000 (Obviously a natural uncomplicated no pain relief birth being cheaper & a caesarian birth being more expensive)(Just sleeping in their bed and eating their food costs up to R7000 for a 2 night stay!!!)

So it really is advisable to try and afford at least some kind of medical scheme. Cos even with the homebirth, if there are complications during the birth you will still need to be rushed to hospital.

There is also the option of a state hospital but believe me, I've watched quite a few births at state hospitals and its really not pretty Plus youre only allowed 4 hours recovery time

My advice would be to look for one of those cheaper schemes or even just get a hospital plan medical aid which pay any hospital stays but not general medical things like GP visits. The premium for these are much lower.

Let me know if you need any more info