During the Covid19 restrictions our monthly meet ups have been taking place via Zoom. This is free to access, via a phone, tablet or PC. Please visit our Facebook Group to view the event, alternatively if you are not a Facebook user you can email us at heyhomebirth@gmail.com

Our meetings are run informal and peer led, run by people who are planning or have experienced home births themselves, all are welcome. They are usually attended by expectant parents, past home birthers, and a range of health care professionals relating to birth and breastfeeding. Numbers can vary month to month.

Update: 24/09/20 We have been told by the LMS that the pool hire pilot scheme has reached its pool hire quota and is currently on hold whilst it is being reviewed. There is a wait list in the event of any cancellations. Please visit their website to request to go on the wait list.

Our Local Maternity System (LMS) announced last week that they are piloting a subsidised birth pool hire scheme.

The scheme is available to those living in the Humber, Coast and Vale area, which includes both Hull and the East Riding.

On Saturday 10th March 18 I woke up at 6.45 am having a few niggly pains. I asked hubby to take the girls downstairs so I could have time alone to see what came of them. I was 40+8 and hour later I knew this was definitely labour. Hubby took kids to grandmas and I phoned my independent midwife (who is over an hour away) . I know my body pretty well now and always go into urinary retention in labour which slows me down and distress me. I got in bath to relax then when got out put in my tens machine. Debs my midwife got here around 10.30 . She helped me get some urine out and checked I was 6cm. Pool was ready now and I got in . It was heaven. I love being in water.

The rest of the amazing Yorkshire Storks midwives turned up . Then at 12.03 twin A Tobias was born at home weighing a healthy 8lbs 3oz It was a surreal and fantastic experience. We had some skin to skin in the pool , our first breastfeed and waited for cord to stop pulsing, I was still getting contractions for twin 2 and felt quite conflicted on what to concentrate on. So cord was cut and he went to daddy for skin to skin.

Hot Water and Towels

In old movies you would always hear someone shout ‘get hot water and towels’ when a person was in labour, it has been debated as to what the hot water and towels were actually for! Perhaps to occupy the least useful person and get them out of the way, or maybe towels to mop up and hot (boiling) water to sterilise things.

Interestingly things really haven’t changed that much and in a recent poll asking local home birthing families what items they would recommend for a home birth, both old towels and a birthing pool made it to the top of the list! (See below for the full list).