It’s Saturday morning and I am awakened by my phone ringing. I glance at the clock, its 4:48 am. I have been expecting this call for a few days, after all mum is now 6 days overdue. It’s the husband telling me that the waters have broken and contractions have started. He says that the waters have a slight pink tinge to then but otherwise are clear and the contractions are about 15 minutes apart and not yet painful. They do not want me to visit them yet but thought I needed to know about the waters. I hang up the phone and snuggle down under the covers hoping to be able to get a little more sleep. After a few minutes I decide to get up and have a shower. I am expecting to be called again soon. With her last baby she was in labour for 4 hours and it will take me a little over an hour to drive to their house. I take my time with the shower and then make some breakfast. At 5:50am the phone rings again. The contractions are now about 6 minutes apart and quite painful.
Arriving at the house a little after 7am I see mum leaning against the kitchen bench hips swinging her contractions are about 6 minutes apart but not too painful. After chatting to mum and listen to the baby’s heartbeat a cup of coffee is put in my hand I am offered some breakfast, pancakes and fruit, (I wish I had not had my 2 pieces of toast and vegemite). I am introduced to the other people in the room. 2 female friends the woman’s mum, 2 daughters and sooty the dog.
This will be the 3rd homebirth for this woman and at 42 years old probably her last baby. She wanted me only to do things if absolutely necessary and basically just to be there if I am needed.
A little before 8am mum decides she will get in the spar bath as the contractions are a little more painful and closer together.
At about 11:30 she starts pushing in the spar. However the pushing is not very strong and the urge to push is also not very strong. Half an hour later there is still no strong urge to push. I suggest that perhaps she should sit on the toilet for a little while. This she does and suggests that I should do an internal. After a short discussion with mum it was decided that she would check where the baby was. After a quick feel she tells me that she can feel something soft and if she presses gently she can feel the baby’s head behind this soft thing. From her description I decide this is caput. (this is often a sign of a difficult passage down the birth cannel). After about another 45 minutes there is no sign of the baby moving further down the urge to push is still there but not very strong.
Mum again suggests that it may be time for me to do an internal. I say that first we will try 1 more thing and if that does not work we will do an internal.
We are on the top floor of a 2 story house so I ask mum to walk down the stairs and back up again, but on the way back I want her to take 2 steps at a time. By this time the water in the bath has gone a little cool so mum decides to get on hands and knees in the lounge. The next contraction hits and I hear the sound that all midwives love to hear. It’s a deep guttural primeval sound form somewhere deep inside. A couple more contractions and we see some gaping. Dad is going to catch the baby, a first for him. A couple more contractions and then dad says, with tears in his eyes I can see the head. A few more contractions the head is out and as mum is on hands and knees the baby is facing toward the ceiling. We stay like this for 6 minutes, dad just looking at his new baby’s face. A couple of quick contractions and the baby is born, caught by dad and he places the baby into mums arms after she turned into a sitting position. A couple of minutes later they decide to check the sex, it’s a girl.
2 hours later the placenta is born. Gran weighs the baby 8lb 6oz. I leave shortly after this, The family all snuggled up together. Mum and baby doing well
Reply With Quote
BellyBelly Professional Support Panel
A homebirth
Bookmarks