Does anybody prepare a hospital bag just in case of transfer? I'm wondering if it would be wise to do so? Or if (God forbid) I had to transfer maybe I could just ask dh or mum to bring me what I need from home? Hmmm...
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That IS great news, The Mrs! V happy for you
I haven't found out gender of my babies and it's become one of the few nice things about being preggers, having a surprise at the end of a great birth!
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Does anybody prepare a hospital bag just in case of transfer? I'm wondering if it would be wise to do so? Or if (God forbid) I had to transfer maybe I could just ask dh or mum to bring me what I need from home? Hmmm...
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Also hotI yay for not finding out lol I got a bit weak at my 20 week scan and was asking dh what to do in front of the sonographer and she was like "how old are you?" I said 24 and she said "well look, you've spent 24 years of your life not knowing the sex of your baby, what's another 4 months?" And I was like that's exactly what I needed to hear! Lol.
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Dot Face, i didn't have a transfer bag packed, but i had everything that i would want/need for the birth and next few days all together in one place. I figured, i could just ask dh to quickly put them in a bag if needed. Mainly clean nickers, clean pjs, breastfeeding singlets plus clothes for bub, camera, notebook etc.
I do like to have new pj pants and nickers etc to wear in the first few days after birth. I found it a real pick me up even when i was feeling ordinary. I'm gonna have to come up with a new excuse to buy new pj bottoms when i stop having babies
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Yeah I do, but it's also helpful for when I need stuff after the birth DH knows where to get it from.
Have been in mother baby unit last week, complete waste of time as they did nothing to help me. Have big meeting this arvo with MW, GP, dietitian, psych people, possibly OB... Not really sure but nervous as, will let you know how it goes.
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Thinking of you eenee. Good luck!
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I didn't have one packed, but while I was getting in the car (which took half an hour because I was crawling there because of my contractions and trying not to push) one midwife went with DH and he showed her where my clothes were and she packed some stuff in for me, and he threw in my toiletries before we left.
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I packed one as a kinda "Murphy's law" insurance. I figured if I didn't pack it, I would need it. As it turned out I didn't need it, but then at least I had stuff organized and centrally located where people who came to see me could get me things if I needed it.
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I packed one too JIC
Didn't need it but after the birth it did make it easy for hubby to grab stuff I needed.
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Can anyone else help ease my mind? The only thing that slightly makes me nervous about having a homebirth is the thought of hemorraghing. My sister had a super intervention hospital birth and a nurse told her they give pitocin after birth to every woman because of not there is a chance they could be to death in 5 minutes. I can't get what she said out of my head. Is it common for women to hemorrhage? Thanks for listening to my rant. I just want to get this fear out of my head before baby arrives.
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Homebirth General Discussion #17
oh dear :/ For one, that nurse was lying, or is scarily ignorant about birth physiology. That is *not* informed consent and statements like that are designed to instill fear and make women comply (whether the nurse was doing that intentionally or not). The available evidence shows that a physiological 3rd stage is safe and haemhorrage is unlikely when following a normal, physiological birth. Getting in the car and going to hospital while in labour, lying on your back for monitoring, being induced/augmented, repeated vaginal exams, instrumental delivery, coached pushing etc etc interrupt the flow of hormones designed to prevent haemhorrage. Being well nourished, emptying your bladder regularly durin labour and staying home with an experienced, known care provider who supports your body's normal processes and is observing you closely following birth is probably the best way of avoiding a PPH. It definitely can happen at home so it's sensible to work through your fears and have an understanding of how your attendants will manage it if it does happen (e.g. some midwives carry synto and can administer it if necessary). I can dig up the links to the studies if you'd find that helpful?
Last edited by e_p; October 3rd, 2013 at 05:21 PM.
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Dot face: I packed a hospital bag just in case and it made things easier when we did end up needing to transfer to hospital.
I also just felt more comfy before labour knowing that I'd prepared for the possibility.
The Mrs: I don't know the numbers and I'm not an expert but I'm pretty sure it's quite rare for women to hemorrhage, especially for it to be that bad. There are several countries where homebirths are the norm, and really we've only been able to stop hemorrhaging for a fairly short time in history and we wouldn't have done so well if it was common for women to hemorrhage.
I actually ended up hemorrhaging, but even so it wasn't a "die within 5 minutes" type of thing. I lost a lot of blood but they had time for me to leave the room I'd birthed in fairly calmly and head up to the OR in a calm fashion. We were already in the hospital by this point and I can imagine that things would have been more rushed if we were still at home but we definitely had more than 5 minutes.
I guess you just have to weigh the risks for yourself (a big thing for me would be how long it would take me to get to help if something did go wrong). I personally wouldn't be particularly concerned about hemorrhaging, I don't think it's more of a concern than some of the other possible complications.
P.S. I hope you don't mind me posting in here. I planned to have a homebirth myself but ended up having to transfer and am just generally interested and keen on homebirths and like reading this section.
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Not exactly sure what came of the meeting today other than they are concerned, will wait to see what midwife says when I see her next.
MW wants me to have a growth scan next week to make sure Bub hasn't been affected too much.
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Not exactly sure what came of the meeting today other than they are concerned, will wait to see what midwife says when I see her next.
MW wants me to have a growth scan next week to make sure Bub hasn't been affected too much.
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Thinking of you eenee. Sending strength.
I've never packed a transfer bag. Not sure if I will this time.
As for hemorrhage, i was concerned at dds birth, but I lost so little blood I have no reason to worry now. What were your other births like? Are you aware of how things like pulling on the cord can increase the risk?
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Thanks, I really need to get back on track as me being able to birth at home is slipping away and that scares meI'll be devastated...hoping the ultrasound is good and then to discuss it with my MW as if things continue or don't improve it'll be a no to birth at home :'(
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About a bag - I haven't packed one, but I do usually have stuff sitting ready for after baby is born, so that could be thrown in a bag pretty quickly.
About hemorrhage - I've also been concerned about this, since I just had baby #7, and I feel like my risks are going up. However, I've never had excessive bleeding at all. The midwives often are surprised at how little blood I've lost. As PP mentioned, having things calm and normal after birth can help keep that oxytocin flowing in you and get that uterus clamped down tight. Birth your baby, put him on your belly, let his feet kick your tummy, and start nursing, and that will all help.
And, midwives carry drugs and have knowledge to help prevent and manage bleeding. I have chosen to have the oxytocin shot after birth, myself, because I really don't want to have to transfer. It probably wasn't necessary, but I personally was more comfortable with that.
I can't say there's NO risk and that nothing bad will ever happen. Life involves risk. Everything you do *could* potentially have a bad outcome. But the risks here are minimal, and you're making a good choice. Hope that helps!
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Thanks everyone. I suppose I should pack a few things JIC. I'll get around to it soon.....as soon as I get around to getting the list of things for the homebirth ready.
Feel like I have so much to oack into these last 4 weeks. Still have to do a test run of blowing up the pool, clean the hose with hot water, do my Arabic language homework, organise documents of proof for PPL & FTB (gah!), pre-wash cloth nappies twice and liners 6 times, organise cd for birth, hmmm am I missing anything...I'm sure I am...will have to make a list of things to be done rather than trying to keep a mental note!
Edit: ah yes, have to find a dress for my brother's wedding which is 5 days before my EDD! Also have to rearrange the furniture in our bedroom to make enough room for the bassinet. Yup really need to write all this down somewhere (other than belly belly, lol).
Last edited by Dot Face; October 3rd, 2013 at 10:03 PM.
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