Homebirth without a pool... how & where? (plus lots of other Q's)

[Liz]

OK... so I'm seriously considering a homebirth if we are successful getting #3 cooking! But I've never been drawn to water during my labours, so I'm thinking a birthing pool probably isn't for me (but I shall be reading up on it ) So without a pool, what's the logisitics of where to be in that final stage of labour? And what about the mess? LOL.

Also... following on from Pretty Butterfly's thread.. can I ask a few questions of my own?

My first birth was at 37 weeks, waters broke at home, and labour was augmented with the drip at the hospital. 5hr labour.. no pain relief, no tears, just a graze and one stitch for a little flap of skin.. .or something like that. Bub was 6lb (2.72kg) Healthy pregnancy.. BP etc were always good.

Second birth was prem at 34 weeks, but was 3.5kg! No GD or anything.. just cooked a big bub! Labour travelled along naturally, but ended up pushing whilst only at 8cm (examination showed dilation going from 6cm-8cm and back again).. OB ended up helping her head through the cervix and then she was born quite quickly. The drip was used to try and help with the last of that dilation (but my personal opinion is that if I'd had a doula there I would have been encouraged to get up and squat and be more upright to try and get bub pushing through better...but then that might not be right either lol). hmm... ARM was somewhere in there too, trying to move things along as I was tachycardic? No real cause was discussed about why she was prem.. only that I was vomiting all the night before, so it could have been a bug or something that brought it on. Again, there was no pain relief, no tearing.. think there was a graze again.. can't remember!

So does anything in there sound like a homebirth wouldn't be right for me? I know the prem thing would just mean I'd have to go straight to hospital if it was too early.. but that's just a timing thing isn't it?

And can I ask what the midwife brings by way of treating any bleeding, and resus for the baby if it's needed? They are my only two concerns I think. Oh.. and dealing with stuck shoulders.. again.. not that I've had that.. but if I cook another big bub.. is that a risk? Oh.. and it seems to be that I either have diarrhea or vomiting before my labours.. would a midwife carry anything that could help with hydration?

Sorry... loads of questions.. but this homebirth thing is niggling at me, so I really want to look into it

[Oorki Galoorki]

HB would be fine for you!(its fine for MOST)
talk to the mw about when she and you are not comfortable birthing at home.(ie before 35 weeks) knowing the besty thing for a premmie is kangaroo care, and of course you will pick up any problems pretty quickly so you would go to hospital. i know some women who birthed at 34 weeks at home and never went in to hospital. others transfer at 37 weeks for fear that its too early. so what ever YOU are comfortable with is what you go with

Most mw carry oxygen and sewing kits, all will have something for bleeding best discussed with your m/ws. put these down as your initial questions when interview IMs

[Alan]

Liz I am a little busy now but I will get back to this later

[Mummato2]

I wouldn't encourage birthing at home any less than 37 weeks.

Reason being, midwife in attendance or not, bubs is an unknown until it's out and the level of care needed is variable.

There are some 36 weekers that have trouble with breathing and temp regulation, for the temp kangaroo care is fine but if bubs is having real trouble with respiration then the best place is the hospital where it can be seen to immediately. Of course, the other variable is the 35 weeker that breathes beautifully and only needs some warming up. Newborns can crash very very quickly and I wouldn't feel confident not knowing bubs status until birth less than 37 weeks.

But that is just my opinion

Aside from that, midwives will cover any scenario for you stitches, oxygen etc - so your best bet is to get in touch with a local IM and ask them what you need to worry about (if anything)

Sounds like you'd be a great case for HB!!

ETA - as for not having/wanting a birthing pool, mess can be managed pretty easily. I plan to not water birth but to birth on my bed leaning against beanbags (if it feels comfy at the time). Just get a painter's dropsheet, cover your mattress completely, then use old sheets over that. Have a smallish shallowish bucket for the placenta - but everything else will get absorbed into the sheets and the plastic will protect the mattress.

The room I'm birthing in has an ensuite 3 steps from the bed, so I plan on getting into a shower when I'm ready while my mum and DH make a nice comfy bed and then it's snuggle time for bubs, DS, DH and I. Mum can get everything else cleaned up at that point.

So you really don't need a birthing pool

[Liz]

Yeah I guess just mess proof a few areas.. not knowing where I'll feel like being. I do get wobbly on my legs during transition (hence no inclination to be upright... tho I'm hoping with the right encouragement I'll do it) so mess proofing the bed and next to the bed might be good so I could at least lie down somewhere in between. hehe.

Imagine explaining THAT stain on the carpet to the landlord! PMSL.. that'd be the last thing we'd need.. landlords putting clauses in the lease that you can't birth in the house!

[Mummato2]

Yeah for me I know that I don't want to birth on a hard floor and I know I won't want to be on hands and knees - so for me the perfect place was our bed.

I'm also a bit of a roaming lion in labour so I'll be moving until I can't at which point I'll probably sit on a fitball leaning over the bed and when it's time to push move to the bed.

Mess can be cleaned easily enough. We own our home and are recarpeting once bub is here so mess on the carpet really doesn't bother me too much!

[Tegam]

I birthed on my bed. I made my bed normally and then brought a plastic undersheet, put it over the top of the already made bed and then made the bed again (does that make sense?). After i had bubba and wanted to shower the MW and DH were fussing over the baby so i had my shower and stripped the bed of the dirty sheets and stuck those in the washing machine. Thru out the plastic sheet and got straight back into my nice clean bed! Easy. ... and no before you ask i did not put the sheets out on the line, i let someone else do that LOL

[BellyBelly]

Being in the Blue Mountains, you'll be spoilt for a choice of IM's and doulas You'll have a wonderful birth I am sure The IM's will all have their own guidelines, but most I know want you to be at least 37 weeks to birth at home. But again, you'd need to speak to them.

[Tegam]

Also forgot to say that i had my 2nd bub in hospital at 36weeks and left 4hrs later. I wasnt planning on going home so soon, i was just going to go when ready. Well i am a NICU nurse and when i saw that her temp was dropping when she was in the cot i got out of there quickly! I new that if i stayed in hospital they would want to do temps, and if they fell they would have wanted to put her in a crib, then they would have taken her BSL, which would have been low as she was cold, then they would have wanted to give her a top up of formula, then she would have had BFeeding troubles.....and so on. On top of all that they would probably have started AB seeing i was GBS+ as low temp 'can' be another sign of infection! And with all the stress they put her under she could then have caught an infection! The cascade of intervention is NOT only a worry in birth!

What i did do is go home and wear my baby for a few days. No problems at all!

My MW and i said that we would make the decision at the time of labour if we would TF if i went early and how early, but she didnt think 36weeks would be a problem!

[Schmickers]

DW carries syntocinon for bleeding, if it is needed, but she's only ever used it once.

Shoulder dystocia is handled the same way it is in hospital, as far as I am aware - moving and positioning you to widen your pelvis so the anterior shoulder can pass.

[Alan]

Hi Liz
Sorry I forgot to get back to this thread.
You do not need to birth in water, you can birth where you want to. I think I have helped women birth in just about every room in the house but some of the more unusual places are – on the toilet. Under the shower. On the back deck. And even in the garden,
There is nothing in your list that would prevent you from having a homebirth. Depending upon your history and other circumstances I would consider helping you birth at home from 36 weeks.
I carry synto to prevent bleeding but have only needed to use it twice in the past 3 years. There are quite a number of natural things we can try before using drugs. For resus I carry oxygen, bag and mask and a number of tubes which we can put into the baby’s throat if needed. To help with dehydration I carry IV fluids so if needed I can put up a drip.
Schmickers is correct re the shoulder dystocia

[Liz]

Thank you so much for your replies... I'm so excited about it. Now I just need to get pregnant! LOL. I'm really looking forward to meeting up with a local midwife and just discussing the whole thing. You've already reassured me on most of my concerns, so imagine how good I'll feel when I speak to who will actually be looking after me!

I've also got to try and get to term so I can have the homebirth. I've already spoken to my herbalist about wanting help to get to term when I fall pg, so hopefully he'll be able to help with that. I always have a laugh that Kayla was getting so big that my body evicted her LOL, but now I don't care how big the next baby gets in utero... I want it to stay in there so we can meet at home!

Thanks again everyone. I'm sure I'll have loads more questions once I'm pregnant and actually planning the real thing!

[Tanya]

Liz, I am HBing in Aug... I really feel I want to be outside.... we'll see how we go tho

xx