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No, I'm not talking about doing a stool during birth :redface: I'm asking about those chairs you can deliver in. Anyone birthed in a birthstool? I'd really love to try it but I'm finding it hard to find birth stories / videos of anyone on a birthstool.
Any info welcome.
Ta
Hi there I had a go of one found it very opening and a fast labour position but brought on alot of pain so it scared me out of doing it labour seemed to intensify.
:rofl::
I tried to use one with DS, they had them in the Birth Centre. I say tried, I really liked the idea of it, but it just didn't work for me.
I thought it would be kind of like sitting on the toilet, which seems to be a good position for me. But it didn't feel right.
I tried when pushing but didn't end up birthing there. Was good coz I could take the weight off my legs.
This was my experience too. I also got terrible haemorrhoids, that was the hardest part of my recovery actually! It was great for opening up and helping DD around the bend though.:
I tried one with Dd1 but I was too tall for it.
I found the toilet so much better.
Ps. I still get excited when I see you talk about your baby :) you waited so long :)
^^^ definately that! I delivered the placenta on the stool and it just felt awkward and uncomfortable for me. Toilet was my fave spot ;):
I birthed DD while using a birthing stool. My midwife suggested it because I'd been labouring for so long and was very tired, it gave my legs a rest. I sat on it and had one arm clenching the end of the bed and the other hanging off DH. I found it okay and it definitely helped with the pushing stage.
Yep, I birthed DD1 on a birthing stool, whilst my midwife held a mirror so I could see what was happening and DH supported me from behind. Absolutely awesome experience and I would definately recommend it.
I googled pics and I think that would be agony on my tailbone...
But I can't imagine that the stool would allow the sacrum (rhombus of michaelis) to open up very well? That's 2cm you miss out on!!!
I can't tell u why, but I have heard lotsa birth nerds talk about birth stools causing more tears. I would ask about that if I were wanting to use one. Having said that, good luck love! I don't at all mean to turn u off, just to turn u to another question you may want to ask. Good luck!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk..... I'm probably feeding my cherub :)
I had heard birth stools cause more tears too. My MW suggested I try one with my first son- I was approaching 2 hours pushing and she was supposed to bump me to the main hospital (from the birth centre) so we were backed in a corner and had to try and hurry baby out.
I sat on it backwards and leaned forward onto my H. I actually found it pretty comfy and a really nice low squat. I did tear though, but then I also tore in my lovely unhurried home water birth too so who knows huh?
Wow I never knew that about the tearing. I was trying to find a position to practice that isn't on my back and would open my pelvis AND give my legs a rest. Any other ideas?
Tribal women of some cultures used to hold on to a rope attached to the roof, that way they could sink into a squat with less leg pressure... could you do a similar thing being held by your dp or a doula? So they are supporting your weight while you squat to open the pelvis?
I think the tear rate would have to be similar to birthing in a squat position. It's about the same position, and it really opens up the pelvis and lets the baby down fast, so you might tear instead of stretching slowly. I labored on one in the shower for a little while with DD4, and between the relaxation of the warm water, and the positioning with the stool, the baby moved down really nice and low, in a very short time. I got back on the bed to push, though. With DS, I tried the stool during pushing briefly, because he was stuck, but I didn't really like it. I felt kind of isolated, and unsupported perched on it. But I've heard it's best if your DH or someone can get behind you and hold you, kind of, while you sit on it. My DH couldn't get behind me, at the time.
It might be something you can ask your midwife to take along, and try it in labour, and just see what you think. No one is going to make you sit on it if you don't like it. :)
Other options... Maybe a fit ball? You can kneel down in front of it with your knees nice and wide, and lean over it and rock. Ina May Gaskin tells about her daughter in law's birth, where she held a tall, strong pole/stick thing, and, like the rope idea, kind of hung on it, and swayed and rocked through the contractions. I'll see if I can find the story.
Cheyenne's Amazing Labor | inamay.com
All the best!
I will hijack my own thread to ask... if you request and epidural (I am open to the idea of a LOW dose epi if I need it) can you first be positioned on a birth chair / stool, then be given the epi. Or alternatively, get the low dose epi then before it kicks in (as in, immediately, LOL) transfer to the chair? I'm just trying to figure out what I can do to stay upright in the event I have an epi. Ta :)
I would say most if not all hospitals will have a policy that says no. Sorry
Iooookopllkd
No, you wouldn't be able to use the stool on an epi.
So epi means you are certainly restricted to being laid on your back? Even low dose / mobile epi's???
Yep essentially. Even with a low dose epi, you will be unlikely to be as 'mobile' as you think. They will monitor the baby too constantly and again, this will restrict your movement.
In my experience epi = bed.
ETA Have a look into hiring a TENS machine instead of an epi, they are supposed to be VERY effective, they are naural and allow you the freedom of movement.
Yep, epi = bed. They're not going to want to place it and then have the risk of it falling or not working properly. Even with a low dose, I'd imagine it would be very difficult to hold yourself up on a stool.
This might seem an odd question, but do you have big boobs? I laboured/birthed on my hands and knees, leaning over a fit ball for support. I knelt on a foam mat so my knees weren't too sore, the only thing that was uncomfy about it was after the birth, my chest was a bit sore from leaning on the fit ball for so long and smooshing my boobs into my chest.
I'm a D cup, so not huge.:
Damn, I'm finding it really hard to weigh up the pros and cons of an epi (with the "bed bound" consequences) with pethadine. Peth would enable me to be upright and not immobile but it has more impact on bubs.
Last labour I though I needed to half the pain, not totally remove it. So an epi is overkill, and the idea of peth sounds good (except the consequences on bub :( ) but the natural methods (I did try tens for the first day or so!) weren't enough.
If you could cope with the pain of injection, sterile water injections are supposed to be really good....
Yeah they worked for me for a few hours to reduce back pain in DD1's posterior labour, but they do wear off. And they flippin' hurt!!!:
I'm not going to say, be prepared for a shorter birth this time, all births are different etc etc, because I'd imagine thy mindset would be almost impossible after the marathon you went through. What about gas? Are you open to taking pain relief as needed, or are you wanting to head all of that of before it's an issue? It is a tough one, as you said, the pros and cons of both.
I want to go into this birth armed with some strategy rather than taking it as it comes (I've become a bit of a control freak) but having a strategy helps me feel more in control and mentally disciplined. If that makes sense?:
Yeah, I'd say the same as Tegam but you can only ask
did you try gas last time? did it work for you?
I took about two puffs and threw it away, I don't think I gave it a genuine go.:
That makes sense. I'd definitely try the gas again before going to peth or an epi. I didn't have gas as such, but I did use a Penthrox stick (I think that's the name?) in the ambulance trip, mainly for my anxiety. I found I had to get a good rhythm going with my breathing for it to work. Didn't do so much for the pain as it did relax me, I'm not sure if gas would be the same. Made things calmer and more mellow.
Have you thought about having a doula for this birth? She might be able to help you cope better without drugs or an epi, and help you make a good decisions about pain relief in labour too.
I didn't have Peth with DD1, went straight to epi because I was also worried about effects on baby. That's also my only regret with her birth. After the epi things just went down hill because I was restricted to the bed. I would definitely choose peth based on that experience. Provided I wasn't too close to birth.
With a shorter labour next time though I never even thought of using anything, I hope it's the same food you and you don't even have to worry about it xx
Have you got the option of a birth pool? Because that will do exactly what you're after - take the pressure off your legs and provide some pain relief.
I found hot packs and my doula applying pressure to my lower back were also good, as well as the fit ball. I used the fit ball leaning over a pile of pillows on the bed or chair in front of me (no boob pain then!).
Honestly, how you cope is going to be in a large part reliant on your mental state and how well you prepare, not just the available drugs. A doula and a calm birth course might be just what you need. Did you try those the first time around?
Yes, I had a student doula last time. I realise that coping with the pain is MOSTLY a mental thing! And peth can go either way I guess, it can give you a mental rest between contractions, or it can hinder your ability to concentrate and focus and thus the pain management is worse. I just don't know if peth is worth it. Peth also interacts with SSRI's so I don't know if I can use it anyway. So it seems that there is really no middle ground, it's either natural methods plus gas, or bed bound with an epi? Yikes. Last time, in a better mental state, I got to the 48 hour mark before I got the epi and I was flippin proud of that, it was an endurance marathon! At the time, I felt like if I had a "normal" 6-12 hour labour I might have coped fine, so who knows this might all be theory for nothing.
FWIW - I had peth with DD's birth and I didn't notice if it took the edge off or not. It made me groggy and sleep between contractions.
I'm in a position where gas made me throw up so I'm not game to try again, I can't have an epi and clearly the peth does squat for me, so I'm going to utilise the shower and hire a TENS. I've just blown up the fit ball so have been bouncing on that a bit in the hope it will help my small pelvis open up.
I did wonder about the stool, so thanks for posting this!
this may be at the bottom of your list but if you do chose an epidural does your hospital offer ambulatory epidurals? My gf had one with her ds and was able to move around her room freely
for me moving and standing were good options for pain relief as was firm pressure on my lower back which DH oblidged with and with dd3 a birth pool was great. Im someone who likes to birth kneeling and labour on all fours and or leaning over a bean bag. I also found making circular motions with my hipe helped, a bit like a slow hoola hoop motion :)
I think familiarising yourself with a number of different pain relief techniques/options is a great idea then you can see what options appeal to you at the time
good luck with your birth
Yes I'd love one! That's what I meant by low dose epi. I don't know if my hossy offers it, and I know only certain anesthesiologists can perform them, but I will certainly be asking.:
my girlfriend said she was able to walk to the toilet and didn't need a catheter (I had never heard this could happen before). Im seeing her for lunch wednesday and Ill quiz her :)
My gf did end up with a forceps delivery for her ds who was her first, how much the epidural contributed to the further intervention as obviuosly I dont know all the details of her birth
I used a birth stool with DD1 for the pushing stage of labour but as she was posterior it was the wrong position and I had to move her so had to get off and try a new position!
DD2 I never used one. I didn't feel I needed too, I found the toilet seat more comfy that time, lol
I was always reassured by mw that if baby came out while on stool that it would be ok and they would catch it :)