# OB's say " you could bleed to death in minutes!"



## mushy1981

FOUND THIS ONLINE



You could bleed to death in minutes!
This is one of the scare tactics that many doctors use in order to persuade pregnant women into believing that the hospital is the safest place to give birth. When I first heard a doctor say this on a homebirth documentary, I decided to look into this claim in more detail to check the validity of this concern 
There are a few women who, for whatever reason, will experience postpartum hemorrhage without any known reason or cause, but this is rarely the case (and even when it is, they would most likely experience days of unmistakable symptoms before death would occur). There is a common practice in our hospital deliveries for doctors to cut the umbilical cord immediately after birth and to assist in the delivery of the placenta. Both of these practices (which are so common that often women dont even know that there is another way) are dangerous for mom and baby and put them at a higher risk for complications. 
There is a natural way that the progression of this third stage of labor will occur. Once the baby is born and breathing, the body will recognize this and begin to cut off the blood flow entering into the placenta. After a while (sometimes minutes, sometimes hours) the placenta will naturally detach itself from the uterine wall and deliver on its own, without the help of outside intervention. Soon, the cord will stop pulsing blood to the baby and will turn white and limp. After the placenta has been delivered and the cord has stopped pulsing, it is now safe to cut the cord (although not necessary, as the cord will detach on its own in usually a week or less ~ this is called a lotus birth). So, looking at the layout of the natural course of events that take place after birth the birth of a baby, it is easy to see how any outside interference with that natural progression could be dangerous. 
In the hospital, it is outrageously common for the doctor to clamp and cut the umbilical cord immediately after the baby has been born. This is so common, in fact, that most women that Ive talked to about delayed cord cutting had never even known that not cutting the cord immediately after birth was even possible. It seems that the general conclusion that our doctor-dependent society has come to, is that the doctor cuts the cord right away so that the baby can take its first breath. Its hard for these women to fathom that the doctors only continue this unnecessary practice for their own convenience! Cutting the cord prematurely not only interferes with your bodys natural process (which can lead to hemorrhaging), but it also deprives the baby of 25-40% of their blood supply! Its no wonder that so many of our babys are vitamin deficient at birth
Another common practice (not practiced by all doctors, but certainly many, as well as many midwives) is the assisted birth of the placenta. Basically what this means is that the doctor will push on the uterus (many times causing the mother pain) and/or pull on the umbilical cord in order to force the placenta to detach and deliver sooner. Of course, this is in the best interest of the doctor, as he/she can leave sooner and be on to their next patient or go home for the day. This practice is absolutely not in the best interest of the mother, as the premature or forced delivery of the placenta interferes with your bodys natural process and can cause it not to contract properly in order to shut off the blood flow into the placenta. So, blood is still flowing freely to a placenta that is no longer there, and the uterus fails to contract properly and restrict blood flow, causing the woman to hemorrhage. Also, tugging on the cord or forcing the placenta to deliver can tear the placenta, leaving remainders of the placenta in the uterus, which can also cause hemorrhaging. 
So, with a natural birth, the chances of postpartum hemorrhage, especially the type that causes women to bleed to death in minutes, is not something that is prevalent in home birth. It is actually extremely rare and the only reason that doctors see postpartum hemorrhaging more often (which they usually treat with pitocin or other medications) is most often because of the damage that they have caused with their own hands.
I do want to mention also that are things that we, as birthing women, can do in order to help our bodies in their natural progression of this third stage of labor. When the baby is born, the surest way to help with bleeding and to signal to your body that the baby has been born is to breastfeed. If the baby is not ready to nurse, merely skin to skin contact with your baby will also signal to the body that the baby has been born. Drinking red rasberry leaf tea during pregnancy and labor can also help your uterus to function at its best, as it tones the uterus to prepare it for birth. Pitocin and pain medications during labor actually have the opposite affect by interfering with the normal, natural function of the uterus, which will likely cause excessive bleeding after the baby has been born. In the cases where there is excessive bleeding, a gentle massage of the uterus will often encourage it to contract, which will help stop the bleeding. If all else fails, Shepherds Purse tincture taken under the tongue will slow bleeding in just seconds. This herb not only slows bleeding, but also promotes uterine contractions, which makes it ideal for women who are experiencing postpartum hemorrhage. It is important, though, that the tincture is made from a fresh plant, rather than a dried plant, as the plant significantly loses potency after it has been dried.


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## mumatmadhouse

Very interesting, thanks you for sharing. 

I was unaware of delayed clamping and cutting until the birth of my 4th child. I had her at a birthing centre instead of the hospital, she had such great colour, i was amazed.


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## Leopard

Thankyou for sharing, a few things I already knew, and most websites I look at say that home birth is the same, if not less dangerous than hospital birth.

Here they try and jab you with some kind of drug that encourages the placenta to drop; I do not plan on having it. The most meds I want is panadol or maybe gas, the rest I'm going to try and do as natural as possible. As for immediate cord cutting, my baby will be allowed to get as much blood from the cord as possible before cutting.


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## mushy1981

thought it was quite informative


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## SIEGAL

I met a girl at mommy and me who would have actually bled to death (twice - each pregnancy it happened, she has been advised not to have more children) if she were not in the hospital. when the class instructor mentioned home birth or something she freaked and said you never know if youre that rare one who will hemorrhage b/c if she wasnt at the hospital she would have died. I sound like a party pooper, I know, but it freaked me out.


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## NashiPear

It's not me, but I have hemmorhaged after both my births. It is a very individual decision and if you are low risk, then that is your choice.

My first occurred two weeks after a caesarean driving along in the car. It was terrifying for everyone. I went to hospital overnight and seemed to stop and was okay. It happened again the next night. Scarier again as the health line was trying to get me to call an ambulance and I was trying to decide if I should just get hubby to drive and leave immediately. I was feeling very woozy. I ended up in hospital again and theatre. even a nurse looked scared.

so next birth I told midwife about previous experience. she told me I should opt for active delivery of the placenta (injection) as it reduced the risk of PPH. I agreed to that.

I had a VBAC this time. I sustained a 3rd degree tear the the placenta got stuck. They tried two injections for me, but they could not get it out and I started to bleed again (it partly came away). They tried manual removal in delivery room without success. They also gave me time to let it come out naturally, but after 30 mins, I was taken to surgery where I lost more blood as they had to remove it. It was deeply embedded. That was my second post partum hemmorhage. I adore my kids, but I will be seeing a high risk specialist before trying again.

It is an individual decision and I am not judging anyone for what they decide, but the midwives were great guiding me through delivery. I have nothing but respect for the doctors and nurses. It was not as natural as I'd liked as I ended up in theatre under general anesthetic, but I am so grateful that they were there when things went wrong. 

All you need to do is look up childbirth in Wikepedia to get some interesting other facts:

Here's one:
Childbirth is an inherently dangerous and risky activity, subject to many complications. The "natural" mortality rate of childbirth&#8212;where nothing is done to avert maternal death&#8212;has been estimated as being 1500 deaths per 100,000 births.[30] (See main article: neonatal death, maternal death). Modern medicine has greatly alleviated the risk of childbirth. In modern Western countries, such as the United States or Sweden, the current maternal mortality rate is around 10 deaths per 100,000 births.[31]
Birthing complications may be maternal or fetal, and long term or short term.

I don't think doctors should use scare campaigns against people, but it is important to know the risks and make an informed decision. Yes obstetricians in particular may intervene more than necessary to reduce risk and things may not be as natural as we had hoped or wished for, but at the same time, I am pretty happy to be flexible after knowing how easily things can go wrong. I have a lot of respect for the doctors and midwives who treated me. Admittedly, the obstetricians were very respectful of my decision, but would have preferred I had a second caesarean, but they supported my vbac choice, even though their preference did make me nervous and question myself. If they had of been adament that it is too dangerous, I would have happily done what they said. A hospital in the Western world is not run by cowboys, but most of their decisions (as best they can be) is based on research. Unfortunately, more interventions happen that may not be necessary, but a lot of lives are saved as well. 

If you do have a homebirth, just make sure you have easy access to a hospital in case the unthinkable happens. I still can't believe it has happened to me twice!


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## MonstHer

This makes me sad that some use scare tactics.
I wish i could trust them fully and believe what they say.


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## 88Keys2

People who push home births sometimes use scare tactics too. Do your research and make your own choice for what will make you feel the most comfortable.


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## Tampa

Both my cousin and a close friend suffered with PPH and were kept in hospital for an extended period after their transfusions. As I'm anaemic, like a lot of pregnant women, the risk to my life if I haemorrhage after is significant - I'll definitely be having the injection to aid delivery of the placenta and staying in hospital for the birth. 

Even if I wasn't anaemic I'd feel safer where there are specialists and medical equipment on hand in case there are problems - but that's just me. I agree with the above post - there's fear mongering in both camps, you've just to do your own research and do what's right for you and your baby.


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## MonstHer

Yes, both sides use scare tactics, and I wish it wasn't so.


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## londonangel

I had my daughter in hospital and they automatically waited until the cord stopped pulsing before they cut it. I remember being surprised by it - although not quite as surprised as I had been a moment before when a BABY suddenly appeared on top of my tummy. Not sure what I thought I was giving birth too. I think I was in shock!


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## ahcigar1

For me the risk is just too high to not be in the hospital. Even if you go through having a perfect pregnancy you still never know what can happen during L&D and for me I would feel much safer and comfortable knowing that I was somewhere that things could be handled and treated with the proper equipment immediately. I especially feel this way after hearing my cousin tell me of a patient he had who if they hadn't been in the hospital baby and mom wouldn't have survived becuase they only had minutes to react. I just don't see it as a risk I would want to take, because you never ever know what can happen. Even if this is your second, third, fourth, etc every pregnancy L&D are different and so things can still happen if they didn't in previous ones. And you can still have just as natural of a birth in the hospital as you can at home.


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## katieeandbump

I personally wouldn't have a homebirth, I also think the whole injection and placenta delivery thing, what if you were to tear right to your bum?? You can bleed a hell of a lot from that believe me and you would want it sticthed up as quick as it could be. Delaying that time could mean u lose more blood. I just think there's right and wrong on both sides and in my personal experience the delivery of the placenta could not of happened quick enough, I just wanted it to be out and for me to be stitched up and get a shower. My babys cord was also wrapped around his neck a fair few times and he didn't start breathing for a few mintues, he had a lot of doctors around him and he was whisked up to neonatal with breathing problems. Who knows what could of happened had I been at home. I think the risk for my baby would make me want to be in hospital just incase x


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## Mrs_Jubilee

I definitely couldnt read this and run... I owe my life to being at the hospital for my birth, myself or my son wouldnt have lived if we were at home. I'm sorry but I find it so selfish of mothers who want to have a homebirth just so its natural or whatever daft reason... this is only my opinion because I know my son would definitely have died suffering if we were not at a hospital. Never felt so strongly about it until I went through it myself. Please don't be put off by a hospital birth and wanting to do it the 'natural' way, it is there for help and is the reason there are far less deaths at birth in this day and age.


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## Kess

Statistics have proven that homebirth is just as safe as hospital birth, in some cases safer. Yes, now and again (very rarely) there's a tragedy at home that wouldn't have happened at hospital, but there are also the same percentage of tragedies in hospital that wouldn't have happened at home, but people don't think about those as hospital is the default. Also, a lot of people who believe that their situation required hospital for survival wouldn't have been in that situation to begin with had they been at home - interventions in hospital breed more interventions. It's also easier to manage many "crises" at home than you might think - bleeding can be stopped swiftly with a syntometrine injection, "rubbing up a contraction", various herbs etc; midwives carry resus equipment and are more likely to keep baby attached to the cord to make sure s/he keeps getting oxygen rather than the common hospital practice of cutting the baby's oxygen supply off to take them away to resus them.


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