Curious

[Missnurse]

Hi ladies

I asked this in pregnancy club a few weeks ago but thought I would get more experience here.

I've been thinking about the birth this time and was wondering what my chances of a home birth are?

DS was born in November in my local maternity unit ( it's about 20-25 minutes away) it was a tough labour, ok to start with but then he unengaged and turned back to back, waters were left in tact to long then after the birth placenta was delivered completely no probs but then when OH went to help me to loo I was having a lot of trickling that wouldn't stop so consultant came had a look and removed clots from my cervix. All In all I lost 1300 mls of blood.

My question is what would my chances of home birth be? If that's what I wanted? Does that amount of blood loss put me in a risk category?

 

[Mummafrog]

Hrrmmmrr a hemorrhage is classed as losing over 500mls of blood (although this is open to debate depending on natural/active placenta delivery) and if you have previously had a hemorrhage you are more at risk of having another and I -think- you would be advised against home birth. Are you under consultant led care? If so then yes you would be advised against.. however you could have active (injection) placenta delivery at home which would reduce the risks and even if you are advised against home birth if you understand the risks and benefits and choose to still be at home then they have to support you in that decision and you can make choices to make it safer, for example delivering the placenta out of water if you decide to birth in water etc.

I would suggest talking it through with a supervisor of midwives or similar and weigh up the pros and cons.

Sorry I don't have definite answers. All the best XX

 

[MindUtopia]

You can have a home birth if you want one. There is no such thing as 'being allowed' one or not. It's your right and the NHS has a duty of care to you. Now if you truly have a complication in your pregnancy or perhaps because of the previous PPH, they may advise against it, but it's your choice and they have to support you no matter what. As for will it happen again, it's impossible to say, but the best thing to do would be to try to understand why it happened the first time. You can book in to have a session with a midwife to discuss your previous birth, they'll go through your notes and try to help you understand what happened and might be able to suggest why. Things like induction can significantly increase the risk of a PPH (by 80% compared to someone who isn't induced), but it doesn't sound like you were induced. Also, anything that interrupts the natural hormone balance after birth can cause a PPH, so anything that caused you to feel stressed could cause a spike in cortisol and adrenaline, which counteracts your body's oxytocin production, meaning the placenta might not sheer off and the blood vessels to the placental site close off properly. But things like a quiet, calm atmosphere (no midwives and doctors rushing around making noise), dim lighting, lots of constant skin to skin contact and latching baby to the breast (even if you don't plan to BF, the nipple stimulation can really help) will make all that more likely to work the way it's supposed to. All of that would also be more likely to be easier to do without interruption at home, so just by having a home birth, you might be much more likely to avoid any stress or distraction causing problems. That said, you might consider opting for a managed 3rd stage (if you didn't have one before). It can in some women lessen the risk of a PPH. Having said all that, even if it did happen again, the midwives have the same drugs available at a home birth as they do in hospital and they are able to treat it just fine. It might sound unusual, but you might also consider having a placenta smoothie after birth (particularly if you can get someone to make it for you right away - like within minutes). I've also been told by several doulas that a piece of placenta (you can just tear a bit off) placed in the cheek immediately after the placenta is birthed will stop a PPH if it's happening. I'd still allow the midwives to work their magic and take the injection they would offer too, but even though it doesn't sound very tasty, it's worth a try if it means avoid too much blood loss.

You might also find this helpful: https://homebirthersandhopefuls.com/can-i-still-have-a-homebirth/pph/