going to labor at home.

[winterbabies3]

I want to labor at home as much as possible and don't want to go to the hospital till I have to! If for some reason I did have the baby at home (cause I waited to long, hospital is only 2 mins up the road) what would I do, I know I would need towels and wrap the baby, but what about the cord and suction? I want to be prepared and I know husband will freak out if this does happen.

 

[LoraLoo]

Leave the cord attached (obviously make sure it's not wrapped around baby)
I am in the uk and they don't suction baby- it's not necessary.

 

[NDH]

If baby does seem mucous you can suction with your mouth (I know many moms who have done this by instinct) but its not necessary the vast majority of the time.
If you want to go to hospital to get you both checked over you can call the ambulance and they'll cut the cord when they arrive which will have given it a few minutes at least, or you can request they leave it attached longer.
If you don't feel either of you need to be checked you can stay home and register the birth yourself later, and just take baby to the Dr whenever you're ready. And if you do stay home, you can tie off the cord with string or a shoelace or an en embroidery thread cord (think small friendship bracelet) and cut it when its stopped pulsing, or you can look into cord burning or lotus birthing as other alternatives. You can either boil the cord in a pot of water or place it in a paper bag in the oven on low if you wish to sterilize it, but by waiting til the blood has stopped flowing you don't have to steralise it (or even tie it off tbh and it can be cut)

Its awesome that you're so calmly researching what to do if you should stay home too long its a great sign that you're in store for a positive, well informed birth

 

[winterbabies3]

thank you so much! I leave in the US and have read that in other countries a lot of people have their babies at home and don't even go to the hospital. I think if it did come down to it I would just call an ambulance and get us both checked out as that does seem important to me. I just don't want to have to much intervention this time around!

 

[winterbabies3]

One more question....will my waters break on there own? With DS1 they did and with ds2 they did it at 7 cm.

 

[NDH]

Even in the US there are lots of women who will stay home and only go in if there are issues . But its all your comfort level

Anyway, some babies are born in the caul (the sac) so it never breaks until after birth. Cool huh? You don't really see it happening in hospitals though as they usually will manually break your water at some point to "move things along"
Most of the time waters will release after labour has started, though quite often that's the first sign of labor too. And then they can literally go at any time during labour (or not at all for en caul babies). With my first they broke before labour (just my hindwaters though) and with my second they broke while I was pushing, about 5 minutes before she was born.

 

[winterbabies3]

Did you find you first labor more difficult than your second? I was reading and I guess the waters not breaking is to help with contractions?

 

[NDH]

They were so different in every way I really couldn't attribute the difference to when my waters broke.
Yes my first was more painful but I was in hospital for ages, ended up induced after 30 hours since my waters broke, had painful back labour from a posterior baby who turned, wasn't allowed to push for two hours and then was so exhausted from fighting my body second stage took 2 1/2 hours.

My second was 7 hours from start to finish but only a very intense 45 minute active labour, a three hour drive to hospital as she was breech and that was the nearest breech friendly location, (experiencing 20ish contractions strapped into a seated position was no picnic lol), an hour from a stretchy 4 to transition did have me wanting to scream for drugs til I realised it was transition, and then an easy 15-20 minute second stage.

 

[LoraLoo]

3 of my bAbys were born in the sac 😊

1 they broke at 5 cm, 1 as I was pushing (at my request) and the other 1- we have no idea lol.

So mine don't go on their own.

I didn't find the ones in the sac any more or less painful tbh

 

[Misscalais]

Id say just have clean towels ready. You dont need to suction baby unless you think it needs it. ( they dont do it in Australia unless needed either ) just leave the cord the ambulance people will probably deal with that ) waters have broken on their own with all my boys, 1st labour was 41 hours, did 37 of that at home. Waters broke 35 minutes before baby was born like an explosion all over the floor, 2nd bub was 22 hours, again only did the last 4 at the hospital, waters broke on 2nd or 3rd push all over the mw and student Dr and 3rd bub labour was only 9 hours which surprised me, i think i was at the hospital 2 1/2 hours before he arrived and also waters went on around 3rd push but they were just about to break my water.
I only live a few minutes from the hospital too. So once i started not being able to focus through my contractions thats when i went to the hospital and i was 4cm each time