Home Birthers & Hopefuls!

[chuck]

Something new from mamabirth
https://mamabirth.blogspot.com/2011/04/natural-birth-is-actually-better.html

 

[PeanutBean]

Blimey caro that's awful! I knew with Byron that as soon as my milk came he would be fine and he was. I too had to fight to not be admitted and DH was in tears he was so worried about Byron; he didn't have the intuition I had and was thinking we should go in and that everything was more serious that it was. I can't believe they made you give formula! Glad your mum supported you. You might want to take this up with them when you are feeling less emotional and more settled.

I have the dreaded 40 week mw appointment tomorrow. Ugh. My plan is to do pee, bp and baby's position. I'm agreeing no dates for anything and will refuse any sweep ever. They offer at +6 apparently but I'm not interested, the infection risk is a good enough excuse I think. I think it'll be weekly appointments now so will set for next Tue at which I'll agree to book a scan at 42 weeks. No induction dates, no conversation about it at all until at least 42 weeks.

I had a giant contraction today after wild discomfort during my dogwalk. I've been getting unusually frequent and strong BHs since Byron went to bed. I suspect she might actually be a due date baby (Thu) but I also wouldn't be surprised if things took a turn tonight or tomorrow. She was very active after I did lots of time on all fours and lay on my side in the bath hoping to move her from OP. I really don't think I need to worry about induction though.

 

[Mervs Mum]

Full moooooonage!!!

 

[moomin_troll]

woooo its great ur body seems to be kicking in already. hope ur right and u get a due date baby

 

[PeanutBean]

Still got frequent tightenings... I can't stupid sleep. Hungry and heartburny and itchy and BHy. Byron woke so DH had gone in there which is good because I want him to get some sleep and I'm a total fidget with itching. It's not OC itching btw, I always have about three itches on the go but tonight I seem to have about 6 at any one time and I don't seem to be able to relax my way out of them.

 

[Bournefree]

Great News PB - Hope things are moving for you! That will sort out your appointment today, that is for sure!
Sending you lots of love.
XxX

 

[PeanutBean]

I'm still here! :wave: Up til half three with regular tightenings, or rather with enormous amounts of irritability! The regularity has gone off this morning. The sighs are all ammo against the mw if needed anyway. I'm sure it's only a matter of days now. Imagine that! Only days!

 

[indigo_fairy]

Good luck PB! You could be that tiny percentage of people that actually give birth on their EDD!

 

[moomin_troll]

i had these pains for awhile with zane but hopefuly they will kick in quicker for you.

it does all sound promising

 

[PeanutBean]

Sorry this is straight from my journal. Lazy pasting.

Back from mw, fairly uneventful. Bp, pee and everything fine. Had down and only 2/5 palp. My iron from the 34 week appointment came back 10.1 so a little lower than 28 week. I'm not worried. Below 7 is a concern for pph. She said, with mildly irritating sort of glee, I was only just in for the homebirth as hospital policy is 10. I said nice guidelines are 8.5 and I would just say no anyway. I did notice my haematocrit was 31% and 3% is a combining factor for pph with v low iron and my white blood count was high but no concerns there apparently. They really do make their own rules up! Got another appointment in a week. She asked what my feelings were about a sweep I said no and added GBS as a compounding factor and she offered no further comment and the word induction did not pass her lips

So an ok appointment. I feel I have some sort of reprieve for a week now. Ugh the longer this goes on the less I want anything to with mws.

 

[moomin_troll]

she sounds like a bitch!

my mw with zane didnt mention induction till 41 weeks...before that i would of gone for her lol

uve got plenty of time to go naturaly yet x

 

[PeanutBean]

When she brought my homebirth kit she weirdly talked about sweeps and inductions. I was baffled! I was only 37 weeks.

 

[Bournefree]

It is so clear what a difference it can make really knowing your stuff! Well done you for having such an empowering appointment. And if the week is over and baby isn't ready, you will know what to do at the time.
XxX

 

[moomin_troll]

some mws are just all about whats easier for them, sticking u in hospital drugging u up so they dont have to do their job.....makes me so mad!

i will be bringing my hb up with my mw next week, when i first did she seemed excited but then put me on high risk even tho im not so who knows lol

my mil was a mw and she was one of the nasty bitch ones

 

[PeanutBean]

I no longer understand my mw. I thought she was one of the good ones right through Byron's pregnancy and this one til she stuck a big get gbs sticker on my notes a couple of appointments ago. There's one in the team who does aquanatal who I really like but when some of us were talking about that One Born when the mw doesn't remove her fingers when asked she was kind of on the fence saying in one breath that it's the mother's right to say no but that there are times it's necessary and mw might need just a moment longer etc etc. I suspect there are NO good ones really. I think each probably has the things they are relaxed about and the things they are not based on their own subjective experience. Right of wrong I think they none of them can truly provide unbiased info and allow women to make all their own decisions, it's just not the way the system works.

 

[rachiedata]

PB I understand what you mean about there being no good ones considering in the end everyone's job is touched and tainted by their own opinions... I know this could sound a bit flip considering most of us have our births in their hands (quite literally!) but I think it's why I prefer a male hairdresser to a female hairdresser. I find that women tend to impose their own thoughts about hairstyles onto my head whereas a man will pay attention to what looks good on me and not what he likes. More male midwives?! Glad you feel like she's given you the time you need though, excellent to hear about a midwife not talking about induction at exactly 40 weeks if not sooner!

My OH got time off work for the 36 week home visit and so now all I need is a parking permit for midwife and then we are sorted!

 

[PeanutBean]

Wow a parking permit?! Are you in a residential parking area? That must be inconvenient...

That male MW on One Born (to quote a fully representative and statistically significant example ) was really very good!

 

[moomin_troll]

ive always thought id perfer a male midwife but there isnt any at my local hospital.

 

[rachiedata]

The consultant midwife at the Womens hosp here is a man. Apparently he's happy to personally attend home breech births and is generally a good guy to go to if you've got issues with your current care or for a debrief after a bad experience - again, a fully representative example of just one man

It's not so much a residents parking area (which would be easier cos then at least we'd have visitors permits) as an "outer controlled zone" with single yellows everywhere and no signs stating the actual restriction! There's three levels of parking in the basement of our building though, and most of the spaces aren't allocated, but I have to track down the caretaker and ask them for an access fob AND a permit, and they're not especially easy to track down as the agent I pay my rent to is not the same agent that manages the block... don't know if they'll charge us for the space or if we can get away with saying we'll only need it for up to 24 hours, one unknown day within the space of 37-42 weeks... phew! I'd sooner pay the midwife's bloody parking ticket if she gets one!!

 

[Bournefree]

It's uncanny we are talking about male midwives - There might be a possibility that the only male mw in our area may take me on as a case load. Meaning, that he will be able to be on-call for me from 37 to 42 weeks. This is one of the ways that I might be able to get my homebirth. The superivor of mw and our head of mw, were asking me at our meeting today if I would be happy with a man - My reaction was "no problem at all" personally I would be happy with ANY mw, they just have to be confidence, competant and experianced, and come to my home in labour, which isn't too much to ask? ;-)

Seriously I have no concerns with having a male mw, not that I've even thought about it too much.. I can't see that having a female mw who hasnt had any children as being any less able to empathise, or be good at there jobs. Infact, like PB and Rach were saying, past PERSONAL birth baggage could colour a mws view away from clinical evidence.

What do you guys think?