Home Birthers & Hopefuls!

[Rach28]

Thank you so much all for the replies and support about my BP vs homebirth

Think we had started to get abit despondant as everyone was giving us the same message that it just cant happen now but maybe there can be a way round it....

Going to prepare myself for the consultant tomorrow and not just take whatever he says as the final word on this one, I'll let you know how I get on

Fingers crossed x

 

[Mervs Mum]

Celesse - great news hun.

Rach - good luck with the appointment. What will be will be so try not to let it overshadow things if you can

ER - my hypno practitioner said that it's fine to fall asleep listening to the CD. I wanted to hear the whole script, so I did make sure I'd listened to it once when I was fully awake.
Also regarding the breathing techniques: our practitioner said that they are a guide. If you find it easier/better/more relaxing/helpful to breath differently in a surge or during relaxation, then that's fine. She said at her own birth she said she didnt do the breathing exactly as it says to but she found a similar way that worked for her

 

[Celesse]

Good luck with the appointment Rach.

 

[nightkd]

I just asked this MW about the possibility of ordering gas & air to have at the birth, just incase I need SOMETHING (even if it doesn't work, it's reassuring to have it there ) and she was like "No, a health professional has to administer it because with an improper mix it can cause brain damage/death to the patient..." =/

I'm not being an idiot; you can get gas & air at home in the UK right?

Urgh. This America thing is doing my head in... Oh well, I'm not intending to NEED it anyway, just would've been nice to have it incase.

x

 

[Celesse]

I've had 5 small canisters of gas and air in the house since 36 weeks. What I don't have is the attachment to use it which will arrive with the midwife when I'm in labour....so that it will be administered by a health professional, i.e. the midwife.

 

[MandaAnda]

I'd never heard of Entonox in the US, although I'd heard about "laughing gas" at the dentists. My family (all in the US - I'm American, after all) haven't heard of it being used in labour (and a couple of my aunts are L&D nurses). But I don't see why the midwife couldn't get hold of it and bring it round when you're in labour if it's cleared to be used for that purpose. Even though I have my "birth pack," I don't have the Entonox, as the midwives bring it when they come out.

 

[nightkd]

She seemed very patronising about it...I have like 2 choices for a midwife at the moment (her being one of them) and I'm already not sure I like the sound of this one.... I guess it could just be the way she comes across in email and meeting her will be a lot different, but I dunno...She's been in the business for 20 years, so sounds like I'm not gonna get my G&A.

Wish I could just do it unassisted...now that really would cause a stir amongst the family and friends Blah. This just freakin' sucks. Who knew it would be so hard to have a birth plan as I want it?!

x

 

[Celesse]

I only have enough G&A for 2.5 hours. Midwife told me I am not allowed to touch it til transition as it will run out and I will end up having to go in for pain relief. I'm gonna move it away into another part of the flat whilst in labour in the hope that out of sight out of mind will mean I wont use it at all.
OH is to remind me that until Queen Victoria used chloroform in 1853 most women did childbirth without anything!

 

[Mervs Mum]

That's a bit rough Celesse They havent put a limit on the G&A for me. I used LOTS with my first baby! I got through the first 4 or so hours with TENS then switched to G&A and then did without for the last 30 mins or so as I seemed to get 'in the zone'. I'm planning to get 'in the zone' much sooner this time with the hypnobirthing techniques but I do have a TENS and obviously G&A to use if needed - just no pethadine which I didnt want anyway.

 

[Celesse]

I think if I manage to labour Monday-Friday, 9-5 the ambulance service can bring more G&A. But it sounded like they have difficulty getting more out of hours. I'm looking at it as a positive, in that I wont use it until I need it and I'm glad the midwife was quite blatant about how long it will last as now I am not mentally relying on it.

 

[EternalRose]

Morning Ladies,

I just wanted to know if anyone has been reading the yahoo homebirth group recently about the lady who had the undiagnosed breech birth. I am just about to go to my antenatal class I will be back at lunch, but I had a whole load of email updates this morning and they have worried me a bit as I thought midwives know for sure what position your baby is lying in...

Dont mean to worry anyone this morning, I just need some reassurance I think..

EternalRose x x

 

[Celesse]

The midwife who did my scan yesterday had a bit of a feel first and thought my baby could be breech. Thankfully she wasn't breech, she just has a bony butt and and her was to far down to feel. I don't think it happens often.

 

[MandaAnda]

ER, I think even on the discussion group, there were some midwives who said that it doesn't happen often. My baby has always been cephalic presentation, and the midwife was sure of it (even when she booked my presentation scan). I think the scan was just to cover me for my home birth really (it did show him as head-down). So, try not to worry. I really think being in hospital wouldn't have made much difference there.

As for the G&A supply thing, my midwife said the first midwife will bring one canister and that they can always pop to the hospital later (preferably when the second one is there so I'm not left alone) to get another but they probably wouldn't be able to get more. And each canister lasts 30 minutes. So I will be leaving it as long as I can!

 

[Celesse]

As for the G&A supply thing, my midwife said the first midwife will bring one canister and that they can always pop to the hospital later (preferably when the second one is there so I'm not left alone) to get another but they probably wouldn't be able to get more. And each canister lasts 30 minutes. So I will be leaving it as long as I can!

I feel totally spoilt now getting 5 canisters!

 

[EternalRose]

Thanks ladies,

Just come back from antenatal class and to be quite frank I wish I never went. They told us last week to bring our birth plans with us, and me and my fiance were the only couple out of 8 couples that bought one and of course it was a homebirth one.

I then ended up getting in a discussion with the midwife about risks of homebirth, to which she told me to " Ssssh " when I wanted to discuss the risks of a hospital birth. I was not a happy girl leaving that class today, and will not be going back for the final class next week.

I am going to call the midwife that I have a meeting with tomorrow, to check that it wont be a scaremongering exercise as I am not sure how much of this I can take ladies..

EternalRsoe x

 

[kelly342000]

just to let you all know that i had the baby 2 weeks 1 day early at home, feb 19th!!
couldn't sleep much on thursday night, had what i thought were just more intense braxton hicks so about 2.00am got up had a cup of tea and watch some tele dozing on couch. by 4 am had really bad back ache and more cramping feelings but was not sure they were really contractions as it was far too early! lol!! by 7am they were 5 mins apart and was no doubting baby was on her way! was a bit dissapointed as realised would not have the water birth i wanted and also had no tens machine and no pain relief.
anyway, we rang hospital who said to ring back when closer together but would let on call mw know. they were not even on call for me as this was starting on 22nd. we managed to get in touch with my mw at 9am and contractions were now only a couple of mins apart. i don't think she realised this and was very blase saying she would come round at lunch time! i said i would like her to come sooner and by the time they got here at 10.30am i was 7 cm dilated! she quickly set up stuff and hooked me up to gas and air which i didn't think did much at all but tbh the pain was not that bad. things progressed quickly and not long after the mw arrived i was pushing her out! she got a bit stuck and mw said needed to be cut (ouch!! the inj of local really hurt more than anything else!) anyway was really needed as it turned out the cord was round her neck and she had her hand up over her face like superman! lol!! once they cut me she popped out screaming, only a little after 2 hours of the mw arriving.
they got a bit worried at one point as i was bleeding a lot at but by the ambulance and paramedic arrived baby was almost out so they sat in the yard until she was out and mws were happy the blood loss was ok and all normal.
was not as planned but really nice as i was able to chill on sofa with baby while drinking tea and eating snickers!!
she weighed a healthy 7lb 2, so much for being small and we have called her seren

 

[Mervs Mum]

ER - go in prepared for them to chat shit. You know by now that this is an ingrained culture you are dealing with in your area/hospital/trust. I think it speaks volumes that you were the only couple there with a birth plan. That says to me that you are probably the only couple who are well informed and taking the process extremely seriously. Shusshh-ing you says to me that they are used to dishing out the orders and not getting challenged which is EXACTLY why you unnerve them so they have to play dirty and try to scare you. That all they've got because you know the facts they have to try an alternative way of wearing you down or scaring you. Be strong sista

Re the breech thing. Undiagosed breech is very rare indeed. I've obviously had a few convos around this subject recently. You are MUCH more likely to have a misdiagnosed breech than an undiagnosed one ie to be told they are breech when in fact they have a boney bum! I did start to wonder about my own diagnosis at one point but I saw 3 different MWs who all agreed breech presentation and at the scan this week I mentioned it to the MW sonographer who said that my MW is unlikely to have got it wrong - she's been a MW such a long time so experience is a big part. If they are even remotely unsure the will at least get a second opinion and a scan. If you're having a HB they are even more cautious than they would be if you were going to the hospital. They'd rather not have the surprise of a bum presenting at a HB but end then it's not the end of the world. There are some incredible stills of a planned breech HB on the web.

I dont think it's a major concern - it's such a rare occurrence

x

 

[Mervs Mum]

Congrats Kelly!!!!

 

[hopeforamirac]

congrats kelly

 

[carries]

I only have enough G&A for 2.5 hours. Midwife told me I am not allowed to touch it til transition as it will run out and I will end up having to go in for pain relief. I'm gonna move it away into another part of the flat whilst in labour in the hope that out of sight out of mind will mean I wont use it at all.
OH is to remind me that until Queen Victoria used chloroform in 1853 most women did childbirth without anything!

I used all of Nottingham's floating supply of G&A...honestly! Think I went through 6 cannisters in the end (each one lasting about 45 mins) with random people popping their heads round the door to see how I was getting on when they delivered it.