Qusetions for midwife regarding HB

[ljo1984]

well i havnt seen my MW since 16 weeks as this is my second time, when i last saw her she asked if id considered HB but i said we were going for hospital as OH wasnt keen on HB, she even offered to talk to him to change his mind . anyway he's come round to the idea on his own accord so will be discussing it on wednesday.
are there any questions i need to ask, i cant really think of anything off the top of my head other than telling her thats what i want!

 

[emsbaby916]

My husband also isn't 100% sure about home birth so when we meet with our mw I let him ask all the questions that he needs to so he can get more comfortable. He mostly asks about what could go wrong (things like cord prolapse, meconium(sp?)ingestion, fetal distress, hemorrhage) and what would she do in those different scenarios. I would ask about how often she's had to make hospital transfers and if any of those were true emergency transfers. Those were the most important things for us. HTH

 

[xxembobxx]

How wonderful that the MW broached HB with you initially.
I'm seeing my local MW next week and will be mentioning HB to her.
The questions I'm going to ask are more to do with the procedure. I want a water birth so want to know if that is something MW's get awkward about. Also just what general items they suggest.
Btw there is a great HB group in Leeds - meets 2nd Sunday every month. I've only been once but they were lovely and welcoming and it was great hearing the stories and info.

 

[ljo1984]

Thanks yeh I'm on their fb group but not ventured on much yet, guess I want it set in stone with mw first so I don't get my hopes up, but as she mentioned it girst surly there won't be a problem?!

 

[lynnikins]

my MW is supposed to come at 36weeks to plan out my homebirth and see the house and tell me if my bath is big enough or if i need a pool lol and for DH to ask all his questions ( or me to list them off for him if he cant make it ) we have talked about it sort of they know i want a homebirth but were concerned about the size of baby and i have a consultant because my last baby was big so they want to be sure im not likely to have trouble with this one

 

[hippylittlej]

The midwife is coming to do my home visit today.
I think that for me the main question is how much notice do you need, can i wait until the surges/contractions are 3mins apart prior to calling you?
How often are you going to make me get out of the pool?
What do I need to prepare other than pool, set of towels etc.


I am lucky the hospital is about 5 minutes away and so if any problems we can be there in no time at all, so I don't have any concerns over emergencies.

 

[Rebaby]

This was my list:

• Who do I phone when labour starts?
  
• What happens if i SROM before contractions start or very early in labour like I did last time?
  
• I want to use a bithing pool in labour and probably for the birth as well-what temp do you recommend the water to be at? And do you recommend getting a VE before getting in the pool?
  
• Do you advise getting out of the pool to birth the placenta?
  
• Under what circumstances do you advise transferring in?
  
• What happens re: partners if i need to transfer? Can my OH come in the ambulance too?
  
• From what point would i be supported in a HB? I.e. 37 or 38 wks? And until when?
  
• How many midwives are in the team, and are all the mws on the team experienced in waterbirth and homebirth?
  
• How often do you listen in for baby's HB during the 1st stage/2nd stage?
  
• What happens re: newborn baby checks and hearing screening if we have a homebirth?

You could also ask-

What resus equipment they carry

How long they would anticipate a transfer to take in a true emergency

If they can provide pethidine (if you're interested in that as an option)

How long it usually takes for a mw to arrive once they have been notified you're in labour

Would they prefer to know sooner or wait until contractions are a set distance apart?

I think that's all i can think of, but HTH

 

[ljo1984]

This was my list:

• Who do I phone when labour starts?
  
• What happens if i SROM before contractions start or very early in labour like I did last time?
  
• I want to use a bithing pool in labour and probably for the birth as well-what temp do you recommend the water to be at? And do you recommend getting a VE before getting in the pool?
  
• Do you advise getting out of the pool to birth the placenta?
  
• Under what circumstances do you advise transferring in?
  
• What happens re: partners if i need to transfer? Can my OH come in the ambulance too?
  
• From what point would i be supported in a HB? I.e. 37 or 38 wks? And until when?
  
• How many midwives are in the team, and are all the mws on the team experienced in waterbirth and homebirth?
  
• How often do you listen in for baby's HB during the 1st stage/2nd stage?
  
• What happens re: newborn baby checks and hearing screening if we have a homebirth?

You could also ask-

What resus equipment they carry

How long they would anticipate a transfer to take in a true emergency

If they can provide pethidine (if you're interested in that as an option)

How long it usually takes for a mw to arrive once they have been notified you're in labour

Would they prefer to know sooner or wait until contractions are a set distance apart?

I think that's all i can think of, but HTH

Oh wow what a brilliant list! Some of the questions could wait until later but some I can ask tomorrow. I had SROM with Imogen and ended up being induced next day cause I wasnt progressing quickly enough for them although I was contracting. If I was as educated on it all as much as I am no way would I have agreed to induction as really there was no medical need for it! So definatly want to ask that! Oh she better be there tomorrow I don't know why but I've a feeling she'll be on holiday or something and I'll have a cover mw ha ha. X