At Home Births

[Seraphim]

Og, your friends probably had walking epidurals, which have only become available in the last few years. You don't need a catheder and you can walk around with assistance.

 

Also ls remember that you might have to be lying down, depending on the specifics of your situation. If your midwife thinks it's important to have access there while you're pushing, she may request that. Just be sure to be flexible and not have rigid expectations, u know?

 

I had one of those, yes. They had them though when I had my son almost 14 years ago. I was not cathed during delivery. I could have walked around by my blood pressure was too precarious because of the epi meds.

[lostnscared]

My best friend had an epidural and she wasn't laying down, she was sat up and pushed. I work with a girl who had an epidural and delievered on all fours. I think a lot of it is in that moment you can't express 2hat you want, whixh is why someone should always be there with you. If I don't want to be lying down giving birth I won't - L will know what I want and I trust him to enforce it.

 

Yes but with the epidural you have limited movement and have to stay laying down or in an upright position on the bed. You cannot move, walk around, or move around as freely as you would without one. You do have to enforce what you want to doctors. And I do think that in a hospital environment a woman can still have a desirable birth. I've just done a lot of research for myself since finding out that I'm pregnant and found that when compared many women said they had better home birth experiences then they did hospital experiences. That really is what did it for me. Because I'm pregnant with twins there is a chance that I may have to get a c-section, but my midwife is confident that I will still be able to deliver at a birthing center or at a home birth.

If I cannot have a homebirth then I will try to go to a birthing center which will be similar to a home environment. The house that I'm moving into in June is about 25 minutes away from the hospital which could be dangerous if something went wrong with the birth. If I lived where I do now(with my mom, about 5 minutes away from the hospital) I know that everyone would feel much better about the homebirth. If I were having one baby I would do a home birth for sure even if I was further away from the hospital. But with twins I know it can be risky. I still am trying to push for a home birth, but time will tell.

[rocio]

So what are the advantages of a birthing center over a hospital? I've never understood that. Do they have doctors? More equipment? Can they do c-sections?

 

One idea I had was to birth in a hotel next to the hospital. You're practically at the hospital just in case but all the benefits of a home birth

[lostnscared]

So what are the advantages of a birthing center over a hospital? I've never understood that. Do they have doctors? More equipment? Can they do c-sections?

 

One idea I had was to birth in a hotel next to the hospital. You're practically at the hospital just in case but all the benefits of a home birth

 

The advantages is that a birthing center allows you a private bedroom suite. So you have a bed, and a jacuzzi available where you can birth. That means for women who want a water birth they can do so. They leave the lights low, allow you to walk around, and give you more privacy and freedom to do what you want. Birthing centers are also always close to hospitals, so in case something goes wrong you can still be taken to a hospital in quick time. So in other words, it's much like being at home, except you have a birthing tub to use, and you are closer to the hospital.

[OptomisticGirl]

Rocio - I completely agree about having a none rigid birth plan. and for me, ill be at a disadvantage bc I only can draw on labor experience from the States but ill be giving birth in the UK. So on the midwife front ill be deferring to you ladies, lol

 

I use yo be against midwifes but a friend wastelling me about her experience. With her second child (in a hospital) the cord was wrapped around his neck and when they told her her blood pressure rose. With her third she went the midwife route and the same thing happened - cord wrapped around his neck - she never knew until after the birth. The midwife asked her to stop pushing, fixed it, and continued. Never let on there was a problem.

 

I know with my best friend she had a normal epidural, not a walking. But preclampsia sent her into early labor. My co worker had a normal one as well but hers started wearing off and thats when she went to all fours.

[Batya33]

I'm sorry your friends had bad experiences and thanks for clarifying what you meant by "strapped" -to me having an IV is not being strapped -if I had wanted to walk around I think I could have. I didn't want to. For me personally a midwife or birthing center would have been too risky (I was high risk because of my age) and I was consulted about every single drug they gave me - and they raised my epidural on my request.

You're not allowed to eat or drink (other than ice chips) if you have an epidural especially if you might need a c-section. I think that is a medically wise choice.

It sounds like you've researched the options and have decided on what is best for you . I have a slight concern that you are a bit too biased against hospitals but that's your perogative.

[Hope75]

So what are the advantages of a birthing center over a hospital? I've never understood that. Do they have doctors? More equipment? Can they do c-sections?

 

One idea I had was to birth in a hotel next to the hospital. You're practically at the hospital just in case but all the benefits of a home birth

 

Most free standing birth centers (FSBC) are run by midwives vs. doctors. The philosophy and model of care for Medical vs. Midwifery birth is very different. The medical model of care assumes birth to be risky and problematic unless proven otherwise, and the midwifery model of care assumes birth to be a natural process that does not need interference or intervention unless there is actually a problem. Midwives tend to use more natural methods of labor progression such as movement, emptying the bladder, nipple stimulation, change of position, eating and drinking, etc, where doctors are quick to jump to medications to jump start or augment labor such as pitocin, cervidil, cytotec, etc. all which have potentially dangerous side effects to mom and baby and often lead to more interventions.

 

They have much of the same equipment that a hospital has, (warmer, suction equipment, suture kits, oxygen, IV equipment if needed, some drugs) but they do not do epidurals or c-sections. The goal of a FSBC birth is for it to be as natural as possible, no routine IV's, no continuous monitoring, freedom of movement, water birth as an option, you are allowed to eat and drink whereas most hospitals have an NPO policy (no eating or drinking in labor, or ice chips only). There typically aren't time limits placed on how long a woman will be 'allowed' to labor before a c-section is pushed on her as long as the baby is doing well and mom is doing well, Medical model/doctors typically aren't comfortable letting a woman go post dates with a pregnancy (past 40-41 weeks) despite the risk to allowing to go to 42 weeks and beyond with proper monitoring not being increased to the baby or mother. Most hospitals insist on more continuous monitoring which limits a woman's mobility in labor and increases her chance of a c-section or 'failure to progress' (i.e. failure to move fast enough for impatient doctors) despite evidence and studies that prove there is NO improvement in fetal outcomes with continuous monitoring vs. just intermittent monitoring...

 

I could go on if you are interested!

 

The FSBC I am using for this pregnancy is accross the street from a hospital where it has back up OB's so if there is a problem or if the mother decides partway through she wants or needs an epidural she can transferred within minutes.

[rocio]

Sorry, I had an error in my question. I meant to ask, "what are the advantages of birthing in a birthing center over a home birth?" Sorry for the confusion!

 

I guess I'm still not quite clear on what the advantages of a birthing center over a home birth are. I've heard people speak of birthing centers as if they are the safer option. But to me there seems to be little difference between what would be available in a birthing center vs. a home birth. At a home birth, the midwife is able to bring suction equipment, suture kits, IV equipment, etc.

 

I'm not trying to be argumentative. I'm just trying to understand whether a birthing center would be considered safer than a home birth (assuming they were equal distance from a hospital). I think I would actually like to give birth in one but unfortunately there are none in my city.

[annie24]

I think there would be less of a mess to clean up at home.

 

If a birthing center is accross the street from a hospital (and your home is not), that could be an advantage if there is a serious complication.

[Hope75]

You're not allowed to eat or drink (other than ice chips) if you have an epidural especially if you might need a c-section. I think that is a medically wise choice.

 

Just to clarify on the no eating/drinking policy many hospitals have while in labor- the ancient, outdated reasoning behind this is that on the off chance you will need an emergency c-section with general anesthesia (as in being knocked out completely, intubated with no gag reflex) they worry that you are at risk for aspirating your stomach contents. Not with an epidural or a spinal, where the woman is awake, alert and has an intact gag reflex.

 

The chance of having a c-section that is so emergent you need general anesthesia vs. a spinal or augmented epidural is minute (

 

On the flip side, starving and dehydrating a woman in labor (which is the biologic equivalent to running a marathon in terms of caloric & energy requirements) has been shown to stall labor, weaken pushing efforts, lead to exhaustion and intolerance of labor for mom, and increase the chances of a c-section, vacuum or forceps extraction. The medical model thinks the solution is IV fluids, which often when given IV are almost always in excess of what the woman actually needs, actually third space (move into the tissues causing swelling and edema, difficulty nursing, breathing, etc).

 

This is just another outdated, non evidence based practice that the medical model can't seem to let go of.

[Hope75]

Oh! Totally different question, LOL. There really isn't much difference between a FSBC and a home birth. Midwives transport almost all the equipment available at the FSBC to a home birth. For some it is simply proximity to a hospital in the event of needing a transfer. It is really a matter of preference on this one.

[Batya33]

I think I had ice chips and sucked on small lollipops. I wasn't hungry, just very sweaty from the maternal fever I had so I didn't ask for food. I didn't need general for my emergency c-section. Not sure what would have happened if I asked for food. I did have an IV for the epi and I guess for fluids. I did have difficulty nursing as far as supply and then I had to be put on meds for a medical condition that I didn't want the baby to even have a chance of getting through breast milk so I stopped (also because I was advised not to mix my meds with the supplements I would have needed to increase milk supply).

Thanks for sharing the information - I doubt I will have another child but it's good to pass on to friends.

[OptomisticGirl]

If your in the UK - or anywere were the widwife is a more popular option - and you want a midwife, you can still give birth at the hospital, right?

[Batya33]

If your in the UK - or anywere were the widwife is a more popular option - and you want a midwife, you can still give birth at the hospital, right?

 

I think it might depend on the hospital's policies and whether the birth is low or high risk.

[OptomisticGirl]

I know in the UK midwives do most of the delivery unless something goes wrong or the patient doesn't want one. It's opposite than here were doctors are primarily the ones delivering, at least what I have read says it. The only medication I would want is an epidural. Other than that I wouldn't mind increasing labor in more traditional manners.

[rocio]

If you get an epidural, there is a fairly good chance you will require pitocin. An epidural will often slow down or even stop a progressing labor and first time moms do tend to have slower labors anyway. There is certainly a point at which both the woman and the uterus will become exausted and if you go past that point without administering pitocin, there is a much higher probability that a v-birth won't be possible and you have a c-section. Just be sure you have a midwife you trust, whose philosophy is similar to yours, so that if she recommends the pitocin, you know it's necessary to take it.

[lostnscared]

It's so interesting last night I had a friend challenge me for wanting to have a homebirth. It seems she thinks I'm crazy and that I'll be in so much pain, etc. I tried to explain to her my philosophy on homebirth, why I'm choosing, and that I'm only focusing on having an intense but virtually painless labor(which a lot of people think is impossible, but I've read at least 100 stories in the last two weeks that prove it isn't). Interesting enough this same friend tried to tell me how my pregnancy should be throughout. She thought I wasn't eating enough, that I should be showing more, that it's weird I don't have an appetite, that it's weird that my boobs have grown two cups sizes but that it didn't hurt, etc, etc. I tried to explain to her that like birthing, every pregnancy is unique but she just is very set on what she believes pregnancy and birth should be like. This is a woman, btw, who has never been pregnant or delivered. She then told me that it was going to hurt like h*ll if I stayed at home, because it did for her sister. I found that amusing and just told her that I am sorry that her sister had a painful at home birth, but that I would be glad to tell her about my painless birth after it happens. That shut her up very quickly.

 

OG, I heard that midwifes tend to stay at your side more while you are in labor more so than OBGYN's do, that could be a bonus because they can offer you support. I'm not sure if the UK speeds up labor or not. I know in the USA they do, but not sure how it works there. Maybe bellastranger knows?

[Saffron_]

If your in the UK - or anywere were the widwife is a more popular option - and you want a midwife, you can still give birth at the hospital, right?

 

The only people I've known who have had their babies delivered by doctors are the ones who have had c-sections or birth complications. It doesn't matter whether you're giving birth in a hospital, at home or in a birth centre, in the UK midwives almost always deliver babies, NOT doctors. I have no idea about whether they speed up labour or not. I've never heard of it and one of my friends was in labour for 2 days so...I'm guessing they don't unless it's absolutely necessary. You should check out 'one born every minute' on Youtube (if it'll allow you!). It's channel 4 series about births in an NHS hospital.

[OptomisticGirl]

Thank you for that Rocio. I'll def keep that in mind. I know everyone I know who had an epidural their first time went well. My best friends labor was 16 hours i think. My mom never had one with me but then again i was on/y seven mins of labor! But yeah, ill def do my research on midwives and if it comes down to me needing the pitocin then I will.

[OptomisticGirl]

Saffron - that's what i thought. I'm really warming up to the idea of a midwife.

[Hope75]

I think I had ice chips and sucked on small lollipops. I wasn't hungry, just very sweaty from the maternal fever I had so I didn't ask for food. I didn't need general for my emergency c-section. Not sure what would have happened if I asked for food. I did have an IV for the epi and I guess for fluids. I did have difficulty nursing as far as supply and then I had to be put on meds for a medical condition that I didn't want the baby to even have a chance of getting through breast milk so I stopped (also because I was advised not to mix my meds with the supplements I would have needed to increase milk supply).

Thanks for sharing the information - I doubt I will have another child but it's good to pass on to friends.

 

I was 'allowed' ice chips during my induction as well, and I also had an emergency c-section but not with general. I had an epidural in place and they jacked it up for the surgery (since it wasn't working anyway!) I also had an IV and difficulty breast feeding (studies are also showing babies of mother's who get epidurals tend to have more difficulty breastfeeding).

 

There are a lot of women who are not hungry during labor and who vomit, particularly in transition (8-10cm dilation) due to delayed gastric emptying, and no one should be forced to eat, but to deny food for those who do want it is just outdated and no longer evidence based practice. I wasn't directing the statement at you in particular Batya but thought because you mentioned it and it's a common misbelief that the medical community does not dispel it would be nice to share.

[Hope75]

If your in the UK - or anywere were the widwife is a more popular option - and you want a midwife, you can still give birth at the hospital, right?

 

I'm not sure about the U.K., I live in America, but we have some midwives who only give pre and post natal care and do not have delivery privileges in a hospital setting, and we have some who do. I will be attended by midwives for this delivery, and am receiving prenatal care at a FSBC, but because I am having a primary VBAC I have to deliver at the hospital vs. the FSBC, but I can still have the midwives vs. a doctor.

[Hope75]

Realistically you cannot expect or plan for a 'painless' birth. It would certainly be nice to be able to choose, but the good thing about birth pain is that it is pain with a purpose- it is not alerting you to an injury but instead allowing you to feel the sensations of the changes your body is making during labor.

 

There are many women who describe their births as painless or even orgasmic, but unfortunately it isn't a choice. Going into labor and childbirth knowing there could be pain and being prepared to accept it as part of the process and go with it instead of fighting it or finding it abnormal will help you cope and allow it to be productive.

[rocio]

I remember the midwives trying to get me to drink honey because I hadn't consumed anything all day and they wanted to get my blood sugar levels back up.

 

I made up for it afterward though. First I lay in bed (no Annie, it's not messy! There was nothing for me to clean up. The midwives had planned for that in advance and took care of everything. No laundry, nothing - and I had white carpets, no less!) and ate a honey cruller. Then my husband made chocolate chip cookies and we sat around in the living room sharing a bottle of champaigne with the midwives.

 

*sigh* I betcha can't do that in a hospital!

[lostnscared]

Realistically you cannot expect or plan for a 'painless' birth. It would certainly be nice to be able to choose, but the good thing about birth pain is that it is pain with a purpose- it is not alerting you to an injury but instead allowing you to feel the sensations of the changes your body is making during labor.

 

There are many women who describe their births as painless or even orgasmic, but unfortunately it isn't a choice. Going into labor and childbirth knowing there could be pain and being prepared to accept it as part of the process and go with it instead of fighting it or finding it abnormal will help you cope and allow it to be productive.

 

I disagree with you, and I realize a lot of people probably don't agree with my philosophy, but my philosophy has been that we do in fact choose everything that happens in our life, from bad circumstances, to good, to labor, etc. I believe that people can manifest and create the labor that they want, but that of course it takes a lot of mental, emotional, and spiritual preparation. Many women WANT a painless labor, or one without pain, but many women have been told by society, by doctors, by friends, mothers etc, that it isn't possible. Therefore they have an expectation that it will be painful(how much--they aren't sure, but they accept that it will be). Or they are told that labor can go unexpected, not to plan for anything, not to be rigid. The women that I've talked to and follow did in fact plan and visualize the sort of labor they wanted. And they got the labor they wanted. Some of them didn't necessarily want a painless labor, they just wanted a comfortable one. And in their cases the labor was painful but manageable and therefore comfortable. Some wanted quick labors. Others wanted quick and painless labors. But what they all have in common is that they prepared, visualized and planned for the labor they wanted, and they achieved it. Some may say it was luck, but for them it wasn't. They had carefully, and consciously planned to have a sort of "birth". Sure there were things that may have happened that they did not picture,but overall the birth was either "comfortable" or "painless", "quick" or "intense" etc--just as they wanted, even in unforeseen circumstances or obstacles that happened along the way. I am actually on a forum and in a support group with many of these women. And we all operate from a sort of mindset about labor, and birth that I know is very different from the mainstream. Most women DO believe that labor for the most part cannot be planned. That it will be painful. That it is okay. That you just cope. These women believe opposite. They believe that labor is a beautiful, blissful peaceful experience--whether it's painless or comfortable. They believe that for the most part labor can be manifested to be the sort of labor you want, even despite obstacles that come in the way. So I understand if most people on ENA disagree with me. A lot of people actually. I don't underestimate the possibility that labor may not go EXACTLY as I planned, but I do believe that a person can plan and prepare to have either a labor of comfort, a labor that is painless, etc.