How bad is this actually?

[mommy2two babes]

I was talking with my DH about our next birth last night.
Short version- our DS was a HB with an unprepred MW with no back up.
I think she was in a bit of a panic because of how fast he came.
She had nothing set up and hadn't even paged her back-up.

I had no idea but DH described to me the MW with the cord wrapped several times around her hard pulling on the cord. He said it looked like she was plunging a toilet. I knew she gave me a shot but I was in lala land and didn't even know that this had happened until lastnight.
Can anyone give me some insight please?

[fruitfulmomma]

Can you give more details? You seem to be describing two different issues.

Is he upset because it took a long time for her to get there? Or just because the baby came faster than expected?

Why was she pulling on your cord? What was the shot for?

[mommy2two babes]

Originally Posted by fruitfulmomma

Can you give more details? You seem to be describing two different issues.

Is he upset because it took a long time for her to get there? Or just because the baby came faster than expected?

Why was she pulling on your cord? What was the shot for?

The lonnger version of it is that I was contracting regulrly and was 3 cm the night before DS was born and she didn't want to stay. She made me feel badly for having had her out in the evening to check on me because although I was contracting I wasn't progressing past 3 cm.
SHe left to go home and said to page her if we needed and she would be over in 10 minutes.
I went to bed and at 6 am my waters broke and I was having the uncontrolable urge to push. My Mom paged and told her this and she took 30 minutes to get there.
At that point she hadn't even paged her back-up ( there are supposed to be 2 midwives present) who was coming from a good 30 minutes away.

She checked me and I was 7cm and pushing. She told me to get in the tub and was very rude to me. I think I was in transition because I was saying that I couldn't do it. Her reply was " remember you wanted this!"

In the time it took to run the bath and me to get in her was crowning.
She had none of her supplies out, hadn't paged her back up.
SHe drained the tub on me and I delivered in a dry tub on my back.
Out of the tub minutes later she gave me a shot of pitocin and was pulling on my cord. My Mom had DS as the other MW didn't make it for another 20 minutes. He was upset at the way she treated me as well as the fact that she was unprepared. The sight of her pulling on the cord like that I guess really freaked him out. I had no idea that it even was happening.

I don't know whay on esrth she would have been pulling on my cord, I guess thats what I am trying to figure out.

[fruitfulmomma]

Okay... well with those details I'd say find a new midwife. I mean, yes there are occasions when the baby comes fast and the midwife just doesn't make it. (I just read Labor of Love and I believe Cara, the midwife from BOBB, said she had missed 2 births out of over 700.) But it sounds like overall this was just not a good match for your family.

Mind you, I am not a midwife, but having had midwifery care throughout all five of my pregnancies, I think she should have called her assistant and had her head that way when she knew you were in labor. Second births tend to be shorter and even if you were only three when she left, that could have changed in mere minutes.

I understand that sometimes midwives will go home or whatever if things are going a bit slow in order to give you some private time (mine usually goes down to get a bit to eat or take a walk but is withing 10 minutes of my home), but if she said she could be back in 10 minutes then I am unsure why it took her so long to get back barring an emergency.

Lastly, there is absolutely no reason why you should not have the information regarding why she gave you pit and why she was tugging on the cord. She should have informed you about doing this and what it's purpose was, what she was worried about. Unless she was doing it as a matter of routine, in which case I would be even more leery. If there is any legitimate reason for pulling on the cord I don't know what it is. The only thing I can think of is that she was concerned the placenta wasn't coming fast enough, then maybe a gentle tug would have been okay or in a real emergency a manual extraction may have been warranted but there are lots of other things we do like immediate bf'ing the baby, gentle massage of the fundus, etc...

[Astraia]

From what I've been reading... she sounds like a really lousy midwife.

First being rude and leaving- I can understand leaving if she was kind and gentle and explained it could be a long time and having her "fresh" was good.

My midwife didn't call her backup until she felt birth was going to be happening soon-ish- I was 5-6 cm at the first vaginal check, and she called her backup about 3 hrs after that. Your midwife really should have called around the 7 cm mark when you were feeling pushy (IMO).

Rudeness is inexcusable and I would not use her again just based on that. I know some midwives can be snappish and a bit rude if they've been at a long series of births but still. I'd be angry.

Pulling on the cord is also inexcusable. It's common in hospital births, I know- shot of pitocin and pulling on the cord to get the placenta to detach- but as far as I know it's supposed to be GENTLE traction.

Pulling on the cord like you described can cause some pretty serious problems. It is not recommended. All I can figure is that she was either A. ignorant or B. in such a hurry she didn't care.

[mommy2two babes]

I guess I am just trying to figure all this out.
This came up because DH said he wanted me to have this one at the hospital and told me that he was upset by the last birth experience .

I have switched MW practices this time and have found a MW that I really like.

[ChickyMama]

I agree that this Midwife was not good. It is wonderful that everything turned out well in the end but I feel that the benefit of a homebirth is enjoying the experience of the birth and having people around you that are positive and there for you and doing what they can to make it a wonderful, peaceful, joyful experience. You can go to the hospital any day and find a doctor that will do whatever he/she needs to do to get done and on their vacation or whatever at your expense. This was my experience in the hospital with my first child and why I decided to plan a homebirth.

This is the first time I have heard of the use of pitocin at a homebirth. Is this common practice?

~Diana

[fruitfulmomma]

I don't know that you'd fare much better in a hospital. I don't really know about the Canadian birthing system but in the U.S. you will find plenty of these stories from doctors who are in a hurry as pp said or just pull on the cord as a matter of practice because they just can't stand the thought of letting things proceed on their own, that their skills aren't needed for every little situation.

This is the first time I have heard of the use of pitocin at a homebirth. Is this common practice?

Not ime but I guess it depends on your state and what laws your midwife is governed by. It would be nice imo if they could all carry it for emergencies (for after birth, NOT home induction) but as a matter of routine it goes totally against my whole philosophy of birth.

[mommy2two babes]

Maybe oxytocin? They are the same arent they?
The shot is to get you uterus contracting to expel the placenta and prevent alot of bleeding. I was not given the oppertunity though to say yes or no to it nor was I given the option of nursing ds and allowing it to come on its own.
Maybe she was just trying to rush through with me so she could check DS.

[Beeblebrox]

I realize that things happen and sometimes babies come fast. Midwives are human, etc. However....I am pretty appalled at the way you were treated. I can't even IMAGINE my midwife treating me like that. I'd definitely be asking her some questions about the birth..what, why, etc? And then would be seeing someone else.

[Astraia]

I would tell your husband that (from what I've heard both in CA and US) that this sort of treatment by medical professionals is MORE likely in hospital than in a homebirth with a midwife.

I think your step of switching practices is best. Also next time you can have a doula present and tell your husband that if he sees something that makes him feel distinctly uncomfortable or angry or if he feels you are being mistreated to tell the woman to bugger off!

I've told my husband this. If I seem angry or the person attending is being horrible, tell them to get away from me until they can explain their actions (now will this passive-aggressive non-confrontational man actually do it? Well, that's partly why i'm going UC....)

[Astraia]

Originally Posted by mommy2two babes

Maybe oxytocin? They are the same arent they?
The shot is to get you uterus contracting to expel the placenta and prevent alot of bleeding. I was not given the oppertunity though to say yes or no to it nor was I given the option of nursing ds and allowing it to come on its own.
Maybe she was just trying to rush through with me so she could check DS.

If baby is crying/ breathing/ pinking up well and seems to have decent reflexes and tone (which you can tell instantly, really) then there isn't any rush. If there was something funny with your baby, attention would go to the baby unless there was something seriously wrong with you- ie, crazy bleeding, shock, whatever.

With my daughter the newborn exam didn't happen until nearly 2 hrs after the birth. She was given to me immediately, they waited for the cord to stop pulsing, cut the cord, the placenta came out on it's own, they stitched me up, I breastfed, DD had skin-to-skin with dad while I showered, they did the newborn exam, they left.

[fruitfulmomma]

Maybe oxytocin? They are the same arent they?
The shot is to get you uterus contracting to expel the placenta and prevent alot of bleeding. I was not given the oppertunity though to say yes or no to it nor was I given the option of nursing ds and allowing it to come on its own.
Maybe she was just trying to rush through with me so she could check DS.

Pit is synthetic oxytocin.

I hate to pass judgment on the situation without having been there but from what you are describing I'd say what she did was totally unacceptable. I can't imagine that you were in an emergency situation and she just didn't say anything nor follow up with you to let you know why she needed to do it.