So it seems like whenever I mention homebirth, I get one of these cord horror stories in response. Instinctually, I don't believe it, but I'm not a birth professional and don't really know enough to understand what's really happening here.
The most recent was my godmother's story--she had the fetal monitor around her belly, every time she'd have a contraction his heartbeat would "stop", so the doc cut her a full episiotomy, reached in and pulled the baby out. This was all due to the cord being tightly wrapped around his neck and cutting off oxygen. Apparently had the doctor not intervened and cut and pulled the babe out, he would've been stillborn. This is what my godmother was told and what she believes 30y later.
The story before that was that the momma was laboring for about 60-70 minutes. The fetal monitor showed that the heart rate dropped during contractions. Mom received an emergency cesarean, and the babe was born "with the cord tightly around his neck". This was "a close call" and if they hadn't had a cesarean, I am told the babe would have died. FWIW this mom had a very "medical" OB attending her.
Can we talk about this?
It's my understanding that the cord is around the neck in 1/4 or 1/5 births. Can the cord around the neck really cut of oxygen and cause stillbirth? Would the babe be born, cord unwrapped, and isn't it still receiving oxygen from the placenta even if the cord is wrapped?
What about the heart tones slowing or "stopping"? Is this caused by the nuchal cord? Even if the heart rate slows during ctx, could that birth work out ok w/out interventions?
Without the fetal monitor, would these births have simply progressed naturally with the babies pinking up after birth? Or would they really have been stillborn because the cord was too tight? At that point, isn't birth pretty much imminent?
I hated the fetal monitor and only let them put it on my for a minute, and I don't want one in this next birth I'm preparing for either.
I'd like to understand what's really going on here and dispel the "horror cord" myth. Can you all help me out, here?
The most recent was my godmother's story--she had the fetal monitor around her belly, every time she'd have a contraction his heartbeat would "stop", so the doc cut her a full episiotomy, reached in and pulled the baby out. This was all due to the cord being tightly wrapped around his neck and cutting off oxygen. Apparently had the doctor not intervened and cut and pulled the babe out, he would've been stillborn. This is what my godmother was told and what she believes 30y later.
The story before that was that the momma was laboring for about 60-70 minutes. The fetal monitor showed that the heart rate dropped during contractions. Mom received an emergency cesarean, and the babe was born "with the cord tightly around his neck". This was "a close call" and if they hadn't had a cesarean, I am told the babe would have died. FWIW this mom had a very "medical" OB attending her.
Can we talk about this?
It's my understanding that the cord is around the neck in 1/4 or 1/5 births. Can the cord around the neck really cut of oxygen and cause stillbirth? Would the babe be born, cord unwrapped, and isn't it still receiving oxygen from the placenta even if the cord is wrapped?
What about the heart tones slowing or "stopping"? Is this caused by the nuchal cord? Even if the heart rate slows during ctx, could that birth work out ok w/out interventions?
Without the fetal monitor, would these births have simply progressed naturally with the babies pinking up after birth? Or would they really have been stillborn because the cord was too tight? At that point, isn't birth pretty much imminent?
I hated the fetal monitor and only let them put it on my for a minute, and I don't want one in this next birth I'm preparing for either.
I'd like to understand what's really going on here and dispel the "horror cord" myth. Can you all help me out, here?