Calling 911 if mw's aren't going to make it in time

[JorgieGirl]

Basically the title says it all.

Can anyone give me reasons for or against it? Thoughts, discussion?

[laohaire]

I would not - unless I suspected a medical emergency of course. But just because the midwife isn't there? No.

Partly because I believe being left alone is safer than having a paramedic "deliver" me.

And mostly because they are going to take you to the hospital where they will subject the baby to all kinds of traumatic and ridiculous procedures because it was an "unsterile" birth and also a planned homebirth.

I guess I don't even understand the question, but I know a lot of people think about it. The point of having a home birth is because birth isn't an emergency. To call 911 just for giving birth (and not for an emergency) is fundamentally opposed to the concept of home birth.

I think that if someone feels they should call 911 when giving birth - that they would really be better off birthing in a hospital in the first place.

[Geerbabe]

I guess it might depend on how long your midwife is going to be. There is no big rush to clamp the baby's cord, so you could just put the baby on your stomach to keep it warm and hang out for a bit. The placenta would deliver naturally when it was ready. The only thing I might worry about would be post-partum bleeding. If you start bleeding heavily, it would be nice to have someone on hand who knew how to respond right away, since you can loose a lot of blood really quickly. I agree that home birth in itself is not an emergency, but the reason you planned on having a midwife instead of delivering completely on your own is that you wanted a medical professional to be there in case something did go wrong. Right?

I had heard that if you call the paramedics but tell them your midwife is on her way, they are usually willing to sit back and just observe. No insistance on dragging you to the hospital. You might want to check with your midwife and see how they operate in your area.

[celestialdreamer]

I actually had to deal with this scenario with my 2nd baby. The midwives were in route from about an hour away and labor progressed very rapidly, and we weren't able to get a hold of them on the phone. My friend/doula who was present asked if I wanted her to call anyone (meaning 911) and I told her no, that everything felt fine. If I'd had any intuition that anything was off, we would have called at that time. I really wouldn't want that kind of interference unless it was truly medically necessary.

[almadianna]

Honestly from both my pregnancies and HBs the hardest part was the labor... not pushing the baby out. It is possible for the midwife to be on the phone while she is on her way to guide someone in case it becomes necessary?

If you call 911 they are most likely going to want to take you to the hospital which does not sound like a fun ride to me. if it is necessary I would be ok with that but just because the midwife is a little late no...

[blissful_maia]

Originally Posted by laohaire

Partly because I believe being left alone is safer than having a paramedic "deliver" me.

:

I faced this situation during my most recent birth. Being a midwife myself, I knew that when paramedics show up to a home birth, they are often much less helpful than one might expect/hope. When my midwife realized she wasn't going to make it to my birth, she suggested that I call a paramedic, and I decided not to. In the end, I am so, so, so grateful that I didn't since I had a shoulder dystocia and I KNOW that the nervous, inexperienced paramedics probably would have pulled/twisted on his neck and head and could have caused some serious damage. It was much better that I used my own instincts and knowledge to coach dh how to help deliver the babe. However, you might feel differently not being a trained midwife.

Most of the time, the babies who come super fast are just fine save for the stunned look on their faces when they are born!

[emnic77]

I would not unless something was obviously very wrong.

Most of the time, the babies who come super fast are just fine save for the stunned look on their faces when they are born!

My midwife lives about 7 minutes away tops, so I'm not concerned about that happening...but no, I plan on asking her to give DH and I a good "UC" rundown just in case, because I would not want to be calling 911. Laohaire summed up my feelings on it.

[jeminijad]

Originally Posted by laohaire

I would not - unless I suspected a medical emergency of course. But just because the midwife isn't there? No.

Partly because I believe being left alone is safer than having a paramedic "deliver" me.

And mostly because they are going to take you to the hospital where they will subject the baby to all kinds of traumatic and ridiculous procedures because it was an "unsterile" birth and also a planned homebirth.

I guess I don't even understand the question, but I know a lot of people think about it. The point of having a home birth is because birth isn't an emergency. To call 911 just for giving birth (and not for an emergency) is fundamentally opposed to the concept of home birth.

I think that if someone feels they should call 911 when giving birth - that they would really be better off birthing in a hospital in the first place.

I agree with this.

Unless I suddenly found some unforseen emergency- cord prolapse etc- in which case the midwives would be calling 911 themselves.

[JorgieGirl]

Thanks everyone...I actually was talking with my mw about it at my most recent appt. They are about 40m away and my first birth was very quick, so obviously we're planning a just in case this one is quicker scenario. It's standard practice in Ontario to call 911 if your mw's don't look like they'll make it in time. I just have reservations about it since my husband is an Ontario paramedic and I know it would simply be a loud, speedy ride to the hospital more than anything else. And if everything is fine, I just don't want the extra drama. I guess I just don't want to get 'in trouble' or have my mw's get in trouble.

[thefreckledmama]

I wouldn't call 911 unless there was a critical emergency-and even then I would probably opt for my husband or other adult present to drive to the hospital, rather than wait for an ambulance.

OP-If your husband is a paramedic, I don't see any reason why you would need to call 911 simply because your midwives hadn't arrived. I would think he would have training enough to handle things until they arrived, unless it was a critical situation, which I think in most cases you would end up needing to call 911 to be transported even IF your midwives were present-but I doubt that very much.

[dachshundqueen]

Hmm.

First baby in hospy, early @ 36 weeks with prolapse.

Second baby at home with MW, cord twice around neck. Took a long while to pink up blue around mouth for a good long while. Required deep suctioning but not resuscitation.

Me. With my history, yes I would call 911.

You, well, you need to evaluate your comfort levels.

Liz

[laohaire]

Originally Posted by dachshundqueen

Me. With my history, yes I would call 911.

You, well, you need to evaluate your comfort levels.

This really is the right answer, really, despite my earlier post.

I have decided if I give birth again, I will be calling a visiting nurse to come see the baby within a day. This is something many homebirthers wouldn't even consider. I don't care, that's just where my experience has led me, and that's what I will do.

I would still caution people not to dial 911 unthinkingly, though. Do it because you decided to do it, not because you just figured that was the thing to do. Because if you dial it just figuring that was the thing to do, you may well be in for a surprise.

[~Katie~]

I didn't, but my mw arrived 5 minutes after she was born. When you have a homebirth I think you have to accept that the midwife may not make it. If this is a concern for you maybe read up on emergency childbirth and how to spot a problem that warrants 911. I'm glad I did this because it prevented me from panicking, I knew what to check for and what to do once she was born. It's also good for anybody present to read up as well so they don't panic, since your DH is a paramedic I think he'd be equipped with enough knowledge to handle it.

[LoveLife]

My MWs didn't make it time for DS's birth. (He's our 1st) They were in route and arrived about 20 minutes after he was born. Dh caught the baby while the MW was on the phone. We just got into bed, put the baby on my tummy & waited for the MWs to arrive. They cut the cord, weighed, measured, etc AND cleaned up. It didn't even cross my mind to call 911. We planned on a homebirth and that's what we had.

[dannic]

Slightly dif scenario here, but I'll give it anyway. DD1 was born en route. DH called 911 but the medics didn't make it to our truck off the interstate(!) until she was born. They talked dh through it, but once they were there, they wouldn't let us leave to drive to the bc and I had to ride in the ambulance to the hosp. At the hosp they treated us like lepers because I didn't test for GBS and wouldn't let us leave because dd was born in an unsterile enviro. Threatened CPS if we checked her out, AND tried to charge us for a vaginal birth!

I wish we had just had mw talk us through it and driven to the bc.

I am a possible unexpected UC as my MW lives 2 hrs away and my last labor was 4.5 hrs. I figure if she doesn't make it, we'll just go with out intuition at that point. But I wouldn't automatically call 911. (of course, this is my 4th birth and I know what's normal for me.

I just have to say that the unsterile environment argument just ...I'm sure my body is way more in tune with whatever germies are in my truck over your hospital! Same goes with my home.

[prancie]

Every pregnant woman and her partner should be prepared to give birth unassisted, no matter where she plans to give birth. If you plan an out of hospital birth I would not call emergency services just because my midwife was not going to be there. Emergency services are for emergencies and childbirth is not an emergency. A baby or mother in distress is, so call if that happens.

[Peony]

DS was born before the MW arrived, I had prepared for a UC during my pg for various reasons. My MW did live 1.5 hours away even though she was 15 minutes away when I went into labor. DH was completely unprepared due to him being unwilling to learn about birth and kept asking over and over if he needed to call 911, I couldn't speak but finally managed to shout no. I wouldn't call unless there was a issue, help in my area is at least 20 minutes away in good weather and roads so we probably would be meeting them on the way.

[claddaghmom]

I absolutely would not. I would never trust an EMT with anything short of a huge emergency where they had more equipment than me.

And if you are in an area where HB is not welcome, especially UC, then IMO that opens your risk for delayed services while they call the police and force you and baby to go to the hospital, with potential involvement of CPS, etc.

[1babysmom]

My husband is a medic as well. We UC anyway so no issue with MW's making it in time, but he said he would never want any one of the majority of his co-workers to attempt to deliver his child- or any, for that matter, nor would he ever want his newborn inside a germy ambulance.

[lunita1]

What does your midwife recommend? I'd ask her. And I agree with whoever said that every pregnant woman should know how to catch her own baby. It just makes sense -- my dh gets a refresher with every baby of what to do with a cord wrapped around the neck, stuck shoulders, unresponsive baby and excessive bleeding (the last two include a 911 call, but he knows what to do in the interim). A local one teaches a class about what to do if the baby arrives before the midwife, gives her clients written info/instructions, and encourages moms to NOT call 911. She stays in phone contact with laboring moms while she is enroute, and if there WERE an emergency she wouldn't arrive in time to help with, THEN she would advise them to call, I suppose (but having a baby isn't an emergency.)

I'm actually having a hospital birth with CNM's and due to my history of precipitous labor with #3 I've talked about this scenario with a couple of them. I've been encouraged not to call 911 even by them (just keep baby warm and get ourselves to the hospital if we need suturing/etc. afterward). Calling would get me transported to the nearest (non baby-friendly) hospital instead of where we want to go, among other things.