Emergency Plans?

[KoalaBear]

Hi - I'm planning to freebirth my second baby (due in about a week and a half), but my hubby is a bit concerned about the "what ifs." Has anyone had to transfer to a hospital during/following a planned UC? What would you watch for to know that things aren't going well and you should get extra help?

[zoebird]

in general, people trust their instincts, rather than their intellect, to tell them when to go.

also, when planning a UC, most people create parameters of their comfort zones. if the placenta isn't out by X, i'll get help. or some such. it varies from person to person.

[honey-lilac]

Through my UC I kept asking myself semi-consciously if all systems were still functioning well. I never had any intuition anything was wrong. I really had to trust it too because DD was a 36 weeker which is right at the edge of my comfort level. I had previously given myself a 37 week timeline (as in, I would go in if I went into labor before then) but I had zero inclination to go in once labor started. All was fine.

[secondimpression]

First, what zoebird said

Second, other people's energy during a birthing can have an extremely powerful effect on the laboring mom. My UC turned into a hospital birth because my XH's fear and anger at being afraid took me over. Take the time to communicate NOW and work through those fears, don't wait until you're in labor and answering silly questions like "what do we do about the cord?" (something else I went through during my attempted UC).

Thirdly, (building from what zoebird said!) a practical consideration I had not made and really wish I had at the time was to make absolutely SURE that XH knew how to get to the hospital. It was only 2 blocks from his work but he didn't have the faintest idea how to get there and navigating from the back seat when you're fully dilated and freaking out (and legally blind because you left your glasses on the bathroom sink) is a miserable task at best.

But your UC will go a million times better than mine, you can do this mama!

[zapzipzee]

Sounds like you have a lot of reasearch ahead of you. We're planning a UC (first baby) in Sep/Oct, so I have no experience to base this on. However, I have researched for hours and have come up with some situations that I will transfer to the hospital for. As I do more research, I may add to or remove some of these.

Personally if I go into labor before the first week of September or haven't by the third week of October, I will be heading to the hospital. If I have placenta previa. If the cord comes out first (We'll call 911 for this even though the hospital is just down the street, as DH cant keep pressure off the cord and drive at the same time). If I have continued hemmorage after attempts to stop with herbs fail. If I have a retained placenta for over 2hrs after birth, with breastfeeding and herbs. If the baby isn't breathing on its own by the time the chord stops pulsating or has an abnormal heart rythm.

My DH is a paramedic, and I was really worried about him overreacting to a less than ideal situation, so I've been doing alot of research and talking things over with him. He no longer has an issue at all with breech positions, but is still really worried about PPH and he not having his drugs. He doesn't like the idea of using herbs, but agrees that the hospital is full of illness and we should stay away from it if at all possible, so is willing to go that route if it keeps us home and safe.

It also helps that he's had several OB's tell him the likelyhood of actually needing to give birth where help is readibly available is very low. I've also made a list of things for him to research on his own so he can form his own opinions on what he is comfortable with, rather than just what I tell him I'm OK with.

Good Luck!

[danou]

I talked and asked experiences from other UC'ers. I read a couple of midwifery texts (Heart and Hands, Special Delivery) and reviewed potential issues and what to do about them. After talking to hubs and at his request, made a list of pre-agreed "red flag issues" that hung on our wall for reference. Anything from our list would warrant a 911 call or if intuition prompted we would transfer. Part of our decision making was to be as informed as possible prenatally.


I dont' know if that sounds coherent or not.
HTH

[seattlemamma]

http://www.mothering.com/discussions....php?t=1219127

I would also read the stickies and resource threads. Emergency childbirth though some of it is a little outdated.