would you prepare both ways?

[Mamato3wild ponnie]

I live in Mexico along the Mexico/Texas border. I am seeing midwives in Texas at a free standing birth center. I plan on traveling to the birth center the day i go into labor. However....this is my 5th baby and we all know how labor can come on quickley. I was wondering if i should gather items for a unassisted birth....just in case baby comes really fast. Or trust that i will know when it's time and be prepared to cross over. I live about 45min to an hour from the center. what are your thoughts?

[Italiamom]

We had an hour drive to our birth center with DS, and I didn't put anything together.  Buuuuut, you can always make a pretty basic kit, and then just put the supplies into a first aid kit later.  It probably wouldn't hurt anything to have it, and I certainly don't think that it's second guessing your body.  Maybe if it's bothering you enough to post about it, it might be a good thing to do it simply for peace of mind.  That whole peace of mind thing is worth it's weight in platinum those last few weeks!!

[womenswisdom]

What kinds of things do you think you might need if you have a precipitous birth?  Other than a few chux pads and some blankets, I really can't think of anything you might put together ahead of time.  If your baby needs resuscitation, you can suction and give breaths with your mouth.  If your baby is born before you get to the birth center, and you are planning on continuing on to have a newborn exam done, you shouldn't need to worry about cutting the cord.  After the placenta detaches and you push it out, just wrap it up in a chux or in a receiving blanket and bundle it up with the baby.  You can check your fundus to be sure it's contracted down and you are not bleeding too much.  When births are precipitous, it's usually because everything is going really well.

[Mamato3wild ponnie]

Your so right...if i am already thinking about it...i need to have it together....so I will have a peace of mind. Deep down inside i have wanted a unassisted birth for several years. But living in Mexico and having to get the babies papers together to cross over into the US...is what scares me the most. It's a huge ordeal to get that sort of thing worked out. I'm just thinking if it was an emergency situation...i would still have a hard time at the US boarder bringing a undocumented baby across. That is pretty much the ONLY thing keeping me from staying at home to deliver.