What do I do with those sterilization pouches?

[dayiscoming2006]

I got two sterilation pouches but just realized they are for use in a special machine or something. 

Was wondering if they might work for alcohol sterilized scissors. My thought was, I could sterilize them with the alcohol then open the pouch and seal it up so they were ready for the birth. Does this sound realistic or is the pouch sterile on it's own without steaming it? Just curious. They were pretty cheap, so if they really are worthless, I can just toss them.

[ElizabethE]

It sounds like you don't really need them... :)

[Mamatoabunch]

I bought one w/ my first UC. Never used it. On birth day I boil scissors then place them in a jar w/ alcohol until we need them.

[dayiscoming2006]

Nice idea mamatoabunch. Do you actually have to boil them? I thought alcohol was enough to sterilize?

[Mamatoabunch]

Originally Posted by dayiscoming2006 

Nice idea mamatoabunch. Do you actually have to boil them? I thought alcohol was enough to sterilize?

Not sure, I am a little OCD and since I have done it this way 5 times and no problems I just stick w/ it. I am betting the alcohol is good enough.

[monsoonmama]

I used to be a dental hygienist and worked with sterilizing tools all the time. Neither alcohol nor boiling will sterilize your scissors--that can only be done by an autoclave or chemicals. However, you can disinfect them to the point that the great majority of harmful bacteria and viruses will be gone.  They need to be in at least 70% isopropyl for at least 10 minutes for it to work. I would probably do what mamamtoabunch does and boil, then store in alcohol. Best of luck!
 

Originally Posted by dayiscoming2006 

Nice idea mamatoabunch. Do you actually have to boil them? I thought alcohol was enough to sterilize?

[dayiscoming2006]

Thanks monsoonmama. That was very helpful.

[Mamatoabunch]

Originally Posted by monsoonmama 

I used to be a dental hygienist and worked with sterilizing tools all the time. Neither alcohol nor boiling will sterilize your scissors--that can only be done by an autoclave or chemicals. However, you can disinfect them to the point that the great majority of harmful bacteria and viruses will be gone.  They need to be in at least 70% isopropyl for at least 10 minutes for it to work. I would probably do what mamamtoabunch does and boil, then store in alcohol. Best of luck!
 

I didn't know that! Yes the alcohol that I store them in is the 70%.
 

[ElizabethE]

Originally Posted by monsoonmama 

I used to be a dental hygienist and worked with sterilizing tools all the time. Neither alcohol nor boiling will sterilize your scissors--that can only be done by an autoclave or chemicals. However, you can disinfect them to the point that the great majority of harmful bacteria and viruses will be gone.  They need to be in at least 70% isopropyl for at least 10 minutes for it to work. I would probably do what mamamtoabunch does and boil, then store in alcohol. Best of luck!
 

I'm no dental hygienist, but I don't think that's accurate. I do think that either alcohol OR boiling water (or both, if you're like Mama) would be sufficient indeed.

In a clinical environment things are sometimes handled differently... not more correctly, just differently. Some think of this as over-sterilization, the sort of which most hope to avoid from hospitals to begin with.

Also, I would like to point out that the things dental hygienists encounter in their work and what you will be encountering in your birth-- the nature of what is happening, types of risks or contaminants, amount and types of "patients" equipment is used for, etc.-- would be quite different from one another.

The circumstances are simply too different to compare in this way, IMHO.

But hey, maybe I'm wrong. Love to hear about it from a "crunchy" birth perspective.

[dayiscoming2006]

I kind of think you're right Elizabeth, I only knew people to either boil OR put their scissors in alcohol mostly. And, I haven't heard of anything going wrong with it. 

[LadyJennifer]

Originally Posted by ElizabethE 

I'm no dental hygienist, but I don't think that's accurate. I do think that either alcohol OR boiling water (or both, if you're like Mama) would be sufficient indeed.

In a clinical environment things are sometimes handled differently... not more correctly, just differently. Some think of this as over-sterilization, the sort of which most hope to avoid from hospitals to begin with.

Also, I would like to point out that the things dental hygienists encounter in their work and what you will be encountering in your birth-- the nature of what is happening, types of risks or contaminants, amount and types of "patients" equipment is used for, etc.-- would be quite different from one another.

The circumstances are simply too different to compare in this way, IMHO.

But hey, maybe I'm wrong. Love to hear about it from a "crunchy" birth perspective.

I've read several places that boiling (for 10 min) is plenty for sterilization of birth tools. I have a sterilization pouch too, and wasn't sure how to use it.

[monsoonmama]

What exactly do you think is inaccurate? I wasn't trying to say boiling and/or using alcohol wasn't sufficient or that it was incorrect--I did both for the scissors we used at my home birth last year (is that crunchy enough?).

I was just pointing out the difference between sterilization and disinfection. Sterilization is removal of all bacteria and viruses. Disinfection is removal of most (99%+). The only problem I see with boiling only is that you have to let the scissors sit out long enough for them to be cool to the touch, but realistically the chances of anything harmful hopping onto the scissors in that time is very, very low.

Originally Posted by ElizabethE 

I'm no dental hygienist, but I don't think that's accurate. I do think that either alcohol OR boiling water (or both, if you're like Mama) would be sufficient indeed.

In a clinical environment things are sometimes handled differently... not more correctly, just differently. Some think of this as over-sterilization, the sort of which most hope to avoid from hospitals to begin with.

Also, I would like to point out that the things dental hygienists encounter in their work and what you will be encountering in your birth-- the nature of what is happening, types of risks or contaminants, amount and types of "patients" equipment is used for, etc.-- would be quite different from one another.

The circumstances are simply too different to compare in this way, IMHO.

But hey, maybe I'm wrong. Love to hear about it from a "crunchy" birth perspective.

[ElizabethE]

Oh, okay. Sorry Monsoon. I misunderstood you. :) I thought that the implication was really that it wasn't going to be good enough.

[monsoonmama]

Glad I could clear it up. Part of the reason I stopped working in dentistry was my discomfort with the medical industry as a whole telling people what to do with their bodies--especially women. I definitely didn't want to be a part of that anymore and certainly don't want to bring that kind of attitude to this site.

Originally Posted by ElizabethE 

Oh, okay. Sorry Monsoon. I misunderstood you. :) I thought that the implication was really that it wasn't going to be good enough.

[Sheepdoc]

Most animals bite the cord.  Take a minute and think about that.  Wolves/dogs first choice for a meal from a carcass is to get all those great vitamins out of the intestines of a kill and then they use that mouth to BITE the cord.  That' right they eat poop and they use that same mouth to cut the cord.  Somehow nature manages to keep it all under control!

As a veterinarian I have attended plenty of foals and calves born in stalls filled w/ fresh "clean" straw, and all the poop and pee from mom being confined, that was probably so full of mold spores you don't want to think about it.  We don't live in a sterile environment.  Generally we didn't cut the cord but if we did it would have just been with clean scissors out of the truck - nothing sterile. 

I think a plain old pair of scissors should be just fine.  If you've waited for the cord to stop pulsing then everything is closed off, right?  Before and after you cut the cord its exposed to all the microbes in the air of your house.  How much dirtier are your scissors?

I do believe in using a little betadine or nolvasan to clean the cord/umbilicus right after the birth and at 24 hours and leaving it alone beyond that since the research in horses showed that minimized infections.  Cleaning more frequently increased infections due to keeping things moist. 

As for the sterilization pouches my guess is they only work properly w/ an autoclave due to the need for heat and pressure.

[dayiscoming2006]

Monsoonmama,

I think if someone wanted to, it wouldn't be a bad idea to do both. So, it was still a good thought. If someone wanted to be as cautious as possible at home. 

Thanks to all for the info. I had very little idea about it. I was thinking those pouches somehow did something to sterilize the scissors (LOL.) I guess I was wrong. :)

[LadyJennifer]

Dogs can eat rotting carcasses too without I'll effect. We are not dogs, or horses though; so everything that works for them may not work for us.

As for the pouches, I remember my midwife saying she baked them in the oven, it sterilizes them and they stay sealed (thus sterile) that way. I googled it last night and found a Midwifery Today forum with mws discussing it, but I did not have the time to get the exact directions.

[Mamatoabunch]

Originally Posted by LadyJennifer 

Dogs can eat rotting carcasses too without I'll effect. We are not dogs, or horses though; so everything that works for them may not work for us.

As for the pouches, I remember my midwife saying she baked them in the oven, it sterilizes them and they stay sealed (thus sterile) that way. I googled it last night and found a Midwifery Today forum with mws discussing it, but I did not have the time to get the exact directions.

I agree. I have read about sterilizing /disinfecting in a sealed paper bag in the oven.
 

[Tumble Bumbles]

Meh, I'm just doing the boil/ keep in alcohol thing, probably in a mason jar. Unlike dentistry tools and so on, the scissors are only coming in contact with 'our' germs, not the blood/germs etc of hundreds of patients. I'm sure it's 100% fine. It's probably the least of any of my worries or concerns.

[ElizabethE]

Sheep-- interesting points. :)

Tumble-- I agree.

BTW-- if we are simply allowing sufficient time for the cord to go limp/stop pulsing before cutting, this greatly minimizes the risks of infection or anything else undesirable traveling via cord to baby.