UC questions/advice

[dearone]

Hi. Im new to the forums. I am going to have my 6th baby in September. I am wanting an UC this time. I have never done this before. I live in PA and hoping to find some good info on what is needed. What are the first things I should do to prepare for this. I plan on seeing my OB for prenatals to ensure a healthy pregnancy before I have a baby on my own! I see some posts about CPS getting called on them for having babies at home. That makes me nervous. I did not think having a baby at home was wrong? Do I have to have BC and SSN paper work at home or do they do this at dr. appt. When should the baby first get to the doctor after birth? I figured within the first week, but do not want to get in trouble for waiting too long. Too many questions, but I guess thats it for now! Thank you,

Cynthia

[slmommy]

Dearone, there are a lot of good old threads around this forum about lists of supplies and bc/ssn issues. Not sure how easy they are to find though! Maybe someone has links.

I really recommend the book "Heart and Hands" by Elizabeth Davis. I also got a lot out of Ina May's books, and I liked "Unassisted Homebirth" by Lynn Griesemer. 

I bought most of my supplies here : http://inhishands.com/

Look into herbs you want on hand, (if you want any), I had several but only used shepard's purse. Heart and Hands has info about herbs during and after birth, and if you are interested in the topic, I liked the book "Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year."

I would caution you about discussing your plans with too many people in real life, it often leads to a lot of problems and pressure. 

I took DD to a pedi the day after and also went to an ob/gyn myself just for peace of mind. 

[BlessedOne]

Hello! Congrats!
I have had two of my 4 children UC. I don't know your state protocol, but it is not illegal to birth at home. Now I will say that when I took my first UCed child to the dr (within a week or so) the drs office freaked out (because they didn't think it was "normal" to have a home birth and figured that I must be hiding something). They did end up turning it in to the child services......although the social worker that came to my house was so sweet. She said she didn't know why she was at my house because birthing at home is not illegal and she even said that she would have done it if she wasn't high risk! She did the paperwork needed to get everything cleared. The next UC I chose not to take my child in as I didn't want to deal with all of the hoopla. But did take him in when he was about 5 months old as he had rolled off the couch and hit his head. They knew I home birthed him, but didn't throw the fit that time.
Thankfully I have a great support group of friends around here that have home birthed, so it is not so hard. Although I still don't broadcast to a lot of people that I UC (outside of the comfort of this forum and my friends/family). 

I got my ssn for my child by going to my states govt site and finding the office to get a hold of and having them mail me sheet to fill out stating that I had a live birth. On the form you mark where you had the baby and all of the personal info for you and baby. Then get it notorized and sent back into the state and they will get you the ssn card weeks later.
Once you have that card, you can get the birth certificate (for purchase) at your county health dept. At least that is how it works in my state.


Basically my best advice is get as much knowledge as you can. Research, research and research some more. Knowledge is power. Look up all of the what ifs and what to do if it happens....print them out and keep them in a plastic covered sheet. Read over them and learn them.  Have everything you need (which can be found easily on the internet) handy.
Research info on how baby should look after birth......also check into the APGAR (I may have mispelled that....it has been a while since I wrote that out) test that is to be done after birth to assess baby's health. If you have had 5 babies, you should know what a healthy baby looks like. Birthing is not rocket science...our bodies were made to do this. =)

Feel free to ask any questions you may have!


Ps. I am pregnant with my 5th child (due this spring) and plan to UC with this one as well.

[Almi]

Because my mother called the cops on me when I was in labor (must have done it when I close to birthing, because they came right after we cut the cords) after we wouldn't let her in the house, they had no choice but to report to CPS because children were involved.

So a few days later, CPS shows up, questions me (asking stupid questions like if I planned it, how I weighed the babies or cut the cords LOL), and basically just tells me that they want the babies to be checked out by a pediatrician.  The case against me was inadequate medical care if I didn't.  Babies saw the pedi when they were a week old, he turned out to be awesome and wasn't the least bit taken aback by our UC story.  Needless to say we still see him and will bring our third to him as well.

CPS gave me a number to call to get the birth certificates.  I had to get them sent to me by the Department of Vital Records, fill them out myself (including the section the hospital normally fills out), and send them back.