Crunchyruchie - Midwives, doulas, etc...questions and anyone else who cares to join in « Back to Group Discussions

[jacquelinej]

Quote:

Originally Posted by crunchyruchie 

Hi, Jacquelinej! from what I understand, there is nothing that a birth center has that your average home birth midwife doesn't. Hopefully, other people who know more than I do can chime in, but my midwife who will be doing my home birth said that she always brings pitocin in case of a hemorrhage. She mentioned this to me because I'm a redhead and in her experience we're prone to that sort of thing.

Sorry, I moved it over here, off the intro forum....

I have no experience with a midwife or doula...I need a quick education.  These options have never been available to me because of the medical issues surrounding my pregnancies.  I am hoping it is an option this time, so the hemorrhage information was interesting.  The last time I hemorrhaged I ended up in the OR, the OB couldn't stop the bleeding without cauterizing.  It was rather scary and it happened so fast my husband did not even know until after.  The doctor just ran out of the room pushing me down the hall.  I had to sign authorizations in the OR just before I went under.

Anyway, what services can a midwife offer for a patient like me?  Does anyone have any experience with emergencies and midwives?  At what stage would the midwife say they can't take a patient?

[BeagleMommy]

I hemorrhaged after the birth of my first child. My homebirth midwife gave me an herbal tincture, prayed for me, and gave me a shot of pitocin what seemed like simultaneously. I was a little weak afterward, but it all worked out fine.
I'm sure not all midwives are as good in an emergency, but mine is.

A friend of mine has had two babies with this same midwife. Her second baby had a lung that didn't inflate. She said the midwife drove them to the hospital in minutes. Baby's lung had inflated before they got there though.

Before my second birth, I interviewed another midwife. She did not carry pitocin so I went with my original midwife for the second birth which went as smoothly as birth can. I would not be comfortable with a midwife who doesn't carry pitocin or oxygen. My midwife is a direct entry midwife, not a nurse midwife.

I had a doula for my second birth and I will again. Extra support and extra hands are awesome!

[nstewart]

I'll be following this thread with interest.  I have my first appointment with a potential midwife on Wednesday and was going to start a thread looking for questions to ask.   Just from the two posts above, I already have a few good ones.  If anyone has a good resource for interview questions or has some good suggestions, they would be appreciated.

I had an amazing hospital birth with DS, at a hospital close to our house.  BUT the stars aligned to make it so (got to the hospital at 5.5cm, got the only room with a tub, got an awesome nurse who knew my doula, etc. etc.) and I would like to consider a homebirth this time with my main fear being "what happens if there's an emergency?" like the hemmorage example above. 

[jacquelinej]

We are definitely considering a doula, although DH doesn't really *think* that far ahead yet (giggle, men!).  I think he runs about 2 weeks behind home-life reality.

I think we came to a resounding consensus today (between my mother, DH, me and DH's mother - who is in New Zealand) about having the birth in the US...which means, I need to get my tail in gear to nail down a midwife and doula...

Any advice about how to find one?  Hrmm...

I will ask a friend who is an herbalist.  She may be a while in answering though, she just had her 3rd about 3 weeks ago.  She is on the west coast though so her information will be general.

~j

[BeagleMommy]

DONA is the professional organization for doulas. Here is a link to their find a doula page:
http://www.dona.org/mothers/find_a_doula.php

Interestingly, my doula from my last birth is a member of DONA, but not listed. So, apparently, not all are listed.

[jacquelinej]

Thanks BeagleMommy!  That's incredibly helpful!

[Lynann]

I'm a bleeder too, and I had a wonderful home birth with DS2. My CNM gave me a shot of pitocin in my thigh to help stop the bleeding after I had delivered the placenta because I was already at the limit for blood loss with a vaginal birth and if I had continued to bleed heavily she would have had to transfer me. I also maxed out on blood loss during my c/s for DS1 and was within a hairs width of getting a transfusion the day after the birth. Fortunately my blood counts stabilized right on the borderline for transfusion and I avoided it.

I also have low grade anemia when pregnant, and interestingly have read somewhere (can't remember where, but think it was a quote from Dr. Brewer) that women with a healthy diet and low blood count are actually those best prepared for extra blood loss during birth. The blood count is low because of the extra blood volume, which is more plasma based, and it is the extra volume that allows a birthing mother to recover better from loosing more blood.

My goal this pregnancy is to find a herbal answer to cut down my blood loss. I'd love to go unassisted, but DH won't do it if I am still at risk from loosing too much blood. So if I can find a preventative this time then maybe he'll agree to go unassisted next time.

[BeagleMommy]

Glad I could help!