Unassisted Homebirth? « Back to Group Discussions

[MommaHeather]

Hi,

Me and my partner really want a homebirth, but we are running into some problems.

Brief background, I have some issues of trauma relating to the medical establishment. Without getting too into it, I had a midwife, and she fired me and is causing difficulties with me getting a new midwife. I'm already almost 6 months pregnant.

I'm wondering if women here have had unassisted births, and what / how do you prepare for one as I may not have any other option.

Thanks!

[odinsmama]

Sorry you're dealing with mw drama!

I'm not planning a UC and I can't remember if any others in this ddc are planning one, but there are a lot of great threads over on the UC forum
http://www.mothering.com/community/f/306/unassisted-childbirth

I was at a friend's UC several months ago to stay with her older child in the event of an emergency and also got to take some video. She was very prepared and this was her 2nd UC. Along with the great mamas you can ask advice from on mdc, there are a couple books they might be able to recommend.

Good luck mama! Hope you can find something that feels right for you.

[HouseofPeace]

for me, finding a provider who i could trust was huge for my last 2 homebirths.  and i'm so glad to have her.

That said, she's 2 hours away and i'm having number 5, so i'm also emotionally, mentally and physically preparing for a UC.

my midwife posted this on facebook today:  http://briobirth.com/blogs/naomis-peaceful-unassisted-homebirth-after-43-weeks-4-days-pregancy

which made me stop and prepare myself more for a possible UC.  check out the forum listed above, it's a great and supportive resource.  but i also would really hope you could find a provider if you wanted one.  i had a bad experience w/ a  homebirth midwife (and did not follow through with her), but finding someone who is on the same page and is such an amazing support is something i treasure so much that i can't imagine choosing to go w/out it.  there's a great diversity in the midwife world, and i would hope you could find an ally.

[sweetestday]

Popping in from the December group...

I've had two unplanned UC births. Well, not completely because our MW was on the phone coaching through the actual pushing/birth stage. 

Since our MW lives about 7-8 hours away from us, I just sort of plan on going it alone just in case. I have my birth kit ready by 30 weeks or so, and take it with on any extended car rides. I read a lot aloud to my husband since he will most likely catch the baby. A LOT of reading from many books, just to refresh and get different views on birth and techniques, etc. He's a good sport about it. :) The Bradley method is what I have learned most from... not that I follow everything, but the relaxing is so very important. I guess if I have any advice, it's what my midwife tells me to do when I'm in labor. Relax for as long as you can without giving in to the pushing sensation until you can't stand it. When your body pushes so hard that you can't relax and need to get that baby out, it comes in good time. It is really hard to relax when you feel pushy, but if you let your body do as much on its own without you using up all your energy and efforts, I've found the actual pushing of the baby to come out goes fairly quickly. I don't think I've ever pushed for more than 20 minutes. If you push too long without really needing to, it can take so long, and you get swollen down there which makes it all the more difficult to push the baby out.

This baby will be our tie breaker, as my husband has caught two, and the MW has caught two. We'll see if she makes it this time. ;)

[MommaHeather]

ty ((everyone)) great information. I'm going to go over to that board!

[HouseofPeace]

Sweetestday-

could you give me a list of your birth kit?

this is new to me- my midwife was 8 minutes away last 2 times!

and being able to have stuff on hand and talk to my husband ahead would be great!

[sweetestday]

Let's see...

There is a bottle of iodine, which I don't think we've ever used,

rubber gloves, which the MW uses when she comes, but I don't think my husband ever uses

lots of chux (sp?) pads for laying all over the place (they are great for diaper changes to keep in the diaper bag, too)

two cord clamps,

a sheet of paper labeled, "What to do if the baby arrives before the midwife". That's been well used. :) It's sold along with birth supplies from In His Hands,

4X4 gauze for putting on baby's umbilical stump,

golden seal/ grape root powder for the umbilical stump,

Depends for the momma,

a baby hat,

after birth herbal bath,

I think I'll add some cotton baby blankets for in case we are away from home for some reason, and a nb outfit,

an herbal extract for stopping a hemorrhage... and I keep lemon juice on hand for the same reason,

Another thing I love for after birth is chlorophyll. It's amazing how adding a couple TBLS to a glass of water helps you feel so much less woozy from the blood loss. The last two births, I could get up and shower without feeling faint. Just keep drinking it down, as it's hard to over dose on it. It's amazing stuff!!!

That's all I can think of off hand, though I feel like I'm forgetting something. 

[HouseofPeace]

thank you thank you thank you!

those homebirth prep kits are always insanely long.  and my midwife has brought everything for the last 2.  still have some chux, but the rest of the list is a HUGE help in figuring out what we need.

umbilical clamps?

what herbal bath and tincture for hemorrhage?

will go look at site!

[sweetestday]

http://inhishands.com/After-Birth-Sitz-Bath.215

http://inhishands.com/Cord-Clamp.72

http://inhishands.com/Wombstringe-1-oz.240

[sweetestday]

Everything I ordered this time came to around $100. I did order up a few extra things besides what I needed for birth, though. It seems to me it usually only came to about $80 for everything.

[HouseofPeace]

this site is awesome!  i used ibuprofen for the uterine pains the last few births, but it always made me feel bad so only for 3 days and then just faced the post-partum pain.

ordering arnica, and other tincture blends to help for sure!  thanks for the direct links.  i've got a nice list going, and i know having some things on hand would be encouraging for both hubby and myself.  like an herb combo for the sitz baths, and also the tincture for hemorrhaging!  you don't anticipate needing it, but it feels a lot better to have something on hand to address it just in case.

and the chlorophyll is a great idea!  i usually juice, but this saves a step.

so good.  thanks again!

[sweetestday]

Good, I'm glad it was helpful. I feel much better knowing the kit is in the house. I gave one to my sis even though she was planning a hospital birth, just 'cause you never know if you'll make it there or not. Her husband is a police officer, so was sort of trained in assisting births. She didn't need it, but was very glad to have it. 

I went through my kit to see what I forgot to mention, and there were two things: a bulb syringe and a peri bottle. The peri bottle isn't necessary, but is kind of nice to use instead of toilet paper for the first couple days. 

[HouseofPeace]

yes- have the bulb syringe (though we've never seen it used as either homebirth) and peri bottle already.  

This was great.  I think having the sheet for hubby would be amazing- found a version online and read it to him and he laughed pretty hard and grimaced a bit.  

Did either of you get trained in infant resuscitation?  That's the one thing I hear people saying you really need on hand (and is the thing I do trust my midwife completely for) if you deliver at home.  Otherwise, i'm pretty sure if we're not in a snowstorm or ice storm, i can hold out for a while for the midwife.  But you never know!

[sweetestday]

No, neither of us have, but it has been on my mind, too. That would be a good thing to study up on.

I like that syringe thing for when the babies get that newborn gunky nose when they are about a week old. It seems all my babies get congested about then, and it helps to squeeze some of it out so they can breathe better while they sleep. I honestly can't remember if my MW used it after births or not. 

[HouseofPeace]

yes- the syringe is here.  i'll sterilize it.  i have a drawer w/ umbilical clamps, chux, tinctures, and can throw in some gauze, and sterilized scissors and nose bulb too.  

suddenly i feel ready.  

the sheet is so helpful.  we'll be researching the resuscitation, but feel really prepared now.  

thank you, Jamie!