Do you adhere to the mw's supply list?

[tiqa]

At my last visit the mw handed me a sheet of things I'd have to have on hand before the baby arrived.  I didn't look at it until I got home, when I was a little skeptical... I had a UC before and my personal supply kit looked a lot different.

She has a lot of things that I'm supposed to ready-assemble, like shower curtains and blankets and a bunch of receiving blankets and squirt bottles and cheesecloth for herbal teas, and this and that.  Nothing is really a no-go, and I probably will end up getting most if not all of it, but I'm just wondering if it's more for her comfort level or mine. 

Like, she wants five new receiving blankets... Well, I don't have any, and I wasn't planning on buying any.  Sure, they're inexpensive and not hard to get and whatever, but I just wasn't even planning on them.  We have plenty of blankets in the house to wrap baby in, we have snuggle wraps, etc.  We have towels for burp cloth incidents and such.

Or else, she wants us to have cheesecloth to make herbal tea with.  Again, that's like what, a dollar?  But we make herbal tea in a metal bowl and then strain it with a fine mesh strainer.  It's a system we have down, why would we go out and get another way of doing it?

I know I'm being fussy, but how strictly do you adhere to the "list"?  And do you add your own supplies?  Last time I had a bunch of herbal supplies on hand like hemhalt etc (which I ended up using, and it working) but I don't even know how she would feel about me having that sort of stuff on hand since I imagine she has her own remedies

[camprunner]

Towels and blankets on the list are probably for right after the birth and before the baby is cleaned up.  I've had two of mine pass merconium the minute they were out and the blankets they were wrapped in were ruined. I don't know why she would insist they are new though?  I would say that most of the stuff is for her comfort level and supplies she is used to using. We get all of them.

We do add things. I'm a high strung woman so we put rescue remedy out.  Our video camera stays with the birth stuff.  She probably won't use the stuff you have out but if it's something you want and your dh can do it for you, it can't hurt.

A lot of times, I think the midwife ends of taking care of mom and she wants to be prepared.  I know mine offered to make breakfast for me when I forgot to eat it. I declined and had dh make it because I was embarrassed that our pantry and fridge wasn't as organized as I would have liked :D

[loveandgarbage]

If in doubt, I'd ask your MW about the items your wondering about-- like, are they really necessary. My MW has a short list and it's stuff like pads, peri bottle, etc, which all seem normal and I'd want to have them around anyway.

[LightForest]

I know what you mean about not wanting to get special supplies that don't really fit with the way you do things. For example, with my last birth, the midwives asked that I buy a bottle of Murphy's soap (like, for cleaning hardwood floors). When I asked about it, they said that it was to get blood stains out the sheets and towels. This seemed incredibly random to me, but I bought a bottle of the stuff, and my sheets and towels did indeed come out of the wash stain free after the birth (not that my birth was that messy...). But to this day I have a 3/4 full bottle of Murphy's soap under my sink. Maybe I'll use it again for my next homebirth?

My take on it is that almost all of the items the midwife will ask you to provide are for HER (or her assistant) to use while she is in your home doing her job. If she wants to make me a cup of tea and cheesecloth is her way of doing it, then far be it from me to stop her. (Now, if she doesn't plan on making the tea for me, then forget the cheesecloth!!!) There's no harm in asking her about any weirdo items that you may not have on hand unless you know it is truly required for her services.

[mamaharrison]

I completely changed the supply list. I asked what was essential for her and made modifications for most everything. I don't use plastic sheeting on the bed or floor--we are using wool blankets to protect the bed. I don't use depends or any commercial pads--I have mama cloth and prefolds for that. We are burning the cord and so don't need a cord clamp or anything link that. I didn't buy a brand new thermometer or tape measure since I already have those things. I also am not bagging everything up straight from the wash in a plastic garbage bag and keeping it 'sterile' for the birth. I have it all set out together, but birth doesn't need to be sterile when it is in your home.

Anything she NEEDED--ie: gloves--I got, but anything meant for me that I wasn't into I did not. If you have your own herbal preparations you want to use then talk to her about it and request that yours be used. It is YOUR birth ;)

[etsdtm99]

I did not get everything exactly on the list , the list i was given was one size fits all - some of the supplies were for the wrong season, some were only if you were having a water birth, etc. i made adjustments as i saw necessary and in the end we had everythign we needed - plus, my midwife brought pretty much everything she would need, used her stuff (gloves, disposable items etc ) and then took what i had collected when she left.. so if i had missed something that she needed, she would have had it.   
 

[josie423]

Are you going to have an herb bath after birth? That could be what the cheesecloth is for.

I get most everything on the list. It's pretty basic though, blankets, towels, washcloths, bowls for placenta and supplies, some waterproof things to put down, oil for perineal massage (which I keep in a peri bottle), laundry baskets for dirty cloths/towels/blankets, a large trash can, a few other basic things.. I don't keep a flash light on hand because we've never needed one.. She gives a birth kit in the end that has things like chux pads, pads/depends, gloves, cord clamp, herb bath, etc. 

I agree with others, if you're wondering why she needs specific items, just ask. 

[tiqa]

I think I figured out what's bugging me about this whole thing.  With my last birth I had a UC, and if the legal climate in this state was different I would have another one if I could.  Honestly, there's a small part of me that resents anyone telling me what I need for the birth.  Medical equipment (like oxygen, a Doppler, etc.) is to be expected, and that stuff she has on hand with her.  That's fine.  But I think I'm more at the point of getting bristle-y that anyone is trying to step in and tell me what I need.  I already ordered my birth kit that I want for myself - the same one I had with my last birth.  The other stuff on her list is perfectly harmless - like the cheesecloth for the bath (you're right, I did figure that out, it's not for tea!) and oil for massage - but I didn't have a bath last time and I definitely didn't do oil and I think subconsciously I'm just bothered that, I dunno.  That I'm expected to hand over some of the autonomy of the birthing choices to her.  I don't really think it's about the list at all.  I think it's worries about someone else trying to tell me how to run the show.  (And me paying her to do so, heh.)

I know it's a cruddy attitude I'm having, and I'm sounding like a spoiled brat about it all.  I only have a couple of weeks to work on it before the birth.  But at least I figured out what the problem was/is.  That's a step in the right direction, right?

[sweetsadie77]

We have a longish list that we give to clients for supplies....but I do tell them that in the end if I have a small pile of towels and two garbage bags I'm happy and the rest are just extras...

[mwherbs]

I would probably talk with her -for me everything is to what a mom wants. As a midwife i see a range of things used at a birth, the bare minium requested for some thirdworld projects is a yard square of plastic a square yard of fabric, something sterile for cord tie and something sterile to cut it with or burn it off... In more recent historic times newspapers were used to protect bedding, and clothing rags were used for babies
1. Recieving blankets which are usually ALL cotton are for covering mom and baby after birth to prevent chill ,absorb fluids and to be used as a first step in resuscitation, which is drying and rubbing up/stimulation. Cotton towels can be used but they tend to be a bit rougher sometimes I prefer that texture as it offers more stimulation and soaks up more fluid. 2. Cheese cloth is a great idea we usually use someones dish towels, it is used to strain several quarts or a gallon+ of tea for the post partum bath. So that usually takes a mesh strainer Or collander and some fabric to avoid lots of bits escaping and to squeeze the herbs to get more of the constituents out instead of clinging to the herbs. I guess if you dont want an herb bath you should let her know, we find that most moms and babies enjoy the bath and that it helps to soothe the tissues quickly 3.shower curtain is for the bed it is to protect the mattress if you were to give birth on the bed, chux are nice but it is enevitable that some fluids will get off the chux and hit the bed, just a teaspoon of fuild dampens a great deal of bed... Try it with water on a corner of a mattress and see.

4. Oil is usually used for some type of perineal massage, if you dont want perineal massage then you dont need it,the other thing it is used for after birth is baby massage and to cover the bottom to make for easier clean up of meconium.


We usually recommend a plastic squeeze bottle/peri bottle to be used in the early postpartum it helps to dilute urine and prevent the stinging burn feeling for any type of skid mark or tear and keeps the area clean.
I usually have a type/brand of pads i recommend too... A very popular brand is associated with postpartum inflammation and infection and so I want moms to avoid that brand, if you plan on using cloth, then how many do you have availalbe to you what is the plan if you run out, because I have seen this happen, and who will be helping you get the laundry done... It may be irritating to have someone else in the loop, but instead of treating this as though she is the boss and the list is demands think of it as RECOMENDATIONS from an informed source ,discussion is always possible.

[mwherbs]

Mamaharrison, it has been a long time since i have seen a supply list that recommends bagging the stuff up, most moms now keep things either in plastic boxes, baskets or stacked and folded in the crib or bassinett... We use to have recommendations of baking in paper bags, probably some left over department of health training they did for midwives or leftovers from when docs did births at home. Although there have been a rare few recent households where I have recommended keeping everything baged or boxed up... Like the house where the farm animals were free to roam everywhere and anywhere with manure everywhere... Or households where there are huge stacks of dirty laundry that dont move very quickly and anything clean will be used unless put away for a specific purpose.

[IdentityCrisisMama]

Originally Posted by mwherbs 
We use to have recommendations of baking in paper bags...

I remember that. My first birth was 11 years ago and I remember so fondly the bagging up and baking of the blankets. It was so exciting to me as a new mom. Nothing like that was requested the second time around (10 years later). 

[LightForest]

Aside from helping to sterilize the items, I thought one of the main reasons to bake blankies and things in a paper bag was to have them nice and warm when you're ready to wrap the baby in them? That seems like a lovely thing to try to remember to do during labor... Maybe a good task to keep hubby busy if he's feeling antsy and you're not needing his assistance? A nice warm blanket or towel sounds like a great way to welcome baby

On the topic if weird things on the midwife's supply list -- I just read through mine and most items were very predictable until I got to the one that said "2 packets of marathon runners' gel goo" or something like that. Uk, gag, barfy, that's something that I'll definitely skip! Knowing that she just wants me to have something on hand to get quick calories and electrolytes, I will work on an alternative to the "goo."

[josie423]

Originally Posted by tiqa 

I think I figured out what's bugging me about this whole thing.  With my last birth I had a UC, and if the legal climate in this state was different I would have another one if I could.  Honestly, there's a small part of me that resents anyone telling me what I need for the birth.  Medical equipment (like oxygen, a Doppler, etc.) is to be expected, and that stuff she has on hand with her.  That's fine.  But I think I'm more at the point of getting bristle-y that anyone is trying to step in and tell me what I need.  I already ordered my birth kit that I want for myself - the same one I had with my last birth.  The other stuff on her list is perfectly harmless - like the cheesecloth for the bath (you're right, I did figure that out, it's not for tea!) and oil for massage - but I didn't have a bath last time and I definitely didn't do oil and I think subconsciously I'm just bothered that, I dunno.  That I'm expected to hand over some of the autonomy of the birthing choices to her.  I don't really think it's about the list at all.  I think it's worries about someone else trying to tell me how to run the show.  (And me paying her to do so, heh.)

I know it's a cruddy attitude I'm having, and I'm sounding like a spoiled brat about it all.  I only have a couple of weeks to work on it before the birth.  But at least I figured out what the problem was/is.  That's a step in the right direction, right?

I don't have any advice, but this makes perfect sense to me.