UC Support Thread #5, June - Page 7

[majazama]

Thanks indigolilybear! I was going to add that I've had rescue remedy in my cupboard for a long time, and it will finally get some use. I bought motherwort tincture today, that is supposed to be good to calm down, and decrease the intensity of contractions. I have an Enya cd that I might use. My partner is very into music, so maybe I can get him to download and burn a bunch more music for me. I read that you liked Peter Gabriel (or was it someone else? Sorry if it is..) I'm collecting everything that I need on the mantle of the fireplace, making a big beautiful alter with baby pictures from national geographic, the herbs, towels etc, and anything else inspiring. I would love to have one of those "birthing idols" that I've seen in various natural CB books.

good idea about the plastic cup with straw. Maybe I'll put RRL tea in it.

[mollyeilis]

Mamajaza, I just want to mention that motherwort can also make contractions *worse*. It did for me (used in conjunction with crampbark, for full information). The midwives gave that to me to get everything to back off so I could rest, and somehow I would get to sleep, but wake up in the middle of awful contractions, full force (stronger than before).

One midwife I consulted since then (might have been the "elder" of the practice who was not at the birth, might have been someone here, I can't recall) said that stronger contractions can be caused by m'wort in some people.

Just wanted to put that out there, so you aren't as completely shocked as I was. Those into natural birth want medicos to give full and complete informed consent; that's what I wish the midwives had done for me...let me know that there was a completely opposite reaction that could happen from the herbs.

Hope you don't mind the caution!

[laurata]

Mamajaza- Motherwort

BE CAREFUL!! Seriously, Motherwort can really kick your ass if you take too much when you go into labor. It will slow it down if it's "false" labor, but it helps the uterus to work more effectively, so it CAN cause things to intensify. I took some during Nova's birth. Too much, really, a dropperful I think. I can never decide if it helped keep me calm and even until my water broke, or if it intensified everything and made my labor faster and more challenging.

[majazama]

Thanks for the caution. I had not yet read up totally on "motherwort", but I thought I should probably have some because of the name. It says in my susun weed book, to use 4 drops when labour is getting intense, but not at the very end. It's suppoed to give you a "floaty-non-existant" feeling in the uterus. I guess you guys didn't get that from it. I guess I'll try the smallest dose. But I tend to not be too affected by many different herbs, so I was going to take a super-dose. Good thing I've got you guys to consult with. :LOL

[Aura_Kitten]

i've read shephard's purse and bayberry bark make an excellent tea to stop excessive bleeding.

update on us ~ i had an OB appointment scheduled for this morning... but i really thought about it and it occurred to me, what would they do there? i'd walk all the way there, and then they'd take my weight, temperature, blood pressure, fundal height and check for the baby's heartbeat... tell me everything's fine and then send me home. (that's all i let them do :LOL)

4 of the 5 i can do myself, and i don't really worry about the fundal height ~ i'm still gaining weight and the baby is still soooo active, it's just not a concern for me anymore.

so then i thought, why go? he's only going to pressure me to start having the baby (he believes no woman should go to 40 weeks gestation because then the babies are "too big: it's like squeezing a huge table through a tiny doorframe, one or the other is going to break" ). this is one of his only drawbacks. and i'd just decline the tests + vaginal exams he does routinely, and then have to discuss with him why i feel it's completely unnecessary to intervene during labor + birth w/ a healthy mama + baby...

so i called and cancelled the appointment, and the receptionist asked when i'd be rescheduling. i said, "i don't know." she said, "sometime next week?" i said, "uhhh yeah, maybe."

i'm considering just calling and explaining why i don't feel like coming in, and that i believe that if my body can grow her, my body can birth her, and that i believe in myself and my ability to give birth, and that i believe that birth has become too medicalized in this country, and ultimately there's no way they're getting me into a hospital to deliver my child unless *i* feel there is something wrong enough to warrant it.......... but i don't want to deal with the hassle. also thinking about just not returning their calls at all now and then after i have the baby calling and letting them know i had a homebirth.

[laurata]

Mamajaza, fwiw, Motherwort is a GREAT herb to have on hand anyway. I take it for PMS, and took it regularily the last month or so to help me deal with my PMS-like symptoms (weepiness and moodiness, etc.). So definately don't hesitate to try it, just be sure you don't go overboard.

[mehndi mama]

Hey, all -
I haven't read thru all the posts, but I wanted to pipe up so I can be added to the list We're planning our second UC sometime late February......and very very excited about it!

[mehndi mama]

re: Motherwort - is that what was mentioned by Susun Weed to take sublingually after the placenta is birthed, to head off excessive bleeding? If that's the stuff, that's what I did last time. Either it did the trick, or my uterus is only "boggy" when someone other than me is messin' with it because I had very normal bleeding.

klothos - if it were me, I'd just not return the calls. I never did tell my MW what we were planning, I just told her we were "seeking other care". Really, it's no skin off their nose - just one less birth to interrupt their day, yk?

[lovemygirl]

Originally Posted by *Mamajaza*

Things that I have for the labour and birth (LMK what you "expert" UCers think)....
-towels to do whatever with including perinium support(by me)
-massage oil with ess. oils
-dental floss for tying cord

:LOL I am not an "expert UC'er" as my baby #2 isn't due til September but I wanted to comment on the dental floss on your list. I read and have heard on another UC list that you should use dental "tape" not dental floss as the floss can cut the cord itself instead of just tying it off---the tape is wider. I know that In His Hands supplies carries the dental tape (they have "cord tape") for this purpose. You can also use a sterile baby shoelace to tie the cord....that is what we are using. I was going to get the plastic cord clamps but then I saw that they need to be specially removed by a cord clamp type pliers thingy (???).... so we are just using the shoelace.

[lovemygirl]

Originally Posted by mehndi mama

Hey, all -
I haven't read thru all the posts, but I wanted to pipe up so I can be added to the list We're planning our second UC sometime late February......and very very excited about it!

FANTASTIC! Congratulations!!!!!!!!!

[lovemygirl]

Originally Posted by indigolilybear

edited to add: I Loved having my hypnobabies birth tape.....lots of affirmations that kept me on track and not fearful. HTH

Is this the Pregnancy and Birth affirmations one? How long is the tape? I was considering getting it...

Thanks
Jennifer

[indiana ima]

Originally Posted by klothos

i had an OB appointment scheduled for this morning ... what would they do there? i'd walk all the way there, and then they'd ... tell me everything's fine and then send me home.

umm, maybe it would have been a nice walk?

seriously though, i hear that. i saw my backup OB yesterday and it seemed such a waste of time - though my kids had a GREAT time playing at their friend's house.

the most useful part of the appointment was getting the actual numbers from the bloodwork he did at the first visit, and i could have done that over the phone.

anyway, he wants to see me one more time and i made the appointment (i think i wanted to be a "good girl" - i HATE that impulse) even though i don't know if i will bother to keep it.

[majazama]

klothos~~I went and saw a doctor for two visits, early in the pregnancy, and when I didn't want to go any more, I just phoned and cancelled the next app. and told them that I was getting my prenatal apps. elsewhere. They didn't question a thing.

lovemygirl~Well, if dental "floss" isn't supposed to work, I might as well do what I had planned on doing with my DD's cord, burning it with a beeswax candle. It's the traditional buddist way of gentle separation from the placenta.

mendhimama~motherwort isn't for exessive bleeding (that I know of, so far)But I'm still reading up about it. Nice to see another "face" around. Good luck

[mehndi mama]

mamajaza - I believe the book said that motherwort wouldn't stop excessive bleeding like other herbs do, but if taken preventitively, it had been effective in all the cases she's seen. That's how I used it - I believe it was 10 drops under the tongue as soon as the placenta was birthed.

Re: cord ties - we used 3 strands of embroidery floss braided together. It made a fun little project for preparing for the baby

[Aura_Kitten]

maybe it would have been a nice walk?

well as it was i went for a walk with my son.

i think i wanted to be a "good girl" - i HATE that impulse

i feel that way too sometimes.

[lovemygirl]

Originally Posted by *Mamajaza*

lovemygirl~Well, if dental "floss" isn't supposed to work, I might as well do what I had planned on doing with my DD's cord, burning it with a beeswax candle. It's the traditional buddist way of gentle separation from the placenta.

VERY COOL WAY TO DO IT!

[wildthing]

Hi all!
I was just reading through this whole thread, and I saw the posts asking about me. I am touched....

Yes, we had our baby on June 5th, at 5:59 pm. We had a boy, and he was 9lbs 4oz. He came earlier than we expected....I didn't think we would have our baby until at least the 11th or 12th.

We did not have the pure UC I wanted.....but my midwife did exactly what she was supposed to, which was to do nothing. She actually was only there for the last 20 minutes of the whole thing. She popped her head in, told me she was here, and then sat in the other room. After the birth, she cleaned up EVERYTHING and started laundry, then left. She has told me that being here has changed her as a midwife, and I can't wait to read what she has to say about the experience. I am still writing my birth story, and I don't want to read her perspective until I finish my own. We have become close friends.

Our son was born underwater, into his daddy's hands. Dh and I were the only ones to touch him for the first several hours of his life. I will post the entire story this week, as I am almost finished with it. It was my easiest birth by far.

Incidentally, we were going to have a lotus birth also, but ended up cutting the cord after about 3 hours. It was VERY challenging for me to keep it intact with my 2.5 yo needing to be held by me, and also him wanting to be close to the baby at the same time, and tandem nursing.

Well, that's all I have time for now. I have to say though, I find the discussion about midwifery fascinating, and I have lots of thoughts on it as well. Hopefully I will have time to write in response soon.

[Aura_Kitten]

wildthing i'm happy to hear it went so well.

[majazama]

Thank-you for checking in with us, donna. I can't wait to hear your whole birth story

[LavenderMae]

Congratulations, Donna. Welcome baby boy!!! I look foward to reading your birth story.