Does 'Transition' exist in homebirth? - Page 3

[muse]

For me the transiiton phase is part of what makes the birthing experience so incredible. It's also something that makes me very glad to be at home, free to experience it in my own personal way without intervention. Yes, it involves some doubts, fears, panic, but I feel that's a natural part of an incredibly transformative experience, both physically and emotionally. Similar to something a shaman may go through in a healing ceremony or a rite of passage in a tradiitonal culture. It's something that has to be overcome or moved through to enter into a new stage of consciousness.

With my first homebirth I knew I was in transition because I kept throwing up and was very shaky and scared. Now I feel the fear was more to do with it being my first birth and a lack of support from the mw's. Second birth we had all the puke buckets ready (!) but never needed them. At one point I just got very emotional and teary and my mw didn't use the word transition, she just said, "This is hard but it's a stage we need to go through", and I instantly understood what she meant and was relieved to realise we were almost there and it was relatively easy. After that I shifted into a very different, much more inward and less verbal stage and got on with the important business of birthing my daughter. That turning point will always be vivid in my memory and a testament to my body's ability to do exactly what it needs to do.

[burke-a-bee]

I don't remember experiencing transition with my hospital birth but definately with my birth center birth and homebirth. As a matter of fact I went from not being in labor to transition with my last (homebirth). I only experienced "transition", nothing else with that birth.

[kalisis]

I have only gotten through first two pages, but wanted to reaffirm that it DOES happen in homebirth.

I had a fleeting moment of self doubt after having been persuaded to take a shower I didn't want and was crawling out of the shower to find a better place. I remember saying, "I just don't think I'm handling this very well at all." To which the MW said I was doing fine and that the baby would be here soon. I then sat on the toilet for less than 10 minutes and listened to her explain what transition was (she characterized it as that last centimeter, when it was the toughest, hardest part for the cervix and that's why I felt so crappy) and then she asked where I wanted to move to (b/c one of my 'things' throughout my pregnancy was this fear that I would have the baby on the toilet and he'd fall into the water...yuck) and then within about 20 minutes I had pushed out my amazing son.

It does exist, but certainly not in the same way that it does in the hospital.

[provocativa]

My hospital transition was very much like your homebirth one, so no, just being in a hospital doesn't guarantee a worse transition. I purposely didn't study others emotional maps of labor- wanted to see what I'd do. In the birth tub, secluded in dark bathroom with husband, as I wanted. No one had bugged me at all, in quite awhile- I moved to emotional transition myself, not by prompting from staff. Self doubt, talked to husband about pain relief (would he be disappointed if I needed it). Asked nurse when she came in a moment later who said something to the effect that the worst was probably over, she would check me when I decided to get out. Got out of tub, used the toilet, got on the birth bed/chair, found out I was in fact 10cm and regained confidence. Sounds just like some homebirthers describe.

[carliec76]

transisition

For me I thought of transistion was when I stated feeling contractions that were so fast and so intense it became torture. I did say things towards the end like I can't do this, I just want to die etc...but they were all empty words...It actually just made me feel better to say it. I knew I could do it but it is like when you are a kid and going to jump of the high dive...you say you can't do it but when you are finally to the top and the only way down is by jumping you just jump and on the way down you feel like oh yeah I can do it!!
What irked me about my midwife was she kept telling me not to be afraid, which I so wasn't afraid of anything, I was just in pain...so her comments really pissed me off and made me want to kick er head. She comes fromt he school that only woman who have fear in labor feel pain...poppycock...towards the end I screamed and hollered like a wild woman and it felt good and that is why I did it because it blocked the pain when I yelled. So as far as transistion I do believe in it and it had nothing to do with environmetn it had to do with how bad i hurt.

[cryspanimal]

I found this thread very interesting. One of the things that surprised me during my homebirth last January was that I didn't notice going through transition. My childbirth class had really stressed the experience of transition, and I was expecting something crazy or really difficult, and it never arrived.

I do recall thinking, "Oh boy. This is really getting to be painful. I hope it doesn't get much worse than this." But then my MW did an internal exam for the first (and only) time and I was 9.5 cm dilated and felt like pushing. I had worried that I might still be in early labor!

My labor felt continuous with no distinct time for which I could say "it was then that I was going through transition."

[yogamerd]

Yes, "transition"/self-doubt can be experienced in homebirth. I certainly experienced it. I wasin labor with Kendra (my first and only so far) for 66 hours; 15 hours of which was ACTIVE labor. TRUST ME, (rightly so) I was very much doubting myself after about 48 hours of unmerciful PAIN!

It was well worth it and I would do it again (probably WILL do it again someday) but it was TOUGH and I resent the fact that someone would call me weak for feeling that way!

[AnneCordelia]

I've had a hospital birth and a homebirth, in that order. I had a transition with both...but it was different.

I can see what she means by having the staff moving around, knowing that "Pushing Time" is right around the corner, can have a negative effect on a woman in transition...only to amplify the transition phase and make it more obvious that a woman is in transition.

For my hospital birth, transition was aweful...I wanted drugs (but not really), I had a hard time maintaining myself. For my homebirth, I knew later that I'd entered transition when looking back. I got shakey, sick to my stomach, and nervous to be left alone. It wasn't necessarily self-doubt or a moment of weakness though...I knew I could continue with a natural birth, it was a physical thing rather than mental. Does that make sense?

~Emily

[StacyL]

Originally Posted by positiveoutlooks

I read this statement from the midwife archives on gentlebirth.org and would like to hear some thoughts. This will be my first homebirth and I just found it interesting.

"Transition" as described in childbirth classes does not exist in homebirth as we practice it.

OH MY....

that is just about the most ridiculous thing I've ever read.

Yes, transition stage certainly does exist even whe you're birthing at home! It is a biological issue, not a "location" one. My transistion stage was LONG - nearly two hours - and I had all the usual "I-can't-do-this," "I-want-a-C-section," thoughts in between praying out loud to God to HAVE MERCY on me!! Then I threw up twice in a bowl, and suddenly it was over. Everything stopped, and I had the "rest and be thankful" stage fro about 20-30 minutes before my body started the pushing stage.

[Mama8]

I went straight to transition with my last baby. I was able to handle it though all on my own. My midwife was not there yet and my husband was running around and trying to set up the birthing tub. I gave birth to a 9lb 6oz girl in 1 hour 1 minute from first contraction to birth. So it was intense and fast!

[kangaroo_mom]

I felt like I was in "transition" for about 8 hours with my first baby (first homebirth) since it hurt like hell with contractions one on top of the other for that long. Second baby was born after only 2 hours of hard active labor. I remember and one point leaning on my birth ball looking up at my husband after a particularly powerful and painful contraction and asking my DH, "Am in transition?" To which he said, "Yes you are and you're doing great". To which I Thought, "Well how would YOU know?!" My third baby was about 2.5 hours of hard active labor and that transition was horrible. It was a surprise pregnancy, I was so tired and worn out from having a 3 year old and a 21 month old to take care of while pregnant and tons of stress which led me to fighting my labor again. I fought my first labor as well. Plus my nutrition was poor the third time around and so I was super hypersensitive to pain. So my answer is "YES! I feel transition at home!" I just may or may not recognize it. I do notice my midwife getting her instruments laid out and ready and laying out sheets and asking where the towels are. Sometimes she'll ask someone to make up a cayanne drink to have handy in case of hemorraging (I think that's what it's for). But she's pretty quiet about it all and non-intrusive.

I agree doctors like to make a huge show about everything. I mean without scaring women half to death to make them all believe they would have "DIED!" had they not been in the hospital, they'd probably be short on clients. Well, maybe not, but I think they'd definately lose a lot more than they currently do if they actually stepped back and empowered women instead of trying to take over.

[Emilie]

I did not experience a transition I think- at least I was not aware of it. I feared transition- and then hey- I was complete- so I passed thru it with no knowlege.

[flapjack]

I've only felt transition physically this last time: had a rest-and-be-thankful stage, and then three huge yet painless contractions that took me from 4ish cm to fully dilated and with ROM. It's pretty cool feeling your cervix dilate that much in a single ctx I felt it strongly emotionally the first time, with Alex, and got the whole self-doubt thing.
With all my labours, though, transition has been my time to be on my own,and to chill out in my own space: the last little bit of me-time possible: and I tend to get really really antsy if I have company at this time.

Has anyone come across Michel Odent's views on transition? That if a woman is left alone to explore and deal with her fears, then the noradrenaline stimulates a strong fetal eviction reflex and so a quick and efficient second stage of labour? It makes sense to me that maybe transition is for something and not a design flaw.

[orangebird]

Originally Posted by Mama8

I went straight to transition with my last baby. I was able to handle it though all on my own. My midwife was not there yet and my husband was running around and trying to set up the birthing tub. I gave birth to a 9lb 6oz girl in 1 hour 1 minute from first contraction to birth. So it was intense and fast!

That's like my last birth! And my name is Kim too- and I'm in Utah too! How funny

[annethcz]

I absolutely experienced what *I* considered to be transition during both of my homebirths.

During my first homebirth (second baby, but first non-medicated birth), I had a very long transition in which I fought my labor. I doubted my ability to birth my baby, and wanted everything to just stop. I also had the classic symptoms of vommitting and shaking.

During my second homebirth, I had a short transition period, but it was very intense. Although I didn't doubt my ability to birth my baby, I was ready to give up and just be done with this 'whole labor thing.'

[Emilie]

omg- i just remembered my midwife saying- this is one of the long ones- this is a tough one.... i totally forgot that.
emilie