Would you continue to prepare for a hb?

[heathenmom]

Ever since my dd's hospital birth, I've been dreaming of and planning for a hb with future babies. It's been a struggle every step of the way -- no hb mw's in my area being the biggest issue to overcome, but I found one, finally. So here I am, 34-1/2 weeks, still very much wanting to hb, but starting to doubt whether I can pull it off.

* I have GD. My hb mw will still attend me at a hb, as long as my bG is controlled by diet, and it has been (but it's getting harder). She is requiring concurrent care with an ob, who is itching to put me on insulin; the hb mw will risk me out of a hb if I have to go on insulin.

* The baby has been persistently breech since 26 weeks -- first transverse, now frank breech. Hb mw will not attend a breech delivery. There are no ob's in my area who will assist with a vaginal breech delivery. So, if the baby doesn't turn, it's an auto c/s. I know we still have 5+ weeks, but it's still concerning.

* I developed an umbilical hernia on Monday. I haven't talked yet to my hb mw about it, so I have no idea if she considers this a complication. The ob didn't seem phased by it, but said it would require surgery to repair, 4-6 weeks after the baby is born.

I have about half of my hb supplies gathered already, but I still need the pool & associated supplies, extra towels/sheets/pillows, chux pads, etc. I'm just wondering if I should bother. : I've fought so hard for this homebirth, but it seems like every other week there's some new pregnancy weirdness that crops up that could derail my plans. I'm just wondering if I'm ignoring some giant sign from the universe, ya know?

[13Sandals]

I would continue to prepare. I don't know what kind of problems the hernia might impose - have you tried to post this in the professionals forum? i would be more concerned about this than the other issues.

i think the gd is waaaay overreacted to - you are so close at this point. I'd refuse the insulin, period - and try to trust that the babe knows what position it needs to be in to get out. S/he could literally turn at any moment now. sending good positioning vibes!!!

[Full Heart]

I would continue to prepare. Are you trying to get the baby to turn? Have you seen a chiro? Done tilts? Stuff like that? I would just think in the end if everything was in order (no insulin, and a vertex baby) you would feel cheated out of your hb. I think regret is worse than disappointment. But thats just me. I would hate to look back and say, "I shoulda."

[crunchy_mama]

I would not give up just yet and work on different things to help the baby turn. I am sure you are familiar with the spinningbabies.com site they have lots of info on this. I would definitely see if you could find a chiro who does the Webster technique as well. I thought I had a hernia at the beginning of pregnancy and when I looked into I don't remember it posing a problem for vaginal birth, but I could be remembering incorrectly.

[flyjawn]

i agree with the other ladies that i would keep planning the homebirth.

but more importantly than the homebirth, trust your instincts. if your instincts tell you that you need the insulin then take it. if not, continue planning the HB that you want.

i hope your little one turns for you!

[pixiewytch]

I agree that I would continue to prepare. I know it is discouraging but if you have to go to the hospital, you have to go, right? Why just go that route anyway if you don't have to? Some babies do turn at the last minute. I've heard great success with chiropractors for that too if you can afford it..

I don't know about the hernia or risk with GD either but I would still go forward with optimism until someone tells you otherwise.

[krismarie]

i think there is a lot of power in you BELIEVING you will have a hb. therefore i think it's a great idea to keep preparing for a hb.

you could try a chiro to turn the babe...

[heathenmom]

Thanks for all your responses. I appreciate everybody's input.

I'm totally NOT worried about the GD ... it's my hcp's (ALL of them) that are freaking out. Makes it hard to stay relaxed when you've got people pushing at you from every direction.

I think I'll call the surgeon's office who did my hernia consult, to ask them about potential complications during delivery. I feel like they'll just tell me to watch for another super-painful lump. If there's no lump, there's no problem -- easy-peasy!

I get regular adjustments from my chiro, but the only chiro certified in Webster isn't covered by my insurance and was more expensive than the mw. I'm trying to turn the baby with tilts, etc., but know I could be doing more. Something to actually put in my schedule.

Another big issue is the cost of the hb mw. It's $2000 -- 100% out of pocket for us, and $$ we could DEFINITELY use for other things -- and my dh, who is trying so hard to be supportive, is balking at the idea of paying for her services when we have no idea if she'll actually assist with the delivery. A hospital birth with the ob or her mw would cost us about $25. I understand his reluctance, and actually agree with him on one level. It's a LOT of money just to "throw away" if things don't work out with the homebirth, and the uncertainty of what we're doing is starting to wear on both of us. I wish wish WISH I could just convince him to uc, with the ob practice as a backup. I'd be so much more comfortable with that option at this point.

[krismarie]

i don't know if you ever use herbs...but i also have a hernia and my mw (who is an herbalist) has suggested making a strong infusion of comfrey and putting compresses of it over my hernia.

[hapersmion]

I don't know much about hernias or GD, but I had my breech baby naturally at the Farm. We switched half a week before he was born (8 days early), after the external version failed, and it was a wonderful experience. We drove 5 hours to get there in early labor after my water broke, but if we'd lived further away we could have gone down there ahead of time and stayed in our birth house until labor started. It's more expensive if your insurance doesn't cover it (we got $600 from insurance to cover the $4000 OOP : ), but it was definitely worth it for me, for such a great birth.

That said, you have lots of time for the baby to turn! Most babies do, after all. You might try talking to the chiropractor, too - mine gave me a discounted price that I could afford when we found that it wasn't covered by my insurance. (Of course, it didn't work, but we wanted to feel like we'd explored every option. ) Hopefully that baby will flip over any day now!

Good luck!

hapersmion

[the_lissa]

I have a hernia and had a home birth.

I would recommend waiting longer than 4-6 weeks pp to have it repaired unless you are in imminent danger of bowel strangulation or other complication. My baby is 7 months old, and I still haven't had surgery even though my hernia is completely incarcerated.

[heathenmom]

Originally Posted by krismarie

i don't know if you ever use herbs...but i also have a hernia and my mw (who is an herbalist) has suggested making a strong infusion of comfrey and putting compresses of it over my hernia.

Thanks for that info .... I'll DEFINITELY give it a try! I'm also going to do some research RE herbs for turning the baby -- pulsatilla, and I've heard there's a Bach flower remedy that works.

hapersmion, I've read your birth story, and YAY for you!! DH and I have already decided that if we ever have another baby (this was supposed to be the last one, but I feel like we'll probably try one more time for a boy ), we'll have saved enough money so that we can just go to the Farm and be done with it. That's IF the birth climate is still the same. We'll see.

RE the chiro ... that *was* the discounted, no insurance price. Plus, there was just something about him that was a little creepy. My dh hated him on sight.