did you have unexpected problems with home birth? - Page 2

[azulamama]

No problems, except baby was faster than our (human) midwife, and faster than our water pressure. Our planned home water birth with a midwife, became an unassisted land homebirth!
I'm really happy about it, though. It was very cool to have my dh catch and dd to cut the cord. Oh, and my mom actually boiled water!

[crazy_eights]

My first homebirth (baby #4), I had a retained clot which is OW! also kept my uterus from clamping down efficiently, so I was bleeding. I expressed several clots myself, and the midwife offered to continue to watch and wait, but I asked for the methergine. she gave a me a shot and my uterus clamped down, spitting out several more clots and end of the problem. I was glad I chose to go that way as I was starting to feel yucky and shocky. I asked for an IV too which made me feel so much better after the sudden blood loss. These are all things that probably could have been handled with herbs and fluids, but the traditional medical option in this case was a quicker route to stopping the problem and feeling better IMO, and I opted for them (at home). BTW - my midwife in that case normally gives herbs after delivery to head off problems, but in her panic to get to me (I birth quickly and she got to my house as I was pushing), left them in her other car.

My second homebirth, no problems, except that I delivered before the midwife got there! Different midwife, different country. She got there about 10 minutes after I delivered, cut her cord b/c it was short, did give me some herbs and all was well.

[khrisday]

problems with baby

My daughter was a planned homebirth attended by 2 certified nurse midwives. The pregnancy and delivery were perfectly normal until my water broke, which occured right at the pushing stage. There was a lot of meconium in the water and the midwives would have liked to transfer me to hospital, however my daughter was already crowning so there wasn't time. She was born breatjing (or trying to) but blue. The midwives had oxygen on her before her APGAR's were even done, and half an hour later she was admitted to the local hospital where the pediatritian had met us. Turned out she had severe meconium aspiration, her lungs were very full and she could not get enough oxygen into her bloodstream, even in an oaygen tent. The closest University hospital was called to come and transfer her after a few hours. She was placed on a respirator before the left, and by the time she arrived she was needing even more intervention. By the next day she was on a hert/lung bypass machine called ECMO and getting better. She spent 6 days on ECMO, 7 days on a respirator, and 3 weeks in the hospital. Her problems had nothing to do with the homebirth, and had she been in the hospital I don't think anything would have been different. Actually, I think the fact that we were able to spend a few minutes with her bonding before she went through all this was beneficial to her, and us.
Khris
Jack 3-1-96
and Lucy 5-6-99 ECMO susvivor

[DashsMama]

I chose "Yes, problem with mom for which we went to seek medical help" but actually there was no real problem other than being nearly 3 weeks past due. Everyone was getting a little anxious, even my midwives. So after careful consideration I chose to be induced by the only doctor I trusted in my medical practice, rather than wait it out. My midwives served as my doulas.

Next time I'll wait for the homebirth.

[Cygnet09]

I checked "Problem with baby, but resolved at home".

DD was a planned HB with two CNMs. The problem was simply that she was my first and was 9#. She had mild shoulder dystocia (which I was told by an OB could kill her if we weren't at the hospital when I delivered) which was handled efficiently and expertly by my CNM. She also had her cord wrapped around her neck and it was trapped between her shoulder and the birth canal, which meant she wasn't getting any oxygen after her head was born. Too tight to breathe and none coming through to her via the cord. The cord was cut at that time and I was told to push as hard as I could to get her out. She was born moments later and was placed on my chest once she had been suctioned and checked out (less than a minute).

I honestly feel that I would have had a traumatic hospital birth. The OBs and MWs at the practice (that I later left) were highly interventionist and almost panicky when things didn't move in a textbook fashion. I can't see them handling this situation with the calm and aplomb of my MW.

I'm now PG with #2 and can't imagine giving birth anywhere else.

[breathingmom]

great outcome for Mom and babies!

We had a wonderful homebirth of our twin daughters! None of us required medical attention and all went smoothly.

The only thing that happened is that one of the people attending the births accidently knocked the hose loose to the birthing tub and didn't notice. My bathroom and hallway were flooded with water!

[CanOBeans]

My DD got a little hung up at the shoulders coming out, which the midwives handled very well. She had APGARs of 6 and 8, but nothing that didn't resolve within minutes. I, on the other hand, had a very weird third-degree tear (owing to her position and some forceful pushing) and my uterus was not contracting well after I birthed the placenta. My midwives asked if I wanted a shot of Pit, which I agreed to, and then we transferred to the hospital to get stitched up. At the hospital they massaged out tons of huge clots while stitching me -- even with the Pit, my uterus just didn't want to contract well by itself (and DD had not nursed well yet which was probably part of it). The hospital did not know I'd been given Pit, and did not offer to give me any. So I lost a fair amount of blood and was pretty shaky for a few days. I think it all could have been managed well at home though except for the stitching, which was beyond my midwives' abilities (and thankfully they recognized that).

[tara]

I transferred to the hospital after about 24 hours of very hard labor and 3 1/2 hours of very hard pushing in every imaginable position. The little guy was stuck in my pelvis and wasn't budging and I was exhausted. I was relieved to go to the hospital at that point, and they treated us very, very well. Luckily, the car ride did the trick and Jack was delivered without intervention about an hour and a half after we arrived. I was actually disappointed that they wouldn't use the vacuum extractor, though - I remember thinking we had a deal of sorts; I go to the hospital, they get this baby out of me! I actually told the very nice doctor that I was done, I wasn't doing any more. But, of course I did more and I pushed Jackson out myself and I'm really proud of that. If it happened again, I might opt for a 30 minute car ride and then back home to do more pushing, but I didn't know...

After the birth, I hemorraged quite a bit. I got IV pitocin and a shot of something (hemo-something??). I got a bit woozy from the blood loss, and the midwives told me they would have wanted me to go to the hospital if we weren't already there.

[owensmom]

Like Dashsmom, I was 3 weeks overdue and was to have a homebirth. I think I could have waited forever (and we tried *everything* to get labor started) - but in our state if the baby is a certain number of days past due, the MW's legally have to turn us over to drs. Ugh. I had a biophysical profile (an ultrasound where they test the baby for movements, heart rate, amniotic fluid) and he got a low score (which I think was only because he was sleeping!).

Anyway, after many tears and tough decisions, we ended up in the hospital to be induced. My midwives were able to attend, I had pitocin and fetal monitoring, but was able to use a CNM at the hospital, not a dr, and they were mostly cool about letting me labor wherever I wanted.

Unfortunately I had to push laying down, but he came out after 3 hours of pushing, with his cord wrapped around his neck twice and body once, and his hand in a fist next to his head. He was shocky and the hospital staff freaked out dh because he thought he wasn't going to make it (meanwhile, the midwives are looking after me and saying "he's just fine", which he was).

Sad I didn't get to nurse and hold him right away, but got to soon after! 9 # 1 oz 22 inch little bugger!

Amazingly, I used no drugs with pitocin, which is completely unheard of - it was EXTREMELY PAINFUL and I told them I wanted to die many times, but I was ignorant and thought this is what birth was like! I am now a goddess to many people!

I want another homebirth - but this traumatized dh so much he wants us to adopt so he doesn't have to see me go through any sort of pain!

[AnnMarie]

Originally posted by Alis
I honestly feel that I would have had a traumatic hospital birth. The OBs and MWs at the practice (that I later left) were highly interventionist and almost panicky when things didn't move in a textbook fashion. I can't see them handling this situation with the calm and aplomb of my MW.

If your experience was anything like mine, you would have. With my last we planned an unassisted homebirth but ended up going to the hospital. For weeks I was worried about 3 things,
#1 Meconium
#2 Baby getting stuck
#3 Hemorrhage

When my water broke there was very thick meconium and my husband and I talked about it and decided that was a sign for us to go in with all the feelings I had been having. I should also add that my midwives thought I had pre-eclampsia, but I disagree. LOL Anyway, we went to the hospital and of course they gave me hell for not doing things their way, even the things that the midwives assured me that were not routine (ya right!). Fast forward to pushing... after I finally got his head out he got stuck. The midwife freaked (IMO) and jumped on the bed and started yelling for an OB. Yelling for the OB scared me more than what was going on. :LOL I had nurses pulling my legs up to my ears, the midwife on the bed, and someone, I don't even remember who, pushing on my stomach, and my husband telling me to push. I kept thinking, why don't they try the Gaskin maneuver, or, just wait till my next contraction so I could push him out. That's when he finally popped lose. On my next big contraction I pushed as hard as I could and he came out. Thank God the OB never got there in time. I know what they may have done and that would have been worse. I did end up hemorrhaging too. All three of my worries came true.

If I had it to do all over again? I would have birthed at home with a midwife..... with all 4 of my children.

[amandajf]

I checked complication with mom at home and stayed home! I was in prodromal labor for weeks, no eating sleeping or anyting.. I was ten days passed my due date and deep into sleep deprivation hell.. nothing stopped my contractions.. not tylenol pm, not a hot shower, not even a glass of wine! So I chose to nudge her with caullophylum. Very slow dilitation.. and had a nice big ole anterior lip for about 4 or 5 hours.. transition was 4 hours long and pushing was hell... uterus crapped out while trying to push, middy recommended 1cc subcutaneous pit and promised it woudl ease the pain and god bless her soul it did.. midwife did a great job of helping her head over the lip and after an hour of maneuvering I delivered her myself in a pool outside.

I am glad i had a knowledgeable midwife because the old middy whom i fired at 37 weeks was 3 weeks 5 days too slow on my real due date and by the time she wanted to nudge i would have been very far passed the due date. Had I been in a hospital they prolly woudl have slapped me on pit in a bed which would have tired my uterus even more <plus me> and I prolly would have been section because you know a doctor won't wait 4/5 hours to get rid of an anterior lip.

[joyberryjoy]

What is up with the high percent of problems in this poll?

You know, when I posted this poll I really expected to see a greater percentage not having a problem! Though I know this isn't exactly scientific, we do have almost 100 replies, and I've read again and again that 95% (thereabouts) of homebirths go off without a hitch...in this poll we have results showing only about 55% with no problems...a full quarter (almost 25%) had problems that caused them to take either mom or baby to the hospital etc. (they "sought medical help") and another quarter, or thereabouts (slightly less) had problems, but handled them at home.

What do you all think is the explanation for this high rate of reported problems?

Joy

[fruitfulmomma]

Premature pushing urge

I just gave birth on Monday afternoon to my second child, a little girl. My son was born at home after 36 hours of labor. We planned a homebirth for our daughter also but transported to the hospital the last hour before she was born. My cervix was going back and forth between 5 and 9 cm. At 9 with a slight lip I wanted to push and my cervix swelled up as it went back down to 5 while I was pushing. After several hours of trying different things and also finding that her head was either transverse or military and I was extremely exhausted, I decided to transport. Midwife left the decision to me. She would have given me more time at home had I wanted to. I had a hard time not pushing while we were going there but I was still not dialated past 5 or 6. When I got to the hospital they gave me fentonol (sp?) to help me stop from wanting to push. The doctor on call checked me and said I was at 9 and after a little while when she saw I was stretchy she told me I could push a little bit. Did this for several minutes and could feel the baby starting to crown and then starting full pushes and she was out in about 5 minutes. I never did dialate to a full 10. When my son was born I also had urges to push before full dialation but was able to breath with them until I got slightly less than 10 and then took 45 minutes to push him out.

I am curious is anyone else has experience with premature pushing urges. We hope to have more children and I would like to know what kinds of things could help if I have this problem again. While we did have a postive transport/hospital experience, I prefer homebirth.

[fruitfulmomma]

Originally posted by JaniceT
However I must say that after being afraid of going to the hospital I actually had a decent experience there -- they didn't give us TOO much of a hard time for being "crazy home birthers," and they respected our wishes (no eye ointment, no vitamin K, rooming in, breastfeeding immediately, etc.). And the nurses were fabulous -- so helpful and attentive.

We transported to the hospital about an hour before our daughter was born. See "Premature pushing urges" further down this board for full story. We had a really good experience despite not wanting to be there. Doctor was really friendly and supportive of the fact that we were homebirthers. As soon as Gabby was born they put her on my tummy to nurse. Husband cut her cord. She never left our room. She was not weighed until a few hours later and my husband and I gave her a bath in our room later in the evening. No vit. k shots or anything else.

[cottonwood]

Re: What is up with the high percent of problems in this poll?

Originally posted by joyberryjoy
What do you all think is the explanation for this high rate of reported problems?

I think it becomes pretty clear when you read about what kind of problems they were -- I haven't read them all, but all the ones I have read seemed to be due to the specific management of labor (inappropriate interference and intervention), or fear and exhaustion. It's also my opinion that inhibition is a huge factor in creating abnormal labor.

By the way, transfer rates for unassisted births (according to the stats culled from UC BBs on the internet) are about 10%, with about 2% for actual medical complications (meconium, hemorrhage, etc.)

[EarthWind]

Originally posted by joyberryjoy
What do you all think is the explanation for this high rate of reported problems?
------------------------------------------------------------------------

One of the explanations may be the manner in which the question was posed. You asked "did you have unexpected problems" - so the moms who answered were probably ones who did have unexpected problems. It's sort of a leading question, if you know what I mean.

Peace,

Michelle

[joyberryjoy]

I thought of that originally, but surely moms who read that thread topic and had *no* problems would want to weigh in as having had such an experience?

It makes me curious!

Joy

[Journey]

I think one of the reasons you're not getting as many replies from those who've had uncomplicated births is because of the title of the thread... "did you have unexpected problems with homebirth". Those who did not have unexpected problems may just blow past this thread.

I am one of the homebirthers who had NO complications whatsoever. I nearly blew past this thread myself.

[candiland]

There were no probs. with my first birth, but with my second, Sky had a difficult time getting started... he was a bit blue and floppy and we needed to use oxygen to help him breath on his own. Also, he got suctioned, which my midwife rarely does unless it's absolutely necessary. I then hemmoraged after the placenta was "born", and needed Methergin, a shot of Pitocin, and Arnica tablets - along with my midwife manually removing some clots - to help stop the bleeding. They say "Redheads Bleed", but I never believed it 'til after this birth!

[alissakae]

baby and I both had problems

My first two home births were textbook, absolutely smooth and lovely. The next birth ended in a hemorrhage, which the midwife calmly dealt with using uterine massage and methergine. My last birth (4th homebirth, 8th birth) was a much faster labor than my previous births, but the baby came out white and limp and entangled in the cord. While we worked on getting him breathing I had a huge hemorrhage (the cord had apparently pulled away from the placenta). Again, the midwife gave me a methergine injection...then followed that up with methergine tablets. She threatened to transport me because of the extent of my blood loss and my going in and out of consciousness, but I mustered enough energy to refuse. I stopped bleeding, baby pinked up, and we were happily attending a Christmas party a week later and have both been wonderfully healthy ever since. The only glitch in recovery was that I was not able to get a good supply of breast milk, although I had breastfed all my previous babies with a bountiful supply. Extra pumping, herbs, etc, were all tried but my baby was very skinny by 3 months old and we've had to supplement him ever since. Now he's half and half breast and bottle and a fat and happy 6 month old.
If I had another baby I would still want to birth at home, but hopefully I'm DONE now!