oxygen at a homebirth

[AbbieB]

I am planning a home birth next month and I'm starting to gather the "kit" together.

Because my midwife will be traveling quite a way to be here (on a plane) she will not be able to bring an oxygen tank.

Where can I get one? I only need a tank. She is bringing the regulator.

Can I get one from a dive shop? Is the mix enough? Will I need to go to a medical supply place? Can I get one without a prescription?

Any information you have about the difference in the mix between dive shops and a medical supply would be helpful.

[Jane]

I've heard that you can just call the local medical supply place and say "Hey, my grandma is coming to visit next month, and she needs oxygen here just in case. Can I rent a tank for two weeks?"

[Nicole B]

What Apricot suggested sounds like a good plan

As far as getting a tank from a dive shop if your not a certified diver a legitimate dive shop WILL NOT rent equipment to you.
Besides their regular tanks are filled with purified "room air" so no advantage there...
and their "enriched" air is just 32% or so oxygen so probably not enough for what you'd want...

Did you ask if she thinks it totally necessary?
It's not something my mw brings to births.
She's trained in neonatal resuscitation and believes as I do that oxygen carries it's own risks

[Reha]

Originally Posted by Nicole B

Did you ask if she thinks it totally necessary?
It's not something my mw brings to births.
She's trained in neonatal resuscitation and believes as I do that oxygen carries it's own risks

: OP: I know that you weren't asking about the necessity of it, but I just had to pipe in and say that I agree about the O2. I feel much better about resuscitation with room air than O2.

But, in any case, if it is something you want to have there, I wish you good luck on finding it!

[momileigh]

Totally butting in here, but I have a little question: what about O2 for decreased FHTs or energy for mom? Not resuscitation; room air would seem to be useless for those applications. What's the thought??

[momma earthical]

Don't know if FL is different but here in MN if you want to rent an O2 tank for whatever reason, you need a prescription for it. I had to do it for my birth support person because she has MCS and was flying in for ds2's birth. Could your midwife write a prescription for it and post it to you in advance?

[MsBlack]

So far, I haven't yet seen a situation where 02 was needed for mom or baby still in utero. I suppose one day I might...but for Moms, helping her to breathe more effectively is the only thing I've ever done and it's always worked; for babies with FHT problems, getting mom to adjust her position and ALSO to breathe better, has also worked for all the few times I've seen FHT issues.

02 is way overused for both Moms and babies imo. It seems it is one of those medical things that has made a firm incursion into homebirth practice, and I don't get it!

[bryonyvaughn]

Originally Posted by momileigh

Totally butting in here, but I have a little question: what about O2 for decreased FHTs or energy for mom? Not resuscitation; room air would seem to be useless for those applications. What's the thought??

Personally my first choice would be homeopathics. I think they'd offer the mom and baby much better results than merely increased O2 concentration. That's not practical for most birth professionals because homeopathy has such a steep learning curve.

I think waving an open bottle of peppermint essential oil under a mom's nose would perk up most moms quicker than O2. It's cheap, it fits in the pocket easily, and waving up near the urethra can decrease swelling enough to pass urine without the pain or infection rates associated with catheters.

~BV

[AbbieB]

I had a retained placenta and hemorrhaged after DD.

I did not want to pass out (it was very important to me, at the time, and in my head, to stay awake.) So I was sucking oxygen to keep alert and to be able to deal with what came next.

My midwife has it as part of her standard kit. It's not the first thing she reaches for by far.

[pamamidwife]

I usually only cary O2 in case the mom has serious blood loss and has issues breathing after the birth. I'm not one that believes that O2 on mom helps baby's heart tones - or is even necessary to resuscitate a baby with. I also don't believe in "blow by" O2 for babies, but that's just me.

[AbbieB]

Originally Posted by pamamidwife

I usually only cary O2 in case the mom has serious blood loss and has issues breathing after the birth. I'm not one that believes that O2 on mom helps baby's heart tones - or is even necessary to resuscitate a baby with. I also don't believe in "blow by" O2 for babies, but that's just me.

Thank you!

This is exactly why I want to be sure to have it on hand. For me, if I should have another PPH. Like I said before. It just seemed so important to me at the time to not pass out. I doubt this is true (in fact I know that the blood loss was not that serious after having reviewed it a few days later with my midwife) but I felt that if I could stay awake and talking I would be OK, but if I was out cold then I might die.

So where can I get it? A better question would be where is the best source for this purpose?

[pamamidwife]

since O2 is a controlled substance, it's not easy to get anywhere. Your mw can send her empty O2 tank to you and then get it filled while she is at your home, but I don't see anyone getting one without a prescription.

[mwherbs]

we had a baby with MAS and blow by kept him pink and the retractions were almost gone we didn't do other resuscitaion things because his heart rate stayed good but when ever we weaned him off the blow by the retractions returned and he turned a bit dusky-- if I had an O2 monitor on him I am sure that the stats would have been lowered - and I have seen babies who have some retractions then smooth out and stop retracting completely or some of the TTN babies slow down
-- I am not a big one for alot of O2 use but I think that there are some applications- never used it on a mom who has hemorrhaged though -

most likely the O2 is drying out the lungs- is part of why that works for the TTN and maybe the retracting kidos too-- and it is still standard of care after the first rounds of resuscitation efforts-

[mrskennedy]

Originally Posted by MsBlack

So far, I haven't yet seen a situation where 02 was needed for mom or baby still in utero. I suppose one day I might...but for Moms, helping her to breathe more effectively is the only thing I've ever done and it's always worked; for babies with FHT problems, getting mom to adjust her position and ALSO to breathe better, has also worked for all the few times I've seen FHT issues.

02 is way overused for both Moms and babies imo. It seems it is one of those medical things that has made a firm incursion into homebirth practice, and I don't get it!

: agreeing with our MW friend here.

[mendomidwife]

I bring O2 to every birth. I'd rather have it then not. I suppose you can find a study that supports whatever you believe. If I have to transport - I like to at least be able to say I did my best - including offering O2 to either the mom or infant.

Carla

[mwherbs]

the routine use of oxygen on newborns has been not recommended== have you taken the recent Neonatal resuscitation classes? they changed the standards of care-my understanding is that they base their practice changes on more than just one study--- room air is all that is needed in the majority of cases and because there are some long term consiquences of using oxygen it has not been recommended to be used in the first attempts in resusciation -- but I agree that I would rather have it around incase it is needed than to not have it and need it--
to tell you the truth I don't quite grasp how giving a healthy mom who is breathing normally added oxygen will change a baby's stats- I mean sure I have seen it and read about it but I haven't really seen it change baby's heart rate when it was done--

[mendomidwife]

The NRP guidelines do say to use O2 if needed in certain situations - for instance if the heart rate does not increase...

[Jane]

If the baby has a heart or lung condition, resusitation with room air might not work.
Because high concentrations of oxygen are harmful (oxydative) to the body, absolutely no more oxygen than neccesary must be used. A lot of resusitation is ventilation, providing oxygen if the baby has no urge to breath, or inflating the lungs that FIRST all important time. It's pressure that's needed, not oxygen.
But, nervous MILs and Daddies sure like to see it. That and suture equipment seems to be the mark of a true professional.

I've seen the oxygen mask help a mom out, the breathing pattern helped her get a grip during transition. I think a little NO would have been better, but it worked. That's not really the way it's intended, though, YK?

[MsBlack]

But--

nervous mommies and daddies only like to see 02 on hand because they were taught that way!

I just tell em, when I say I don't carry it, the research about oxygen and what I do instead.

[sevenkids]

I like to have it, but I like to have it for TTN. Give the baby some blow-by, dry out the lungs, and save a trip to the hospital.