[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Childbirth (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 12/22/2007 12:04:44 PM EDT
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As we gear up for the arrival of our fourth baby, I thought I'd jot down a few thoughts... Here we are, in the most medically advanced time in the history of mankind. We have antibiotics, germ theory, surgeries that save people who would have died before, better hygiene, better nutrition, better...well, everything, just about. So why am I planning on having this baby at home? Because I want to increase my odds of SURVIVING! (See, it really IS relevant to this forum.) See, with my medical history I have a 30% chance of "needing" a c-section if I have this baby in the hospital, where if I'm at home that risk goes down to about 1%. Furthermore, if I do have a c-section, I have a 3X greater chance of dying either during or resulting from the surgery than I would if I just deliver vaginally. Also, the chances of the baby having breathing problems and needing to be in the NICU are much lower with a vaginal delivery. And, none of this takes into account recovery time, the financial impact of surgery, or the burden of finding childcare for my other children while I'm in the hospital. So, for me, it's simple. It'll be hard to wind up with a surgery if there's no surgeon and no operating room nearby, neh? I'll instead be surrounded by real caregivers who believe in birth and my ability to do what's best for us. Husbands, educate yourselves and your wives: had I not agreed to so many interventions, I'd have never received that first cut, and there wouldn't even be a debate over which is safer. |
Our OB/GYN is the best one for VBACs in this whole region of the state. We didn't need one like that, but it was comforting just to know that she was such a huge proponent of vaginal delivery. 
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well.. as a Medical Professional with 15 years of experience in Neonatal and Maternal Medicine, I wish you the best. i certainly wont list all the complications that you could experience in childbirth. The problem with childbirthing is that when there is a problem, you NEED IT FIXED THEN AND THERE. we live with the highest neonatal survivability and maternal survivability in the world. this is due to our outstanding birthing centers, not due to homebirths. i hope your child and yourself dont need extreme medical intervention. there is nothing sadder than being in the room when a mother or child dies in birthing or birthing related. BTDT. |
Every one needs to take into consideration their own set of circumstances and make INFORMED decisions on what is best for them. While I personally would not have a child at home -- had three boys, first two were natural with no anesthetic, pain killers, etc. and went fine, but the third was C-Section and had we not been at a hospital he would not have made it -- (as pointed out above the margin for error is very slight in childbirth) and none of my grandchildren would be here today if Bethany had chosen home child birth (triplets, 4 months early) I do believe that home birthing in the right circumstances can be both rewarding and fulfilling. Congrats to you Sister!! (Wondered where you had gone off to -- haven't seen you in OKHT in forever!!) |
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Our first birth was at the midwife's office (her house) Our next three were in our own house. Any more children we plan to have at our house also. All were natural births, no pain medication used. The first birth did require 2 stitches. Two of my cousins (both paramedics) have delivered their wives children at their own homes without a midwife present. I would like to try, however my wife disagrees. |
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Sister, First... congrats on the coming new addition... by three (my house) it is already a hand full... four.... can't get much worse, so maybe you can actually enjoy this one!! lol.... good luck with the delivery... hope everything goes without a hitch...err... well... as best as a delivery can go...  |
These folks are a good start I'd say Sister has done her research. The reason I say this is MA had to do the same research and came up with virtually identical numbers muddydog, since you're the expert would you mind? 1 Describing in detail what is done to the mother during a c-section? 2 Describing in detail the risks to a mother if the doc forgets to put something minor like a bladder back? 3 Specifically answering the infection risk to c-section recipients? 4 If a c-section is necessary less than 2% of the time in a natural birth why is a c-section needed in more than 20% of hospital births? Ladies and Gentlemen if you go over to GD you will find posters who never find any fault in any action taken by an LEO, this is called "The Thin Blue Line" or "TTBL" for short. Here we have an example of The Thin Medical Line that muddydog has quoted verbatim. MA and I have suffered through 2 c-sections and learned. Since then we've had 2 natural births. ETA link |
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I find it interesting that those with objections to my birth choices aren't backing up their objections with statistics and facts. Anecdotes are not proof. Thanks to those lending support. I have been researching this topic for months now; my choices are most definitely based in facts. I do plan to have this baby at home, with trained, experienced caregivers. IF (and the statistical likelihood is very low) something bad enough to warrant a c-section were to go wrong, I bet I can get there before they even have the room ready. The point I was trying to make in my first post is that childbirth is not an illness; it's the natural conclusion of pregnancy, similar to how evacuating the bowels is the natural conclusion of digestion. Yes, sometimes there are problems, but seldom do they need a surgeon to correct.  I'm not trying to say that doctors are never needed, only that they are seldom needed. I am, however, saying that I'm not going to choose to go to a germ and scalpel infested hospital to go to the bathroom, just because I might be constipated. Being prepared, to me, doesn't mean I should go camp at the Superdome just in case a hurricane takes out my house. |
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I called my mother to ask her what she thought about having children at home, because she had four of us at home including me. She said she would not do it any other way. She loved it. One baby before me did die, but it wasn't because of being born at home. I guess she had many many problems. They did take her to the hospital and she lived four days there. The birth itself she said was fine, but the problems for that baby to over come 50 plus years ago were to great. She did have the next baby at the hospital and she said everything went great, and that baby was perfectly healthy, and the day they were leaving something happened and that baby died as well. She says I think the hospital made a mistake but I don't know. I asked her why she chose to have the births at home, she laugh a little and said we didn't money to run to the doctor for just having a baby. She said back then you didn't run to the doctor everytime you had a fart caught cross ways.  Then she started in about potty training, and rinsing shitty diapers out in the toilet and every morning washing them on the scrub board. She said all you kids were potty trained between 18-24 months. She said after six kids she was sick of washing, and ironing diapers, and bottles. After that, the next three were all born at home with no problems. Her last child, my sister, was born in 1964. |
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Sister, I want to commend you for being strong enough to take on this task at home. Our first and only child was born via c-section, and at the time, it was the best course of action. However, events leading up to the decision of performing the surgery drastically impacted the situation. Since then my wife has become even more educated, and actually became a doula. After reading some of her books, biased though they were, I came to believe that certain procedures were done to my wife to actually increase her chance of requiring a c-section. Next time, we're going the midwife route, considering we live in the state with the highest rate of c-sections in the nation. That, and my wife has lost two friends this year while they were giving birth in a NJ hospital. I wish you luck in this endeavor. Don't listen to the people condemning your decision, it's not their fault they are so "enlightened". |
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Sister, best wishes to you and your family. Newborns are SLIPPERY!! I've delivered a baby or 2, and none under ideal conditions. All survived despite me - and they would've done fine without me. The (ex) and I decided that our daughter would be born at home, but her labor just didn't progress as required. I had 24/7 telephone contact with a doc friend. Keep us updated. |
That's why my wife and I went with midwives backed up by OB/GYNs and had the baby at the birthing center at the hospital. Too many women have been brainwashed into thinking that they have to have the epidural and that childbirth is just too painful without the drugs.  My wife did natural childbirth (no drugs!) while on a pitocin drip because her labor wasn't progressing quickly enough. The midwife managed the pitocin dosing so that my wife was getting strong enough contractions but wasn't in excruciating pain. She got the baby out with no rips, tears, or the need for an episiotomy. We got the personalized attention of the midwife (she was pretty much right at the bedside for the last 3-4 hours of labor) and had the OB/GYN on site as backup if things went wrong. Midwives > OB/GYN, IMHO. |
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my wife had both of our kids naturally, using a midwife. w/ our last one, the birth occurred at home. we lived an hour away from the midwife and by the time the midwife finally got there, my wife was crowning. initially, i was very skeptical when my wife told me she wanted to do natural birth w/ a midwife. i did a lot of research, well i actually did a lot of reading as my wife gave me book after book about natural birth and using midwives. the thing that impacted me the most was reading about why doctors do a lot of procedures. many procedures are not necessary, and generally when one procedure is done, one or two others is necessary to counter a side effect caused by the first procedure. the women who taught the last birthing class we attended strongly advocated asking why doctors were going to do a procedure before they did it. she said ask: am i ok? is my baby ok? why do we need to do this? - in that exact order. what impressed me the most about the midwives we used, is that they were very concerned w/ making sure the baby and my wife were healthy before they even agreed to allow her to do a home birth. for example, if my wife would've been pregnant w/ twins, then the midwives would've insisted the birth occurred in a hospital. bottom line is that w/ proper precautions and observance of the mother and baby's health prior to the home birth, it can be just as safe as hospital births. doesn't hurt either that our midwife has been an RN for 15 years and worked neonatal ICU before becoming a midwife. as a side note, we just found out last week that number 3 is on the way, some time in august 08, we think. |
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With my second child, the first thing the OB on call said to me was "This baby is not coming out without surgery." She decided then and there that I would have a C-section, right after my water broke. 24 hours of labor later, I proved her wrong. Boy was she pissed. I wish you all the best. Some friends of mine had a home birth and were very pleased with it. There is some great information in Henci Goer's books. |
Way to control that vagina, Dee. 
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+1.. You have it exactly right. This is long winded and disjointed, but might have some thoughts. When my wife first explored 'hypnobirthing' as our 'lemaz classes' we joked about how we'd never have a child at home. After becoming educated, we'd always try to if we can. We're not any kind of wierd hippies. If you met us, you'd think yuppie. We are both college educated professionals. My wife now stays home and works from home part time, but you'd never imagine us doing homebirth at first glance. We have top rate insurance, raised in conservative backgrounds, yada yada. We were planning on ours at home, and will make those plans again in the future. Child labor/delivery is a money maker for the medical industry, pretty much because we(Americans?) have been conditioned that way. Check the statistics - New hospitals have a much higher rate of C-sections than established hospitals, I believe because of new construction costs to cover. My wife is a hardcore athelete... She can run back to back marathons with a pack hardcore. She is super fit, and we are a very healthy family. When we first started looking into 'childbirthing' classes, we sought out a route that was primarily relaxation based and trusted that a woman's body knows how to take care of things. 6 weeks into our pregnancy, we dumped our formal medical experts and went with a midwife. Of course, the midwife has her backup midwife, and we got simply incredible care from our midwives... It was simply amazing. Top notch care. When our little one was measure small, our midwife would send us to a doctor for a diagnostic ultrasound who understood our chain of care and was supportive. A couple of weeks before our due date, our midwife was still concerned, and after another diagnostic ultrasound, she was worried and we discussed inducing labor. We had interviewed 5-6 midwives, and made our choice for exactly this reason - We didn't want irrational heroics or to avoid hospitals at all costs, but we knew what kind of birth we wanted to have, and how we wanted control of the situation. Our midwife met us at her office, and we discussed what to expect and what options would and should be presented to us by the doctor. We knew the doctor and the group (actually, it was the original group we had chosen before switching to our midwife). Keep in mind here, we are in big money central, people buy $500k houses to bulldoze the m for the lot, and we have top insurance. The medical care is top notch by pretty much any convetional medical standards, but I believe that informed people can do much better. (At least understanding all of the options). So we arrive at the hospital, our midwife formally transitions care and is included (at our request) in all discussions. The discussions with the doctor are almost deja-vu, as if we have heard them before- The midwife is right on, and we are well prepared for the situation. Our midwife indicated to us before we went in that she believed the first state of treatment (of the 3-5 rounds of drugs they like to use to induce) would do the job; It is a particular treatment used for 'pre induction' and common in europe. Having our midwife is a bit like having your navy seal brother at a gun deal - She can keep everyone honest and knows as much or more about what is going on than anyone else there... I believe we got more complete and honest answers with her in our presence. So they start things, and per our midwife, we had timed things to start in the evening so if things went long, my wife could get a good nights sleep. Our midwife gets into a little argument that 'the first stage' (I forget the exact medication, applied topically) ought to be enough, to which the (female) doctor denies and brushes the midwife off. We sent our midwife home (just down the street) and settle in for some sleep. Long story short, being fit made for an easy pregnancy, and my wife was in the final throes of labor 3 hours later. We walk the halls a bit and our doctor is glad to see, and says "Oh great, things are starting to work... You'll be all setup for the petosin drip and yada yada yada C-section yada yada in the morning"... (It was the third time in the 4 hours we had been at the hospital that the doctor mentioned C-section... a troubling thought, since when we were interviewing them for prenatal care, they were "The top hospital in the region" for vaginal delivery)... Our plan had been to have our little one at home, but sometimes you have to adjust and switch to plan B. However, my wife wasn't going to let her plans for a drug free and surgery free calm childbirth get wrecked 'cause some doctor had a quota... Long story short, what we (first time parents) thought was pre-labor pains was the real deal (the meditation my wife did made it pretty calm and easy) and the midwife just missed the delivery of the baby. However, we had a plan, and that included me going with our daughter to prevent some specific immunizations they like to do right out, and so that I could be with her and bond. Our midwife (whom I'd waited to late to call, not recognizing late labor) just missed the delivery of our daughter, but was there to help protect my wife during the post birth period. I use the word protect delibertly. Literally 30 seconds late, the doctor had begun rushing along the post birth process at 'her timeline' instead of nature, and that initiated a small hemmorage. I was torn between protecting my daughter and my wife, and stayed with my daugter per my wifes wishes. However, our midwife walked in and was there for my wife, and we were able to regain control of the situation and let nature take its course. I don't mean to be hard on the staff that was helping - The nurses were great, and the doctor was very good considering they have a difference set of guidelines for how things operate. In the end, it worked out great, but I'd still avoid a hospital for my first choice in childbirth. Our close friends just had their second at home... Hard to beat sleeping in your own bed. Some thoughts/ideas, since this is the SF: 1) When we arrived at the hospital, we had a couple copies of a written plan on how we wanted things to go... Things like we didn't want drugs, we didnt' want the paste on our newborns eyes, our midwives numbers, etc. The staff might ignore it, but it might have helped, I don't know. But it helps to be prepared. When things start happening, you (dad) will have difficulty making sure everyone involved knows your expectations, so writing them down might help. I knows the nurses reviewed ours. 2) If you are doing a homebirth, doing things like having the vehicle ready to pull out of the garage, keeping the road plowed, having the GHB(GoToHospital) bags ready just in case will help a lot. Decide ahead of time who you will have at the house during the birth, what type of birth, etc. Bring in lots of food in advance, there is nothing better than avoiding the outside world (shopping ,etc) and just being a family at home after a birth. 3) Discuss in advance with the midwife(s) what other preps you need to have in place. Towels, sheets, jumper cables whatever.As for the OP, exactly right. We didn't get exactly the birth we planned for at home, but overall our plan and plan B held toegether. I believe the hemmorage after the birth, and delayed healing for my wife was a direct result of the typical medical protocols followed by most hospitals and would have been avoided if our midwife had been in the situation, but in our case we had to transfer care to the hospital doctor.  Expecting parents, do your research. ETA: Our insurance covered all of the hospital. When I sent the midwives bill 2 months later, they covered that too. The midwife cost us (She doesn't deal with insurance, so we paid her, and got reimbursed) 1/6th what the insurance paid our hospital for a 'standard delivery'. |
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Congrats MrsGloftoe Cacinok I got you beat. We were 4 hours away for the first birth at the midwife's Here are some inspirational pics of a natural birth This is the birth + or - 30 seconds mom standing resting in dad's arms  This is about a half hour after the delivery dad holding newbie with big sis looking on while mom gets a shower  A little later and we weigh baby, baby is in sack suspended from fishing scale, trust me there is no "tossing back" size 
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Hey, I'd like to weigh in on this discussion. First of all, as the patient you're the boss; doctors can give you medical advice and you can give your consent to treatment otherwise we honor the patient's wishes. With that said, you should be aware that according to the CDC the maternal mortality rates from 1900 to 1997 has decreased 99% from 6-9 maternal deaths per 1000 live births to less than 0.1 maternal deaths per 1000 live births. Part of this reduction is from improved management of complications such as perinatal fever, antepartum hemorrhage, and toxemia. /www.cdc.gov/mmwR/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4838a2.htm I'm not an obstetrician but as an anesthesiologist I've been there when things turned south during deliveries. And believe me, when things go to sh*t they go rapidly downhill. You will not have time to travel to a hospital for help. That's why my hospital is staffed 24/7 to perform operative deliveries. Why not hedge your bet and deliver with a midwife/birthing center with complete c-section backup. Also, you would have the option of labor pain management with an epidural. Chances are you will deliver naturally; since you seem very well informed and motivated to do so. But, I have lost count of women who despite their best effort needed an epidural. Sometimes just the pain relief helped to relax the pelvic muscles and delivery soon followed afterward. Like I said, I'm not an OB/GYN. But I can give info on obstetric anesthesia for both vaginal and operative deliveries. Not trying to sway you either way; just making sure you get the full spectrum of information. Believe me, we don't have a shortage of work. Cheers. |
| Best of luck to you. I don't want to scare you but my third child's umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck and my wife needed to have an emergency c-section after the baby's pulse dropped. The baby was blue when they pulled her out. She pinked up right away and there were no complications but I'm convinced she wouldn't have survived (or would have been oxygen deprived) if my wife hadn't had the emergency c-section. We're also homeschoolers and tend to be do-it-yourselfers but we leave the baby delivering stuff to the professionals. |
The OB on call for my second child told me that if I didn't have the IUPC, she'd refuse to treat me. She was the only OB available in the hospital at that time. Not much of a choice there. 
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The term for the above is "nuchal cord", this can only be detected if the baby's heart rate is being monitored. The baby's pulse rate drops when the flow of blood and oxygen is reduced as the umibilical cord is compressed around the baby's neck with uterine contraction or movement through the birth canal. |
Sorry to hear that. I work at a tertiary care facility/trauma center/university hospital setting. I guess I don't have experience with smaller facilities where you can't get a second opinion. Like I stated before, I'm an anesthesiologist not an obstetrician. With that said, I don't understand the absolute need for an IUPC or intrauterine pressure catheter. It's used for monitoring the contractions. Usually only used when they're not getting a reliable tracing with the ones applied to the skin. I'm not sure what the the OB doc was worried about. You could have refused treatment and could have asked for a transfer to a larger facility such as the one I work at. ETA: Our hospital has patient representatives who the family can voice their concerns to. We also have risk managment (read lawyers) and medical ethicists on staff we can speak with in situations like you described. Yes, they are available on call basis 24/7. Next time, call the doctors hand if you are not in a middle of an emergency of course. These services may not be available in smaller institutions. YMMV. |
It's a long story and I don't want to hijack Sister's thread, but I was at the biggest facility (I think) in Central Texas. The OB was just on a power trip. There was a big pow-wow in my regular OB's call-group after I sent her a letter about the experience, although I'm not inclined to have another baby just to test and see if the changes took.
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mmj6213, since you're the expert would you mind? 1 Describing in detail what is done to the mother during a c-section? 2 Describing in detail the risks to a mother if the doc forgets to put something minor like a bladder back? 3 Specifically answering the infection risk to c-section recipients? 4 If a c-section is necessary less than 2% of the time in a natural birth why is a c-section needed in more than 20% of hospital births? 5 Will you say that better nutrition, which has been available in the years 1900 till now and allowed children to grow bigger thus allowing mothers to have fully developed hips, has had no effect on the declining maternal mortality? Both you and muddydog sound like LEOs at a news conference "non LEO are not able to safely operate firearms," "No one who is not a medical professional is capable of learning or understanding anything medical" And both you and muddydog are not the ones going through a 3 to 4 times greater chance of death due to the side effects of the doc's agenda. |
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Again, I will have trained, experienced caregivers attending the birth, it just won't be at a hospital. They can handle anything short of a c-section. They carry O2, PPH treatments...even sutures. Also, this is #4. I delivered my first 2 vaginally, despite every intervention you can think of in a hospital, with the notable exception of epidurals. I've never asked for one, not even in transition on pitocin. #3 was a c-section after a 12 hour induced labor...for a baby that turned sideways when the doctor intervened with an amniotomy. I know that things *could* go wrong, and that I *might* end up at the hospital despite the best laid plans...but why go there if nothing's wrong? The numbers don't lie. My OB has a 70% VBAC success rate. My midwife has a 98% VBAC success rate. (Those percentages are for mothers who want VBAC.) WHY would I accept the increased risk of "needing" a c-section (and therefore the increased risk of dying from it) *just in case* I'm one of the few who actually need to be in the hospital, when most things that go wrong are actually caused by the medical interventions in the first place? Iatrogenic is a word I didn't know going into this research... Oh, and "nuchal cord" isn't really anything I'm concerned about. About 1/3 of babies are born with them, and most heart rate dips are not dangerous anyway. All of my kids have had nuchal cords, #2 was wrapped twice. An experienced caregiver will just feel for it after the head is delivered and slip it off before the rest of the baby is delivered. And IF the baby's heart rate were to deteriorate badly, we'd know because my caregivers will be monitoring it. It'll just be done by hand instead of a machine doing it. At that point, we'd decide to go to the hospital...and I still believe that I can get there before they can get the room ready and the doctor scrubbed in. Also at PA22-400!
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Hey I'm on your side! MA delivered that baby pain free I painted out how relaxed she is. IM me and I'll discuss how to do the pain free deal, it's nothing fancy or weird, just not for this thread. The lessons MA and I have learned cost us too much pain to let them go unshared. |
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Uh, I meant that in a good way, PA. Like you were making them look silly. I think I'm okay on the pain thing. Like I said, three pitocin labors so far with no epidurals... I guess what I do is sort of a self-hypnosis thing. I just...retreat, and think about other stuff, if you know what I mean.
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i wont get into a medical argument, i will say that if you dont trust your Dr. then you should get a 2nd opinion on anything medically. from my view, which i see but am not involved in directly in those decisions. alot of parents actually schedule inducements for their convienence, not mine or anyone elses. C-sections are done for many reasons. personally, i see 30% one way or another. but then again, at my facilities we get alot of transfers of problematic births and when they so south we need to get the baby out ASAP. 50% of the births i see or have seen have been to mothers with issues of varying degrees i will tell you this, there are guidelines set forth by hospitals, OB staff and insurance companies directing certain instances to which a C section is to be done. i have never seen a case where a DR. did a C section that wasnt warranted medically. i personally dont know anyone ( family member or friend)who has given birth by a C section. again like i said, and you in a way agreed. if we do perform a 20% rate of C sections in the medical field. that is 20% of mothers and babies who have a better chance at surviving or being more healthy after the birth. i am very lucky. for 15 years i have been surrounded by the best Drs that can be found in OKC and Tulsa. yes, i have seen a few that were questionable.- they didnt last long at level 3 and level 4 hospitals. smaller hospitals tend to generate a higher level of problematic situations due to many reasons. i am extremely homeopathic and actually keep our family as healthy as possibly by natural methods and healing. i avoid Drs and medical facilities at all costs, when i can. i actually delivered my son at the hospital. our OB understood, my level of medical training ( I am a Registered Medical Technologist- a Blood Bank and Hematology Specialist, with a ton of experience on Trauma Teams- not your average lab rat) and came in a couple of times to check on us and walked into the room as my son was 3/4 of the way out of my wife. he basically watched as i did everything else. it was the greatest personal experience i have ever done. but certainly not the greatest medical experience i have been involved with. the baby is probably going to come out one way or another. but, i personally feel strongly about the gift of motherhood and birthing that is a sacred gift from God that everything should be done to give them both the best start at new lives together. a baby being born that has the ability to get immediate care from trained Drs and nurses in neonatal medicine is obviously going to have a better chance at living and surviving with minimal health issues than one born outside a level 3 or above hospital. likewise a mother who hemorrages or goes into cardiac arrest is going to survive at facility with a top notch Blood Bank or CICU, not in an ambulance driving to one. i'm sorry that you feel you have been wronged by the medical establishment. we have many checks and balances in place at most facilities, these include patient care advocates and ethics panels for spot on care needs. i always tell people the most important decision you make is when you pick your Dr. express your ideas, thought and needs and discuss your options. its a free country to NOT SEEK MEDICAL CARE for an ADULT. but why take a chance on the child being born?? i understand your argument but it is very one sided. you don't discuss the massive increase in neonatal survivability we have had in the last 20 years or the decline of morbity and mortality to mothers in birthing. i wish you the best. |
I would ask that you reconsider. As a Paramedic, we do deliver in the field. When things go right, they are fine and a birth is not even considered an emergency, although it is very messy in an ambulance. However, when things go bad, they go bad in a HURRY. And there is nothing that can be sped up fast enough. You do know that you are at a MUCH higher risk of a ruptured uterine wall since you have had a c-section I hope. IF that happens, you will not survive, you will bleed out before anything can be done. I hate to be blunt, but that happens. Also, the nuchal cord thing is really something to think about, along with others. I am sure that they will have fetal monitors to detect decels and such in the baby's HR, but they are limited to what they can do. Also, a baby in distress defacates in the birth canal, creating the meconium stain that is very common. It is important to have proper respiratory treatment following this to prevent severe and long term respiratory complications. It sounds like you have done a lot of research on this, and I hope you make a good decision that works out for you. But, as I said before, I am a Paramedic, and I recently had a daughter. There is NO way that I would have taken a chance at having her outside of a medical facility with an OR on the Labor and delivery floor. We had great prenatal care, and my wife was in labor for 15 hours. She finally had to have an emergency C-Section when the baby was lodged in the canal and would not move any further. We got her out before any damage was done and by the grace of God she never got into distress. But, she did have a funny ring shape around her head from the birth canal for about 2 months. I hope everything goes well for you and the baby. Eng208 |
PA22-400: Short and sweet. I'm not an expert, nor do I play one on TV. I'm just an anesthesiologist who has attended a "few" births in my practice. 1. Mom goes to OR; monitored for HR, BP, EKG; provide anesthesia which is regional 99% of the time (either spinal or epidural); safer (it's a whole textbook if you want me to bore you); remains awake and without pain sensation below the level of the chest. OB doc cuts through skin, underlying muscles, then into uterus; breaks water, delivers baby, clamps cord, and delivers placenta. Next, reverse order, repairing structures which were incised. 2. Also, as above, the only organ exteriorized is the uterus to facilitate suturing the delivery incision, check for other injuries/abnormalities, and whether it is contracting to stop bleeding. Then it is tucked back into the pelvis. Sometimes tubes are tied at this point to prevent further pregnancies. The bladder is never involved, bladder injuries are not considered practice builders. 3. Not a surgeon, but info I have showed around 2% surgical infection rates for clean wound; usually skin flora such as Staph Aureus 4. Again, not an OB doc, but 20% C-section rate is from my reading of the literature is partially due to medical-legal ie defensive medicine practice. As an example, if a baby's heart rate drops <100 BPM and continues to do so; then you get a C-section. If anything at all happens to the baby the OB is at fault for not performing a C-section. Now, are babies delivered with low heart rates without complication, sure all the time; but should anything unexpected happen the OB Doc is toast. There are even lawyers reviewing charts on babies delivered 18 years ago claiming that they have low SAT scores because of brain injury at birth! EIGHTEEN YEARS AGO! 5. Not sure
And last time I checked this is still the land of the free and home of the brave. Anyone can deliver babies. Physicians don't own a monopoly on deliveries. I even saw a post from an EMT here to that effect. A fellow anesthesiologist I work with had a nephew delivered in the back seat of cab in a tunnel during rush hour with the cab driver giving encouragement from the front seat. I'm not promoting an agenda from the MEDICAL-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX to make more money. (I work for a non-profit university hospital). I have more than enought work; I welcome the help from other providers such as midwives. All I'm presenting is ONE view on the matter and the patient is free to consider her options; my view may not be the best option; but does anyone only own one type of firearm or several different types for different jobs. Same thing with childbirth; there is no one size fits all method and all views should be considered as the situation warrants. For Sister:
To say that your chances of a C-section rate is lower out of hospital is not accurate; the best analogy is this: If I lived in a high crime neighborhood; my chances of being broken into and shooting an intruder is 30% if I own a gun; but if I don't own a gun my chances of shooting a burglar is 0%. Does my chance for burglary decrease because I don't own a gun? Or just the probablity of shooting one? Statistically bad things happen in childbirth (low percentage) but wouldn't it be better to have all contingencies covered. Do you have a 30% chance of NEEDING and RECEIVING a C-section change out of hospital? Are the variables independent of each other? That's the arguement in a nutshell. That's for you to decide. Sorry if people thought I'm being opinionated; I just thought other points of view were welcomed. I'll just shut up now.  |
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If you do choose to have the birth at home one thing I would suggest is to contact your local FD/EMS provider and ER and inform them of the home birth intent and where you live and your approximate due date. This way if things go south then they already know where you are and the circumstances. I work for a small city FD and we get these "heads up" occasionally. We post notices in all of our ambulanes with a map and any other pertinant info. When things go bad they go bad very quickly and every second counts. Good luck. |
| We had our first at home, doing a water birth. Long stroy short, it was beautiful the first few minutes after Logan was born. I felt there was too much blood in the water, too quickly afterwards. My wife was very weak. We gave (on advice of midwife) two shot of Pitocin and called paramedics. My wife almost bled out. She had a placenta previa and was bleeding profusely. The EMTs could'nt find a vein that wasn't collapsed. We rushed her to the OR for an emergency D&C, and it was very touch and go for a few hours. Things worked out, and Logan was very healthy. I have never been so scared. The Sheriff's Dept. ended up filing charges for administering a prescription medication (the Pit) w/o a license, an Idaho statute says it is ok in emergency situations, so that went away. The investigator played my 911 call back to us, and wanted me to listen. He said he had never heard someone so calm and collected on an emergency call. I told him I was terrified the whole time, covered in blood and trying to keep my wife conscious. My prayers were certainly answered. Due to the damage done after the birth, my wife had to have a C-section for our second boy. The doctor let me stand right beside him and watch everything up close. While he was sewing her up (after pointing out all the internal organs and taking them out so I could see better, lol), the power failed. I whipped out my Surefire G2 and he laughed his butt off until the power came back on a few seconds later! Anyway, to the point. A homebirth is generally safe, but when they go bad, it can be real bad. I would not do it again, but I am obviously predjudiced due to experience. Please have medical help close by if you birth at home, statistics catch up to you sometimes. God Bless. |
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Sister, GO for it! We had our last (#4) at home and would never again do it any other way. My wife has been listening to me read the posts in this thread. And you have much of the same info she had after researching it for 4+ years. She is looking into becoming a doula as well. All of those that have advised against, you really need to look into this without preconceived notions. |
I rest my case as a Trauma Blood Banker... medical teams close by are not enough in some instances. this is a prime example of how women die in child birth. you and your family were extremely lucky. congrats. |
This is common in our area as well. You may also consider asking whether your local EMS operates BLS (Basic Life Support) or ALS (Advanced LS) ambulances. If they are a BLS service, you may consider asking whether they can start IV's, Intubate, or use a heart monitor. Not all ambulances have the equipment or staff to do such things. Of course, YMMV and certain states will allow procedures that others do not. Even if you don't use their services during the birth of your child, it's a good idea to know the capabilities of your local EMS system. FWIW, my partner and I delivered the only baby this month last year since the inception of our service nearly 20 years ago. I hope the birth of your baby goes well.
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Would any medical professional care to answer the specific issue that a c-section is 4 times as likely to hand you a dead mom as a vaginal birth? For the medical industry to demand that a mother undergo a c-section as a matter of policy is resulting that some moms are being killed as a matter of policy. I wish you medical professionals would stop flaming sister for taking the statistically safest birth option available |
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Quoted:[Would any medical professional care to answer the specific issue that a c-section is 4 times as likely to hand you a dead mom as a vaginal birth? For the medical industry to demand that a mother undergo a c-section as a matter of policy is resulting that some moms are being killed as a matter of policy. I wish you medical professionals would stop flaming sister for taking the statistically safest birth option available] I would "think" that the increased mortality rate would come from the fact that a c-section is performed on high risk pregnancies. This means that something has gone wrong. As I said before, when things go wrong, they go wrong in a HURRY. It is not that we are "flaming sister" for her choices. It is important for her to KNOW the consequences that can occur for her actions, not only for her but for her baby too. I don't care what your statistics are showing you, I would much rather my two loved ones be in a hospital near an operating room during childbirth. Besides, the issue is not whether a c-section should be done or not, we are discussing the problems that can occur at home away from a hospital facility, ELECTIVELY. That is my issue. Anyway, I have voiced my experience and opinion, I am done. Good luck to you and the little one. Eng208 |
