low intervention births ( carryover from BYC)

[hunterjumper999]

we're getting ready to start a family in the next two years. Our lifestyle is not one that allows the joys of just happening to become pregnant so i'm doing all my research now so that when im done with school in about six months i can just start trying. I want to start this topic to talk to people who used a midwife or doula or simply tried to go natural. its fine if you didnt end up going natural, these are the things i want to know about


share what youre comfortable sharing..


im currently watching the business of being born on netflix



I havent been to an obgyn in a few years ( bad i know) and i was wondering if i can just go to a midwife now ? do they handle reglar care or just birthing....

 

[big brown horse]

I used a midwife 13 years ago, before doulas were very well known. I would have used a doula too if I knew about them. (Pre internet back then.)

I also gave birth under water. The best thing in the world btw for pain etc. I fell asleep b/t contractions and I didn't use any medication for pain or anything else.

I used a midwife only, no doctors. She did work with a dr for emergencies etc. however, I never needed to see him. (She was a certified nurse midwife btw.)

 

[big brown horse]

I havent been to an obgyn in a few years ( bad i know) and i was wondering if i can just go to a midwife now ? do they handle reglar care or just birthing....

I think you can. I just went straight to my midwife as soon as I thought I was pregnant. I am pretty sure I hadn't seen an obgyn for a while before that.

Please be careful of dopplers and ultra sounds!!! Do a lot of reading/research on those before you get pregnant. Seems that as soon as you see a dr or even some midwives they start scanning your belly with these electronic devices.

Be prepared to stop them before they quickly routinely scan you! (They are fast too, they hit you before you know what they are doing b/c it is part of the routine.)

 

[big brown horse]

Oh, and btw, congrats! Welcome to the secret club!

 

[Wildsky]

I am passionate about home birth.

I have three kiddo's.
First one, daughter born in hospital, HORRIBLE birth the doctor tore me with the stupid vacuum thing. Her head was mishapen and my cervix was messed up.

Second one, son born my emergency c-section. He was a footling breech and I had aimed for a birth center birth but they wouldn't take me. My doctor allowed me to go into labor naturally and then performed the c-section as an emergency.

Third one, daughter born at home It was a risk, after having a c-section but I was confident I could do it, and I did. It was amazingly healing to me from the previous births and even though I was in labor for a long time, with a baby facing the wrong way, I managed! It was truely amazing, I felt like KING Of the world after that... healing was so fast! I was up and about within an hour, I took a shower and we had my hubby's brother and wife come over to bring us food (Thanksgiving dinner )
I was in labor from the night before, we went out to dinner with family and I told my hubby at the table that I was in labor it started really slow and easy - we finished up dinner and went home, I managed to sleep on and off till 3am.
At that point I got up and started using that bouncy ball thing.... at 8am we called the midwife, and she sent over her assistant to check things out.
My water broke at 9am. From that point on it was "game on" and labor was pretty hard and fast, but she was facing the wrong way so it was difficult.
She was born at 2:19pm - Daddy was first to touch her, he had to hold her head up for a while till I got the strength to push the rest of her out
He got to cut her cord after it stopped pulsating, she lay on my belly till that happened (very very short cord) she was breastfed for a little bit to help calm her down (she really howled ) and then she was weighed and measured etc... and I went to take a shower, while daddy got her diaper on and a little shirt.
The midwife took photos brought me food and drink and watched all the medical things she was there to do. She stayed with us for about two hours, cleaned up everything etc.
THe midwife's assistant checked in the next day and then a week later they came back to visit again.

 

[big brown horse]

That's great Wildsky! It is amazing that you could do it with the baby facing the wrong way! How did your midwife manage that?

My older sister had 2 emergency c-sections with her first two and then used a midwife for the last two and delivered just fine. (Home births not underwater.)

 

[big brown horse]

One other thing, even though I gave birth underwater at a clinic (run by midwives) I didn't use any bright lights, just candles. The midwife turned on the lights just to examine me then turned them off. We kept them low during the delivery too.

Also we had soft music playing in the back ground. The whole experience was very relaxing.

Just like Wildsky, my baby wasn't whisked off ASAP to do all the testing etc. I got to hold her and bond with her for a while.

 

[noobiechickenlady]

I went natural with both of mine, but no doula or midwife. They simply don't exist in my area.

There was pain, yes, but exhilaration too. Much more exciting than painful. So much so that I stayed wide awake for 12 hours after each of the births, then I crashed for 12. Proper breathing works wonders

DS had some health issues, so I was glad I was in a hospital, but DD could have been born at home for all the help we needed. Doc walked in just in time to catch her, had to move DH out of the way so she could.

With both kids, I waited, breathed, did housework or just walked around until I knew it was time to go, both were delivered within 30 minutes of reaching the hospital and I wasn't confined to a bed or a nasty smelling hospital room for the entirety.

The hospital you choose makes a big difference too. DS was born at a major university hospital. The head nurse almost got my fist in her mouth after yelling "No noise! No Noise!" when I grunted with the effort of pushing. Grunted, not screamed. They took off with him as soon as they could to do the heel pricks & whatnot. Afterwards, I was in a room with 3 other women, no privacy but a curtain.

With DD, however, the nurse started chanting "Yeah! Go girl! Push! Growl if you need to!" The doc laid her on my belly & left her there while she went to the next room & delivered. Then she came back & cut the cord & did her testing. That was a small town hospital. I got a private room with a decent view of the river.

 

[FarmerDenise]

I wanted a homebirth, but hubby was scared about it and he wanted the standard hospital birth.
So we compromised. DD was born 28 1/2 years ago in an Alternate Birthing Center with a certified midwife. No drugs. Hospital facilities were right there, in case something went wrong. Nothing did.

I'll tell more about it, when I have more time.

 

[Occamstazer]

Well I am nowhere near ready to have kids, but I LOVE THIS THREAD!

I love the natural birth movement, I love reading about babies, and I totally love hearing stories that validate my "wacky" ideas about birth!

I read a BYC member's blog regularly, and she has tons of interesting info and great opinions about doing things the natural way. She is about to have her second baby.
http://azuroo.blogspot.com