Two babies in two days
pamela on Jun 27 2008 at 3:03 pm | Filed under: births, life of a midwife
Births four and five for the month of June:
A sweet baby boy, 8lbs even, to first-time parents that wanted an unassisted birth. They hired us and asked us to be there for the birth, but to be in another room unless asked or needed. We arrived around 3pm on Wednesday afternoon and after about four hours of pushing the sounds of the baby arriving were heard in the bathroom. My assistant met her partner in the hallway (the mom was alone) and they both helped to catch this baby as the mom stood.
Hemorrhage started almost immediately, was slowed with herbs but continued with a fainting spell on top of it. We administered Pitocin, got the placenta out, started an IV and had oxygen on mom in a matter of a half hour total. It became clear that, after unsuccessfully attempting to wean mom off the O2, we would likely have to go in to the hospital.
EMTs were called, they arrived pleased to see that we had a line and fluids started and took mom to the hospital with the father and me behind. (My assistant stayed with the baby and an hour later brought him to the hospital) We had a very homebirth-friendly doctor (he had attended homebirths in previous years) that treated our client well. The staff was supportive, gentle and sweet.
(Though, after hearing his weight - 8lbs - they all said, “oh! a large baby!”…do they just say that to make the mom feel good or do they really think that 8lbs is large?)
Mom was out of the hospital less than 8 hours from admission.
The other birth was a couple that was having their fourth (first girl!) baby, third homebirth. I wasn’t sure if I’d make it to this birth, as I nearly missed the last one due to rush-hour traffic. Mom called at 7.30am this morning to come, baby emerged into her father’s hands at 12.20pm. Sweet birth with loads of family around to share in the experience. 8lbs 14oz.
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I’m in the process of bringing all my posts from my previous blog over to this site. If you have this blog on a blogroll you may need to know that there will be a huge influx of new posts because of this. Just a warning.
Life is good. Hay fever is horrible, trying acupuncture next week for it as nothing seems to help enough to allow me outside. Still blissfully in love, amazed that every single day brings more emotion and more fun with this incredible man. I am so blessed!
I’ve made the decision to start writing. A book. Well, an attempt. I’m not a great writer so I have huge reservations. Still, I’m hoping that it will encompass my midwifery journey and all that has come with it. I am open to suggestions if you have any - or if you are a great editor!
I’ve often thought that your midwifery path would lead you to writing (more than just your awesome blog). Don’t kid yourself — you are a very good writer, with interesting things to say. Look forward to reading your book one day.
Amy
Writing encompasses different skills. You have the most important ones already: passion, and a gift for storytelling. The others can be borrowed easily enough. This is going to be so great!
I am not an editor, but I absolutely love proofreading things. I just finished editing one of my husband’s assignments for work and remembered how much I enjoy it. I would be happy to help proofread anything that you send my way.
I love reading your blog and I think that you would write a wonderful book. Good luck!
Karen Siegfried
karensiegfried AT gmail DOT com
I remember when I heard you speak at the midwifery conference in Eugene you said you weren’t a good speaker. I totally think you sell yourself short. Your a great writer and amazing speaker! I can’t wait to read your book :o)
Hi! I’m wondering: is a mother who haemorrhages is more likely to have milk supply issues?
Can I ask about the pushing for 4 HOURS? Was she fully for that whole time?
About the hemorrhage and milk supply issues - if a woman hemorrhages severely, milk supply can be affected. With most hemorrhages it is is not an issue. Here is one of the only studies out there on this topic:
http://jhl.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/11/2/123
Agatha, re the pushing, it is unknown if she was fully dilated or not. Because the family requested an unassisted birth, we did not do any vaginal exams. Based on the sounds she was making I would assume that she would not have had a strong urge if she had not been fully dilated. the urges became stronger and stronger in the last hour and a half. I would assume that putting a timeline of concern on a first-time mom’s pushing stage is not helpful, as we don’t know what sort of urges she was getting, what position the baby’s head was in, if molding was an important factor in the passing of time, etc. All of these issues make it near impossible to say that this length of time was inappropriate or a problem, per se.
Thanks for all the comments of support on my upcoming book conception. Right now I’m gathering my brain cells for a meeting.
xo
Hurrah on the writing!
You are a wonderful writer, Pamela, and you have so much wisdom to share. Having something worthwhile to say is the most difficult part of writing. You have that. Let somebody else worry about all those silly little details like editing and proofreading.