Midwife scaring me? Home birth or strapped down?!

[Catz]

When I was 27 wks I had a very very small bleed. no other symptoms. Went in to be monitored for an hour. All OK and went home straight afterwards. No other probs at all in pregnancy.

Today I saw my midwife for the first time since then. She told me that if I go to hospital there is no way that they will allow me in the pool, I will be on continuous monitoring and an active birth won't be possible as a result. Her view was that the hospital would use any excuse to strap me to monitor. She also said that I could still have a home birth or go to a midwife lead unit and if I did that I could have a pool, active birth etc!?!

I have to say that I am confused by this. The problem was tiny. If there really is a need for me to be monitored (I am sceptical) surely I then shouldnt have home birth etc. If there isn't why would the hospital insist?

Am now feeling worried about this as imagine that labour will be very stressful. Is she just trying to scare me into a home birth? I am 34+2 and the hospital is JR in Oxford if it makes a difference.

[lulumama]

scrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaammmmmmm


oh fgs

why not have a homebirth though?

she might be doing you a favour by telling you this, to enable you to get the birth you want...

[lulumama]

actually, i think that she is doing the right thing to tell you the hospital will be trying to stop you having the birth you want

i retract my scream

[Catz]

Thanks Lula! Do you think she is right though?!

Have been umming and ahing about home birth so thought she might just be scaring me to force me to make up my mind. Is having opposite effect actually as am now far more anxious about the whole thing than I was!

[Catz]

sorry crossed post. Do you really think so - even though so minor?

[lulumama]

the hospital will no doubt have lots of sooper dooper policies, time limits and restrictions, all of which you are more entitled to make an informed decision about declining..depends how strong you are in labour, and whether you have a DH / birth partner / doula who can stand up for you ,and help you decline continous monitoring, demand you use the pool

some obs like to tell you that your baby might be severely compromised if you don;t have constant monitoring, and lay on the bed , so you can be easily monitored and watched,

which is the worst way for a woman to labour

being mobile , active, upright, free to move, and free to listen to your body is the right way to labour, not stuck on the bed, tehtered by leads

[Catz]

Thanks Lulumama - that's what I was worried about. I guess I will have to wait till I get there (if I go to hosp) and then fight about it if I get the 'wrong kind of Dr - hardly the most relaxing way of going through labour....

Thing is that DH was worried about HB as it was and is now saying 'well if you need to be monitored the Drs know what they are doing so best go to hosp'...

Thanks for the advice!

[Snaf]

Oh flippin nora, this kind of thing makes me so cross.

Did they give a reason for the bleed? All your blood pressure etc has been fine, yes?

Tbh, if this was my unit, I could imagine them saying the same thing But it's a total over-reaction. There is no justification for not allowing you in the pool, for example! She is probably doing you a favour by warning you, though...

The simple fact is that they can't do any monitoring that you don't agree to. If you say 'no', they can't do it. But they can make you feel unsupported if you don't do as they ask (grrr again) which is not what you want in labour.

I've heard great things about the birth centres around the JR, if that's any help!

[tortoiseSHELL]

I think she may be right, although scary - hospitals do seem to like to use any excuse to go for continuous monitoring. Would you consider a home birth? I've had two, and my first birth was a hospital birth, and the two homebirths were SO much better from the point of view of being able to move and react to the labour.

I just started to describe my hospital experience, but have deleted it, because you don't need a scaremongering story - it was fine, and I had a healthy baby at the end of it, but a straightforward labour was threatened throughout with 'we may need to use ventouse etc, and we'll try to deliver, but be prepared for a CS'.

Homebirths are safe, and happy usually - and they're honestly not too messy!

[LynetteScavo]

Would going to the midwife lead unit be an option?

[AlistairSim]

Blimey, I'm surprised your having trouble with the JR. I've found them really supportive of an active birth, vbac etc.

I do recommend the birthing centre in Wantage if that's close to you. I haven't given birth there but have had loads of support from them.

[Catz]

Thanks for all the messages!
I had a very positive impression of the JR when I went around and I'm not sure that it would be a problem... bit concerned that m/w is trying to scare me off JR ... but then again I won't know till I arrive in labour and have a row!!

ARGH!

[elkiedee]

Why not take up the option of the midwife led unit? I had to be induced and I wouldn't have wanted a home birth, but if I was offered a midwife led unit rather than the doctors in the hospital, I would give it a go. I accept that I had to have certain interventions, but would have preferred not to spend so much of my labour strapped to monitors and on my back (which are believed to contribute to lengthening the process).

[Kathyis6incheshigh]

I really object to 'strapped down' as a way to describe being attached to leads for monitoring. I think it is alarmist and really unhelpful. (A friend of mine asking about my epidural said 'Wasn't it traumatic being strapped to the bed?' )
You would not be strapped down - strapped makes it sound like you are physically restrained, which you are not, because the bottom line (IME at least) is that you are stronger than the wires or the things attaching you so if you really needed to move you would - and the worst that would happen is that something would become unplugged.

Having said which - you should adopt the most comfortable position possible for labour and that is generally not lying back the way they like you for monitoring. So def try and have an active birth if you can.

[lulumama]

thing is, when you are being monitored,often you are told , not to move, in case they lose the trace, and then you are on the road for possibly more intervention, so you end up staying still....or coming off the monitor and being shouted at...so you might as well be strapped to the bed !

[Kathyis6incheshigh]

Yeah but you're not physically strapped, and the idea of being is hugely scarely and traumatic, so using the term just promotes fear, don't you think?

Making it clear that you will need to try to stay still is very different from freaking people out by implying you will be utterly unable to move.

[lucykate]

i bled until 23 weeks with dd and didn't have any excessive monitering during labour. in fact was encouraged to stay at home as long as possible and was 8cm when i finally went in, yay!, and even then, was encouraged to move around as much as possible. lulu, that was at ormskirk.

[lulumama]

ok...i take your point

BUT psychologically and physically it is restrictive

i personally found it to be the equivalent of being strapped to the bed, as i was too scared to move first time round...and I know plenty of other women who have felt that way in labour

[lulumama]

i had a positive experience there too, lucykate !

[tortoiseSHELL]

Well I felt strapped down. And when I did move, the pad thing moved, and the student mw went into panic overload, suggesting ds1 was in severe distress, because his heart rate had dropped from 130bpm to 70. Clearly it was my heart rate, but we had panic stations for a few minutes.

I'm going to write down ds1's birth on a different thread, because I do think it is an interesting experience, but don't think this is the place to do it - will link to it though.

[Snaf]

Kathy, that's a fair point. I always encourage women to move even if they are being monitored, and it's do-able. But it's not the same as being 'unfettered' and I agree with lulu that restricted mobility (which it is) has a big psychological impact.

And let's face it, 'strapped down' or not, having to wear a CTG is a big old contraindication to spending time in the pool...

[lulumama]

[maxbear]

Did you see an obstetrician when you had the bleed? If you did and they don't want to see you again then you don't need to worry, you are under midwife care and therefore low risk which means no monitoring. Even if you are mod or high risk you don't have to have monitoring. Although there are some situations where it would be highly recommended, I don't think that having a small bleed (at any stage) is one of them.

[Snaf]

OMG! You lucky, lucky thing! How was it?! I bet you were lovely. Did you have fun?

Am totally . I never get to see homebirths

[lulumama]

Snaf - it was marvellous....

to see all the physiological things happening and unfolding in front of me, recognising all the things i have read about, and seeing another human being come into the world, was absolutely the best thing ever !

[Snaf]

So, good career move, then?