Natural Homebirth

[izzyishavingababyAGAIN]

Having had an emergency home birth delivered by DH I am now planning a home birth in a few weeks hopefully (please please dont go over small stuff).

So, I am currently taking 3 rasberry leaf tea capsules a day
Using evening primrose oil internally twice a day
Have clary sage oil for pain relief at appropriate time (obvious midwife is bringing gas and air but as I didnt use it last time
I am planning to labour and deliver in the bath (cant wait til she sees the tiny size of my bathroom)

Any other tips or advice for me?

[twolittlebundles]

Jasmine oil can help to strengthen contractions (mw tip that helped a lot when mine slowed)

Acupressure points are worth knowing- especially the ones in the lower back

Create a space that you can retreat to, alone and dark if you want to- all the people around the house really bothered me.

Ice or lemonade icepops in the freezer in case you can't handle food but need some energy or something cold to chomp on

Old towels

stewed fruit for afterwards

and good luck!

[ILikeToMoveItMoveIt]

Have a plastic jug in the bathroom. The feeling of having warm water washed down your back can be soothing.

A bucket/container for the placenta.

Put a towel under you wherever you sit or lay for the first 24 hours when the lochia flow is the heaviest.

Good luck

[crunchingautumnleaves]

Definitely get in a bundle of cheap towels (making floors comfy/sitting on post birth etc). I found the nelson's yellow homeopathic kit or childbirth really helpful at certain points (though get your birth partner to read through the contained info cos you don't want to think about what you need if you need something whilst in the labour zone). Have you read up about delayed cord clamping (not clamping til iy finished pulsating)? This is really key as it helps the baby get all its blood (not lose a load caught in the clamped cord). Also, if your baby has any problems breathing, it means they're still getting some oxygen via the placenta (whilst cord still pulsating). I loved little cartons of apple juice w straws. Also found those fruit pouches (baby food) a great source o quick, easy, natural energy. Have a hospital bag packed just in case you need to transfer during or just after. Be prepared for things to be different - it may be that this time you don't want to birth on the bath, so just keep listening to your body & go with the flow. Have you read Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Childbirth? Great tips in their as well as many inspirational stories from one of the world's leading MWs. If you're not getting the support you need from tour MW or birth partner or anyone else involved, speak up. Perhaps the best thing I could have done first time round was to tell the MW who turned up tired & I felt v unsupported by to go to another room and leave me to it until I needed her for the birth itself. Also, know that you can opt for no or minimal VEs. A good MW should be able to judge progress by other things - physical changes to you, how you're behaving etc Hope this helps and sorry if any of this is 'small stuff'. Do keep us updated!

[izzyishavingababyAGAIN]

thanks everyone, this is great, I don't want any VE unless necessary, midwife can stay in hall, or my room, or downstairs on sofa.

DD had cord around her neck twice, it was the oxygen she got through cord that kept her alive really, we were very lucky!

I have read Ina May, and Jane Balasaka, but not this time around, I gave my copies away as I wasn't expecting to have another DC, this DC is much wanted though - but there has been a lot going on and it is only now there is only a few weeks to go that I am beginning to focus on birth.

Iliketo, yes I used the shower head to run warm water over my belly last time (I thought I was being a wimp - until DDs head appeared I had no idea I was in 3rd stage labour!)

[crunchingautumnleaves]

The somersault manoeuvre is worth reading up on also. Not all MWs know this, so I'd be tempted to have the diagrams and instructions available & get them to read it when they arrive, in case cord is around neck again but it's preventing birth happening. It's a way of allowing the child still to be born leaving cord intact! If you want to reread Ina May it's available on iBooks & I think Kindle too. Remember her thing of blowing raspberries/mooing to relax the cervix. Also saying 'huuuuuge' when baby coming out is amazing at aiding you in 'pushing' naturally. Something you may not have come across is using a rebozo (long shawl) during labour. They're also great for belly binding afterwards to aid postpartum recovery. That page also shows how a rebozo can give useful support during pregnancy, especially in the heavy bump days. It's useful too for keeping your little one in an optimal position with head on cervix (after first child, there's more room usually for baby to flomp forward as it were, which can result in stop/go sets of contractions). There may be more that springs to my mind, so will add if and when that happens.

[Robbabank]

Yes Ina May is on Kindle - I re-read her for every birth and it was lovely to re-read ; ) Blowing Raspberries and doing Horselips and general 'coming dowwwwn' visualisations were great for my births too (3 @ home). Do you have a tens machine? I liked it. But then I liked/needed good MW massage on my lower back during contractions too, and not everyone does. We put 2 layers of old sheets on the bed for lochia and spit ups and milk and all that once baby was born. I had a salt bath with lavender after she was born (and was happily sleeping) and that cleaned me up and helped me to relax the shoulders etc. It sounds like you have things covered. What else. Have some meals prepped in advance in the freezer and have some favourite, easily digested foods on hand for pre-labour and post labour (i wanted bacon butties and strong tea). I got calendula tincture from the chemist and used this diluted in water to make a sitz bath over the loo to sit in to help heal a natural tear (no stitches). Not really birth related, but can I share with you a new tip from the MW who attended my latest birth? You may already know this but for the heel prick test, fill a pampers nappy with quite warm water and wrap the baby's heel in it and keep your hand around it to warm the heel for about 10 mins before the heel prick test. This helps the blood to flow better as the foot is already nice and warm so MW doesn't have to squeeze and squeeze to get blood out. And I breastfed while she did the heel prick and it was much more peaceful for baby and she didn't notice the heel prick happening.

Good luck and happy birthing.

[ILikeToMoveItMoveIt]

I must stop reading this. It makes me want to have another home water birth

[Robbabank]

Sorry to ask this, you may already have researched it fully and have agreement from MW etc, but can the baby be safely born in a bath? I had a great little birth pool from www.madeinwater.co.uk/ but I thought there had to be a certain volume of water for baby to be birthed safely in water. Of course perhaps your bath can accomodate this, just checking!

[izzyishavingababyAGAIN]

No I would imagine they won't let me deliver in bath - although I delivered DD stood up in it - I couldn't physically get out - dh literally caught her on her way out a few more minutes and I would have been completely alone.

I am seeing midwife today to make an appointment for her to come over and I can see there being a fight on my hands - but I did it last time - albeit by accident.

My bath is 10 inches wider and slightly deeper than a normal bath but not much.

[izzyishavingababyAGAIN]

bah have just come from midwife and started a new thread about breech if anyone has any ideas.

SOB

[Robbabank]

Oh crap I'm sorry to hear that. What a bummer. You could try to find out more about the Webster technique. It's a technique practised by Chiropractors with the aim of turning breech babies. I swear by Chiropractic for my ailments, but you have to shop around to find a good one ; )
www.expectantmothersguide.com/cleveland/articles/webster.htm