SO FED UP. yesterday I could have a home water birth. MW just rang to see i cant

[no1putsbabyinthecorner]

She said although they have been having meetings regarding HB/WAter Birth. She didnt realize that I couldnt actually deliver in the water. As the hospital doesnt currently do water births but will be soon, No one is qualified to actually deliver in the water so will have to get out.
My options are
Still have HB just use pool for a while then get out to deliver.
(Cant see how as I couldnt even move to feel baby head last time)

Go to the hospital I went to last time as they do water birth. (couldnt in end as had meconium.)

Or she said there is a MW out of my area who they could contact to see if she would be willing to come out to me.

Apparently she specializes in WB.
But cant guarentee she will be available for my due date, or if she is obviously her clients come first. (She is not independant BTW)

I told her I would like her to try for her.

Just feeling really fed up now, I was so excited and relieved yesterday when She agreed. As I got fobbed off last time.

I am nearly 35 weeks and she said she doesnt know how long it will take to get back to me regarding this other MW but she wanted to put me in the picture.

Any advice greatly recieved.
Thanks

[no1putsbabyinthecorner]

No there is no pool at my local hospital which is why they are not trained. Also why I went to a hospital outside my area last time.
Unfortunatly I had meconium in my waters so didnt get to use the pool in the end.
So thought I would try at home this time.
The MW did say that obviously they couldnt drag me out of the pool but it was down to me re safety/consequences etc....

She asked me how I felt about getting out to deliver, I told her I was worried about tearing again. I know theres no guarentee I wont but less chance in water.

She replied well if your in the water we cant guard/protect your perenium as we cant see what is happening. So there could be an increased chance of tearing.

If this is so why did I tear last time on dry land with two MW delivering me

How are you BTW was reading your thread regarding the meeting you had yesterday. Been thinking about you xx

[feb]

no1, if the MW holds a mirror under you while you're delivering the head they will be able to tell you when to pant etc and guard your perineum
x

[no1putsbabyinthecorner]

Oh thanks for that. will get one ready.

[ilovemydog]

Riven is right - what would happen if you had home birth and, um, oops, delivered in water?

Would a midwife really argue with a mum in labor?

[PortAndLemon]

Still have a HB. If you want to deliver in the water, they can't exactly drag you out of the pool if you want to stay put.

[lulumama]

your hospital should have dealt with that when you initially wanted a home water birth, they could have ensured more community MWs were trained up

ww.aims.org.uk and www.homebirth.org.uk can help with this

you can simply refuse to get out of the pool at home...

it is quite ridicolous that hospitals offer home birth , where a lot of women will want a pool, and yet don;t have the trained MWs

[no1putsbabyinthecorner]

Well I m just gonna go for it then. I ordered my pool anyway and I definatley want to be at home (if all goes well)

If they get the other experienced MW to agree to come to me then great, but if not will just use my pool as and when and just see how it goes.
She did say she couldnt force me to get out.
Thanks for your replies.

[lulumama]

BTW, there is ample evidence that water supports the perineum and softesn the tissues making tearing less likely. guarding the perienum has been shown to have pretty much nil effect i thought, HOOP trial i think.

anyhoo, your birth, your call, if you want to make an informed decision to declien leaving the pool then go for it

[igod]

I am pretty sure that if they can't supply a midwife to support you then the trust has to pay for an Independent Midwife - check on AIMS website.

Don't roll over and play dead, they have an obligation to you

[Snaf]

It's not your problem. The mws should be competent in facilitating waterbirths - they should have had the theoretical training even if they haven't had the practice.

It's insane that they should say they 'can't' deliver you in the water - it's part of their job description to be competent in this area. You don't need someone who 'specialises' in waterbirth - they are being ridiculous.

It's crazy that you should have to, but perhaps you might want to suggest that they get trained up pdq - they only need a one study day!

Contact AIMS if you want some more support - they are v good with stuff like this.

[lulumama]

i know a place in the north west that does water birth training for MWs

[Snaf]

This is what gets me so cross, though. Tbh, waterbirth training isn't rocket science. It's pretty straightforward (leave the baby alone, basically!)

There is no excuse for a qualfied mw to say she can't facilitate you to deliver in water, even if she hasn't actually done it before. Grrrr.

[lulumama]

we need to clone you, mintpurple and mears, then all our troubles would be over !

[Snaf]

I think your troubles might be just beginning if you cloned me

[no1putsbabyinthecorner]

Thank you all.
It has been difficult to book in for HB any early than this week as no one would discuss it as they said I need to get to 37 weeks anyway.
Another thing is your antenatal appointments are that few you dont get chance to.
Have seen a few stand in MW this time who couldnt answer any of my questions/queries at all.

So I asked my questions on here and got answers.
Thanks all again, I just need to calm down and not get so upset only got 2 weeks to get to 37.

[madmouse]

Goodness me, my midwife offered to help me deliver in the bath fgs.

I would refuse to get out of the bath. I mean, apart from watching bub's temperature and the obvious signs of distress what is so tecnical about it.

[thisisyesterday]

I never told my midwife I had a birth pool,.

the midwives were quite surprised when they arrived lol.
they were, thankfully, fine with it though

[lbs]

while labouring in water is well established to be safe, delivering in water does carry risks for the baby. it would certainly increase the risks further if the midwives delivering you were not competent/confident in this. it sounds like they are acting in the best interests of your baby- and i suspect those suggesting you refuse to leave the pool are not.

[electricluluarella]

what are the risks to the baby?

i have done an awful lot of reading about water birth, and it all seems beneficial to baby and mother

a MW has already commented on this thread that midwifes will be trained in the theory of water birth

i don;t see why women should be denied the birth of their choice due to MWs not being trained/ supportive

all trusts should ensure that their MWs are competent and trained in all sorts of births, not just dry land hospital births

[lbs]

The risks to the baby partly relate to the risk of water aspiration- which can lead to pneumonia, water intoxication, ischaemic encephalopathy and electrolyte inbalances- and also to practical difficulties if there is a problem with delivery that necessitates good access to the perineum- problems like shoulder dystocia happen quickly and need to be dealt with even quicker- not easy getting a pushing mother from pool to dry land quickly.
Trained in the theory of water birth is a lot different to being experienced in the practice- who would want their baby to be a guinea pig?
It sounds as though in the OPs situation, things arent at all well set up for her to have a safe water birth- so instead of encouraging her to take risks, how about offering her some supportive advice about alternatives?

[electricluluarella]

well, i have offered several other supportive posts on this thread under my usual nickname of lulumama

i think that the onus is on the trust to provide midwives who can adeqautely support any mother.. waterbirth is not new. vast majority of hospitals have pools and it is reasonable to presume lots of women booking homebirths will want a pool, so why not train the MWS?

i am sure that all those things you list can go wrong, and are worst case scenarios, serious ones, and no doubt the OP is aware of risks.

shoulder dystocia can also happen on dry land, and is quite small risk, around 1% IIRC

all births have risks, hospital births, home births, water births, dry land births, BBAs, but womens' needs and their birth preferences should never be limited by lack of training of their MWs, surely it is reasonable if home births are requested that MWs are able to facilitate that birth in water, in the bath or on the bed or lounge floor or wherever

it is grossly unfair that the onus is put on women to find either an IM or have their birth on someone elses terms.

[electricluluarella]

sorry, in my previous post, i did not wish to imply water birth is risk free. as i said, no birth is risk free. i think it is valuable to always look at the positives and negatives, but also that the mothers' birth preferences should respected too. it was not so long ago that women had enemas, shaves and were out of it with opiates for their labour, whether they wanted it or not! women should be able to labour on their own terms, where it is practical. and water birth is not a far out and unreasonable niche birth, but a popular one, that no doubt more owmen would go for if it was facilitated better

[lbs]

fair enough, i agree that there are pros and cons to every option, and hope that all mums considering water birth are aware of them. at least getting out before pushing avoids the lovely 'fishing poo out of the pool with a sieve' antics

[fordfiesta]

Have you not got a birthing centre locally..... not quite home but should have birthing pool and trained staff there! I can't believe your hospital does not offer water birth, think i am lucky that our community midwives (and in fact local hospital) seem totally pro home births etc.