Fourth baby scared of not gettting to hospital on time....

[kgc]

This is my fourth baby and I am quite scared about not getting to the hospital on time and it ending in a neighbour or my husband if he can get back from work on time delivering the baby, what would happen do they have to pull the baby in a certain way and how do you clamp and cut the cord or do you leave it for a professional depending on how long they take to get to the house???? Any advice would be appreciated

[busyalexsmummy]

you should not touch the cord whatsoever(do not clamp it or cut it), on delivery wrap baby in clean towel and leave the cord well alone, by the time baby has been born, emergency services should be with you.
the baby shouldnt be "pulled out" if your last labour was quick as i presume from this post it was then you probably wont have any problems delivering it, just catch the baby as the head is born, as after the head it should slip out pretty quickly.
hth xx

[Mirage]

I had this worry too,but we made it just in time.I did read up on it & you don't cut or clamp the cord at all-it needs to stay attached.I was told to ring 999 if we didn't think we'd make it to hospital & they'd send an ambulance & talk whoever was with me through it.

How fast did your other babies arrive?

[starlover]

why do you think you wouldn't get to hospital???

[Miaou]

kgc, I worry about this a little, this is my third and I live quite a long way from the nearest hospital. Why not have a chat with your midwife about homebirth options? My midwife has offered to leave a "pack" with me so that if it all happens too quickly then I have all the bits I may need. Even though my intention is to make it to the hospital, it's a bit of a "safety net" for me.

[rickman]

Message withdrawn

[kgc]

hello
last baby was one hour but my midwife and everybody else!! keeps saying "oh 4th baby it will be quick hope you get to the hospital on time" so now I am very apprehensive about it....but thank you for the advice all - it really helps to know.

[ghosty]

My SIL delivered her 3rd baby on her own on the bathroom floor - it was a planned homebirth ... but seeing as it was 40 minutes from first contraction to birth even the midwife didn't get there on time ...
It is a great story ... do you want to hear it?

[Lonelymum]

I worried abut this when I had my fourth baby as the hospital was a good 30-40 minutes away but there was no problem in the end. I think you just need to act fast the minute you think anythig is starting. They won't mind if it a false alarm I'm sure.

[kgc]

Well I am a couple of days overdue now and just waiting for the event to happen. The hospital is about 6 miles away so hoping to make it if I not have some advice now which is great. I feel more nervous and anxious with this birth than I ever did with any of the others!!

First baby was 28 hour labour
2nd baby was 2 hours after water broke
3rd baby was 1 hour after water broke

So fingers crossed!!!

[kgc]

GHOSTY - tell all about what happened??

[ghosty]

OK ... just need to get a glass of wine (it is evening in NZ before you all think I have a problem) and I will settle down and post the story ....

[tabitha]

kgc,

I had exactly the same worries as you when I had number 4, especially as it was in February and the road to the hospital is not a great one. I had visions of giving birth in the car in the middle of a snowstorm.
However, after all my worries, I ended up getting to hospital fine (although we did have blizzards a couple of days later shen I got home) and labour actually lasted 12 hours, twice as long as with number three
Just to say, you can never really judge how things are going to turn out.
Good luck anyway - I'm sure that wherever you have your baby, things'll be fine.

[kgc]

Well you made me laugh then - thank you - haven't been doing much of that lately as been so fed up as to how and when this baby coming - my poor husband and children I feel sorry for them at the moment!!!! - I'll await your posting!!

Thank you one and all for your advice and messages

[kgc]

last post for Ghosty by way!!!!

[kgc]

Thanks Tabitha I am so worried about things and it may turn out completely different to the worst case senario I am thinking about!!

[zubb]

kgc - I didn't make it to hospital in time with my second, and dh delivered him in the bathroom. He phoned the ambulance control number when it became obvious that I wasn't going anywhere and they talked him through it - although to be honest when they deliver that fast then there's not much to do really. Ds2 was delivered in 2 pushes and dh just had to 'catch' him then wipe his face / airways. Then we wrapped him up and put him on my tummy while we waited for the paramedics. They were there about 5 minutes after I had him and asked us if we wanted to cut the cord! We thought we'd done enough by that time, but the midwife arrived 5 minutes after them and she cut it and helped me deliver the placenta and checked ds2. I didn't need to be transferred to hospital at all.
I'm expecting ds3 in September and so I'm going for a planned home birth!

[ghosty]

OK kqc ... got my glass of vino and so am ready to tell the story ...
SIL had had her 2nd at home (she has a fear of hospitals) and it was a fastish birth .... 4 hours or so.
With her 3rd she had her first couple of contractions and seeing as they were close and full on she put the wheels in motion ... phoned midwife, phoned friend to pick up her DDs, asked her DP (my brother) to run her a bath, set out the home birthing stuff in the living room. She got into the bath and says that as she was lying down she was cross with my brother because it wasn't full enough. So she sat up and felt a 'pop'. She knew it was her waters so she 'jumped' out of the bath as much as a heavily pregnant woman can jump out of a bath. Waters everywhere ... she knew something was going to happen soon so she called to her mother to call my brother who was putting the girls in the friend's car. My brother waved his DD's off and sauntered back into the house to hear SIL swearing her head off. He got to the bathroom in time to see SIL sitting on the floor with my nephew in her arms .
She had got out of the bath, shouted for my brother and had sat down on the very edge of the loo seat to give herself some balance and then she pushed. Out came my nephew. She noticed his cord was around his neck so she hooked her finger under it and pulled it over his head (I don't know if she was supposed to do that but she said she did it without thinking or panicking).
She says she remembers being really proud that she hadn't made too much of a mess of the bathroom. Which was funny considering what my brother did next.
She delivered the placenta after about 10 minutes and my brother tied the cord with his shoelace in two places. He then cut the cord. I know below it says that you shouldn't do that but they did what they thought was the right thing to do.
Dbro then did something very silly. He picked up the placenta and chucked it in the bath!!! They realised immediately that this wasn't a great idea because the action of it hitting the water caused the 'tidy and clean' bathroom to look like there had been a massacre! Sorry if this is TMI but the moral to that is that the placenta really needs to be in tact for the midwife etc to inspect it to check it is all there. Their midwife wasn't pleased that she couldn't check it properly.
When the midwife did finally arrive all she was in time for was the clean up operation.
Anyway all is well ... nephew is now 7 and a healthy happy little boy!

[kgc]

GHOSTY - Thanks for sharing the story. Glad that all turned out okay in the end - also what I think is if things turn out that way you just have to go with your natural instincts.

[kgc]

Thanks one and all for your messages - gave birth on friday 27th may 2005 at 04.36am in the birthing pool at my maternity unit - waters went at home after several contractions, husband was with me as it was late at night and we got to the hospital fine. Welcome to the world STOCKARD RILEY CURRIE - girl - 71b 9oz.

[pupuce]

well done.... it always works out in the end

[Mirage]

Congratulations-Welcome to the world Stockard.I'm glad it all went well for you!

[angelcakeumm]

Congratulations and welcome baby stockard

[tabitha]

Many congratulations - glad it all turned out well in the end and welcome to little Stockard.

[amandac43]

hi my midwife said the same to me as it was my third and the the other two only took 3hs 55 for the first and 2hrs 55 for the second. but i was not in labour at the time just didn't feel right so went in to be monitored and he prestow they were born.
With my last one i had in October last year 04 he was 5 days early i got up that morning after a bad nights sleep has a slight show at 8 am but no pains during the day i just had period pains nothing i couln't cope with just a dull ache. by 3 o'clock that afternoon i knew i was heading into labour so rang the hospital they told me to come in to be checked as previous fast labours. i told them i would be ther in a bit as my daughter left school at 3.25 and wanted to wait for her to get home so i called my partner at work and told him to come home well i got to the hospital at 4.10pm they examined me i wes 7cm dialated they burst my waters and john was delivered at 5.09pm.
Even though the midwife wanted me to have a home birth i am glad i said no as john had the cord round his neck tight so they had to cut the cord as soon as his head popped out.

[kgc]

Thanks everyone.