I’m a midwife, ask me anything

[CatchingBabies]

Seeing as this has become a theme recently I’m jumping on the bandwagon because I need a distraction from my new house that is slowly becoming the worst decision I ever made.

Soooo I’m a midwife ask me anything! (Dons hard hat)

@TTCI water births can be lovely no matter what number baby it is. Although I do have a bug bear that we are constantly told about good back care and to bend with our knees etc. on training days and then are expected to spend hours leaning over a high sided pool, always have a sore back after a pool delivery. Love them all the same however!

@cornishmumtobe I have a post up on the property and DIY section. Basically my new build garden has enough manholes for someone to live full time in the sewers!

@QuilliamCakespeare @CatchingBabies thank you :D x

OP my mum had some of her children in Africa in the 60's. The nurses were amazed that she lay on the bed and told her to stand up. Does gravity help? Sorry to torture you. Your post is incredibly popular but poor you having to answer so many questions.

It's like you are on Mastermind! Thanks for being so kind with your time.

@housemover18 I have delivered one baby that had Down’s syndrome and was undiagnosed antenatally. The first thing I said was congratulations, she’s perfect. Because she was! The language we use surrounding disabilities needs a whole reconsider as some of it is very negative. In terms of risk / chance that’s not our decisison and has to be a trust decisison but I do agree with you. It may no longer be a consideration as we are looking to launch the Harmony tests as part of the NHS services which I think is rather sad, currently 99% of babies diagnosed with T21 are terminated. If we increase diagnostic rates at a much earlier gestation when women havnt really bonded with their baby we will increase that termination rate and I find it really sad that we will basically eliminate Down’s syndrome as I’m a strong believer that we need all kinds of people for society to function.

@lauraisadiamond I meant more do they know what caused that clot? Sometimes it’s a clotting disorder, sometimes it’s pre-eclampsia, sometimes no cause is known. Either way your risk of it occurring again will be higher but they will be looking closely for any signs.

@CatchingBabies what a great thread! How worried should I be about raised Doppler readings? It was picked up on a growth scan I had on Thursday at 36+3, and have to go back again on Thursday at 37+3 to get checked again. Have tried to do some reading about it, but it's all quite Medical and confusing!

Sorry if this is similar to a previous question. My first labour didn't progress well and ended in an EMCS. I'm just under 5 feet tall and my baby was back to back. If I get pregnant again, do you think I'd be offered a planned CS? I'm kind of convinced that I'm not really built for giving birth vaginally and am terrified of ending up with permanent damage.

@battleofthebeanfield I am so so sorry that is disgusting treatment and it’s awful that happened to you. It is very bad practice and should not happen. I’d like to say it’s not common as I’ve never seen that happen and I would never myself do it but no one really knows what other midwives are doing or saying behind closed doors. I hope you complained however.

Sorry CatchingBabies that was supppsed to say that my DD was diagnosed ante-natally - fat fingers!!

Actually I had a one-in-three chance of DS at the 12 week scam and went on to have the harmony test on the NHS so I have someone mixed feelings about the test. I’m not against its use but feel that needs to be coupled with better general education of what it’s like to have a child with DS in the modern age.

I found this; "Laws and regulations governing the practice of midwifery are rapidly changing. Certified Nurse-Midwives (CNMs) and Certified Midwives (CMs) are regulated on the state level, thus professional practice and interaction with other health care professionals, such as physicians, can vary from state to state. CNMs are legally recognized to practice in every state in the US and in the District of Columbia. CMs are currently legally recognized to practice in New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Delaware, Maine and Missouri”.

My second birth was wife a nurse midwife. She worked out of a gyn/ob’s practice. I never saw the doctor during check ups, I saw only the midwife. During my VBAC labor things went very wrong and she had to yell down the hallway to the ob, he was on his way home - she just caught him going out the door. That was the first time I ever met him. He came in and quickly called out down the hallway to get the operating room ready “stat”. Very disappointing, but all’s well that ends well.

@quilliamcakesspeare my first was in hospital, my second i was rushed in an ambulance to hospital and he arrived seconds after I was wheeled into the room and my third I was induced so in the hospital already. I don’t think the midwife would have got to me on time even if I did have home births.

I had an emergency cesearean which required wrigleys forceps. Was my baby stuck I had a severe infection after the same as your worst experience. MRSA but a long time ago

@chasingcars123 yes gravity helps, being on your back in labour is the worst thing you can do. Google why do women give birth on their back it will shock you! Spoiler alert for those who don’t want to google. It’s a because a man wanted a better view!

I have pcos. The doctor said it was caused by that and is a variant of pre eclampsia but my blood pressure was fine!

@flatwhite32 try not to worry and don’t read the scare stories just know that most things are at their most dangerous when we don’t know about them. Now that they know they will monitor closely and act if they need to x

@cattenburg you will be given the choice, previous EMCS is an indication for a subsequent ELCS so you can choose to do whatever you prefer.

If you thought a midwife was doing a bad job what could you do? Do you have a process for raising concerns?

Thank you catching babies.

I had a debrief when I was requesting my ELCS. We went through my notes then - including that the m/w was recording that I was in no pain even though I was begging for pain relief and she was refusing (and took the gas and air off me as well).

No. I didn't complain. I swallowed the line that they knew best and I was just shit at pushing, an all round shit mother and a shit human being altogether.

Weirdly, after the Obstetrician delivered my DD with forceps she told my DH that I would never have delivered her on my own.

DD's head had an enormous haematoma on it for several weeks where I was wedging her more tightly in the wrong place with my "rubbish pushing" and she was the most fractious and unsettled baby for 6 months.

My ELCS two years later was the most divine experience and I was listened to and cared for throughout and DD2 was an oasis of calm in comparison to her sister.

I think midwives do an incredible job and I;m still really sad about my experience.

No. I didn't complain. It was all my own fault, after all. For not being good at it and wanting pain relief.

.. bat low will come back

@charilais the problem is in the UK midwives are not nurse/midwives. It used to be the case that you trained as a nurse first and then you converted to midwifery. Now you just train to be a midwife so my degree for example isn’t legal in the USA.

Why was I induced at 8cm when my contractions stopped from exhaustion? Why couldn't I just sleep for a bit? It's when everything in my labour became a nightmare

My second baby was almost born in the sac and both the midwives (it was a HB) got very excited (and then a bit disappointed!). Are you a superstitious bunch and do you think it's lucky?

Hi op;

Is the m/c rate for cvs / Amnio really 1%? or is it ( in reality ) much higher? - or lower?

Have you seen many m/c after these procedures?
Thank you.

@lauraisdiamond I’ve never heard of a link between PCOS and pre-eclampsia that doesn’t mean there isn’t one it’s just outside of my remit and training sorry