BROOKING NO ARGUMENT for pain-free sneeze births and an abundance of empty birthing pools - pt 12!

[FluffyJawsOfDoom]

I think this is the first time I've ever started a brooking thread!

Hello! just popping in to say congrats to munx and loopy, hope you are both enjoying newborn snuggles at this very minute.
Fluff I hope you are enjoying your freedom and good luck to you and cakes on your imminent arrivals.....

Stacks, that must be hard getting some family pressure about how to give birth. Remember that you will just do what you need to do to have a healthy baby at the end of it. Far, far, far more babies have been saved and are alive because of forceps than those harmed by it.

Epidurals don't increase your risk of C-section either.

There are some good information leaflets about pain relief in labour here. (One of my anaesthetist friends sent me the link when I was at NCT classes.)

I'll put my teachery voice away now, Stacks, but I would just really encourage you to keep your options open. However you give birth to this baby, you have got to be proud of yourself and we will be proud of you and I hope your (and your husband's family) will be proud of you too. If you are calling out for a CS and epidural within 10 minutes, we won't mind. You do what you need to do to have a healthy baby and a healthy mother.

I was totally surprised that TENS actually worked and it kept me going for hours! I'm definitely going to get my own one for next time.

Bartlett To be honest I put the pressure on myself where family are concerned. They've never said anything to me about not having forceps; there's just been a few times over the last couple of years where someone has said "You know why grandad's eye is like that right?".

DH was also born by CS after 3 days in labour, and MIL being rushed from the local hospital to the specialist centre, in the middle of the night with the old blues and twos. So I know there wouldn't be any pressure not to have a CS.

I am keeping an open mind about everything, but also trying to be certain about my preferences. I found it hard recovering from the bowel resection I had in 2009 - painkillers don't work well for me, and I was in hospital longer than expected recovering. I ended up on lots of morphine (which I hated, it made the room spin, I couldn't concentrate on anything, couldn't sleep, had no appetite...), but was still in pain.

I think they questioned the amount I was having, as they took me off the self administer drip and on to tablets. I could set my watch by the intensity with which the pain returned after each dose, but in the end was told I had to put up with it. I also had horrible waking nightmares after the surgery and just found the whole experience pretty bad. So.. not wanting a CS is kind of not wanting to repeat that. I wouldn't refuse one, I just want to do everything within my power not to have to have one. Does that make sense?

Streaming cold, horribly busy, not read back to catch up sorry! Will do a proper post later.

Just wanted to say to tock - one of my friends has trained as a doula (she is also an excellent reflexologist) and does placenta encapsulation for her clients. I know it sounds like big-time hippy-woo, but both my hospital mw (before referral to HB team) and HB mw have told me that it has real health benefits and I should give it a go. So I probably will!

And it means I don't have to keep it in the freezer, as she takes if away and does all the icky stuff in a controlled environment herself! My friend that is, not the mw .

Stacks, gosh, that sounds hard. But that was because we didn't know you to be Brooking for you that time! This time, there will lots of Brooking and therefore no messing!

Just read again about tock's placenta - if I wasn't feeling queasy enough already! I had already agreed that DS's placenta could be used in a study but I am not sure I could have then or now considered placental encapsulation!

Hey, at least I'm not going to do a Hugh F-W and fry it up for tea

Didn't he make it into a pate for his DC's christening lunch? I remember him saying it was something his vegan friends could eat...

OMG placenta encapsulation!!!!
I have also agreed that St marys can have mine, they are doing some sort of study into heparin, mcs and placentas etc

Right, has anyone got any tips for feet in ribs? I am so uncomfortable, feels like she might crack them. I know its a great position for her to be in but still, 7 weeks to go and I can barely sit still at my desk and have had to take my bra off.

I kept my first placenta in the freezer for ages. It was fascinating (but none of my friends would eat in the house in case I served it to them).

We eventually decided against eating it, and thought we would bury it on the allotment and plant a tree on top (hippies that we are). Unfortunately we didn't defrost it first and it killed the tree. Still, at least it didn't kill any of our friends.

They look like this, btw - not at all grim. They're dehydrated (I forget what the process she uses is) and look like any other health food capsule. There is no way I could cook and eat actual placenta pate! That was on TV Dinners, wasn't it Bartlet?

I know it seems really icky, but tbh the health benefits (according to both midwives, proven, but I'm going to read up on that) seem to be worth it.

I've had a look on PudMed (the big database of all the peer-reviewed journal articles) for you, smegs, and found little evidence but these papers when searching for "placental ingestion" (nothing came up for placental encapsulation). I'd be fascinated if you come up with anything more concrete (not saying that in a cheeky way, I'd be genuinely fascinated while being a bit horrified ).

Placentophagia in humans and nonhuman mammals: causes and consequences.

I did also find an article, which I think has great significance to us all! Physiology of a microgravity environment selected contribution: effects of spaceflight during pregnancy on labor and birth at 1 G.

Yep, I am a proper scientist!

Oh Whims - I am disappointed in you; I would have thought you were an expert in defrosting matter, placental or otherwise. Anyway - our grapevine looks v happy so it has served a second purpose. Placentas do amaze me. In some (less developed country) they are treated with reverence as a 'second child'. My cord also had an interesting kink in it that MW took great pleasure in exploring.

Waves to all. DS has just been the biggest party pest ever at his mate's 3rd birthday. I can't even begin to list his crimes... ah well. It will be much more fun with two to keep an eye on. Four in Whim's case...

I had my 36wk mw appt today (at 36+5) It was meant to be to discuss birth plan but mw was running late and I had work so we only got about half way. I see her again at 38+3. All is well baby 2.5/5 engaged so I guess that is proper half and half
Anyhow according to mw the number of mw's for the county (a very rural county which has more sheep than people) is a little on the low side, so when I go into labour the on call mw may come from one of 3 birth centres and effectively I have the choice of going to any of those three birth centres or to stay at home. This has rather put my head in a spin. When I first got pg I only wanted a hospital birth but I realised how nice the closest birth centre was so decided I was happy with that. I never considered or even really wanted a home birth and I still don't think I do. The next nearest birth centre has a pool which as I don't like water i'm not interested in. Then the third birth centre is three times the distance away. I know that there could be bigger problems than location but at this moment this is interfering with my inner calm.
What would you guys suggest/ think if you were in same position?

Loving the labour talk, boaking over the placentas a bit though!!

Thanks for sharing your birth plan far. I totally agree about the no intervention bit - it seems a bit to even put it down doesn't it! I have feet in my ribs too, but can't offer anything but sympathy, it's most uncomfortable:)ut I've had it weeks now and haven't found anything to help

I'm on my phone so can't scroll back while I write, but big to everybody :) I'm enjoying my time off immensely and carpet is being laid in baby's room tomorrow which means we (well, Dh) can then put furniture up and I can unpack all her things and start washing her clothes etc - exciting!

cakes if there's no difference in the service they offer and the nearest one is nice, I'd go for that one personally - simplest all round and least likely to disrupt your inner zen when contractions start if you know it's just around the corner :)

Just to confuse things I was thinking over night- nothing better to do when your awake at 4am and the body is refusing to allow you to go back to sleep. I realised my issues on home birth were based on the tale of a local girl who gave birth on the toilet cause the mw who did her assessment believed she was ages away and left her even tho the girl was saying she needed to poo. Also if something like that happened and the mw wasn't there what would happen if cord was round baby's neck... Apart from that my overnight thinking made me wonder if home birth could be an option after all. Any thoughts and experiences definitely welcome

Fluffy sounds good with your nursery, it is so nice seeing it take shape and there is something so lovely about washing the clothes although realising how tiny baby will be is a bit strange glad your enjoying your time off!

Hi Cakes - it sounds like you'd be happiest at your nearest birth centre for your first baby. As everyone is probably bored of hearing, I'm a great advocate of homebirth but advise 2 things: 1) you feel well informed and confident about giving it your best shot (and bear in mind that you may have to transfer to hospital anyway, and nothing wrong with that); 2) your partner has to be right behind you with no major worries and has to be educated about the role of a HB partner. We had a HB in a pool with DS (first baby), but I knew from the get-go that's what I wanted and I read a lot of natural birth books; I also paid for a v experienced independent MW (lucky old me - this was expensive but worth it IMHO). I also did a hypnobirthing course and lots of yoga in preparation. All this might have been futile, of course - it really does seem a bit of a lottery as to whether you actually get to birth at home. I just happened to get lucky and had a peaceful, drug-free birth, no G&A. My MW (at 4am when contractions were close and regular) refused to believe as I was in labour and so we rang her again at 7am when DS had pretty much crowned and I held off pushing (in the pool - I think this helped control it all). He was born about an hour after she turned up with the cord round his neck but she was v calm and just flipped it out of the way. There was no panic or worry or even sense that the MW might get it wrong... It is highly unlikely that the midwives (you get 2 NHS MWs at a HB) would miss how dilated you are and let you give birth on the loo; this could only happen in a v quick birth and the average birthing time is 12 hours. Having said that I didn't have any vaginal checks as DS had crowned by the time the MW arrived... Like I say - hard to gauge but if in your mind you really like the birth centre and aren't v sure about HB I would go with your own instincts.

Fluff - please put up pic of your nursery if you are in the mood to share. I'd love to see it.

Hand stands in the swimming pool can help shift babies in the last weeks. Hopefully they will drop down soon and your ribs will get a break.

I'll put up photos once the furniture is in tock - probably another week as have to order bed and wait for cupboard to be delivered from IKEA... we have the chest of drawers though which is the essential bit of kit :o

But OMG it's a lot paler than it looked in the shop, it's cream god knows how we'll keep it clean

We've got a (once) cream carpet in the nursery room. I'm hoping a carpet cleaner will return it to it's former glory without needing to replace it. That'll be one of my jobs to organise when I'm on holiday at the end of the month. I'm planning on emptying the room as much as possible, which will mean making a mess of the rest of the house probably.

DH is going to love me, but I just don't think it's right to use the nursery as a storage room for all the crap we don't know where else to put.

That's just what we used ours for stacks :o I thought I'd clear it in a weekend but it was so full of crap it took 3 weeks, something like 6 black bin bags, 5 charity shop bags and a tip trip for the old furniture

I've just booked a flu jab for 2 weeks before my due date. Do you think I'll get told off? I'd not been offered one I think because it's so close they don't see the point? But the leaflet says all preggos should have it whatever stage they're at and that immunity will be passed to the baby for the first few months of its life.

How long are you waiting for your appointment? You might be able to just pop into Boots to get it, that's what I did last year. Not 100% sure they'll have stock now as it's not really flu jab season, but might be worth looking into.

As for being told off, just ignore them if they do. It should be safe to have, I had to have 3 of them while immune compromised on the chemo. I've also not had a cold since then :)

Ah tock I have a very different, but equally positive HB experience / mentality. I kind of come at it in a matter of fact way, in that I'm not ill and hospitals are for ill people. I did have a birth pool for DS1&2, but had to get out first time as wasn't progressing and DS2 fell out (when I thought I was going to go to the loo cakes ) so I didn't have time to get in. But whatever the reason for wanting a HB, I totally agree about informed choice and supportive partner.

Interesting to have a kink. DS3 was born in his amniotic sac which was quite exciting. I didn't realise they were meant to be lucky, otherwise I would have kept it and sold it on ebay.

A lovely day to you all. I'm off to brunch at the embassy. Sounds glam. Won't be. I tell you, I have yet to see a Ferrero Rocher.

My mum had a really nice home birth for my youngest brother, but he was her 4th baby. I don't remember any mess involved, so maybe she only woke us kids up after waters were broken etc.

She had him laying on her bed, with quite a short and relaxed labour. She laughed all the way through the delivery, with no pain relief. My step father then popped out to the shops after to buy some beer, while my sister and I 'helped' the midwife weigh the baby.

Our names are all on his birth certificate as helping with his delivery, or something like that. I remember my mum making a point of it, but it was 18 years ago now, so I don't remember specifics.

Oh no Whims - I think we agree. Giving birth isn't an illness so why go to hospital? As well as being a hippy I'm a practical Pam. It wasn't really messy apart from the puking and squits I had when I first went into labour but not all women get that.

TTFN. Going to pick up my new improved engagement ring.