can anybody share their experience of a physiological third stage?

[whenskiesaregrey]

That's it really. Hoping for a home water birth and considering natural third stage. First labour was induced in hospital, so had the jab with no complications. Would like to try this labour with no pain relief other than g&a and water.

Any experiences, positive or negative welcome!

I had one with 2nd baby (I wasn't bothered tbh, but homebirth MWs on call were keen) it took about 17mins, I did have to put some effort into pushing but not as much as the birth!

DS had jaundice afterwards which my regular midwife said often happened with physiological 3rd stages because of the extra red blood cells the baby gets. No idea how true that is.

As an aside it was very sureal but quite nice to hold the chord and feel it pulsing until it stopped.

didn't see that thread Joy thanks for the link!

TeWi how do you mean it can cause more jaundice? Baby already has an increased risk due to some antibodies I'm carrying.

I honestly have no idea, that's just what she said. Maybe ask your own MW? It was mild though, he fed fine and the colour had all gone after about a month.

Okay thank you, I'll ask about it at my next appointment.

This article has lots of references to investigate further, but there seems to be a theory that (a degree of) jaundice isn't always a bad thing in newborns:

"Some studies have shown an increased risk of polycythemia (more red blood cells in the blood) and jaundice when the cord is clamped later. Polycythemia may be beneficial, in that more red cells means more oxygen being delivered to the tissues. The risk that polycythemia will cause the blood to become too thick (hyperviscosity syndrome), which is often used as an argument against delayed cord clamping, seems to be negligible in healthy babies. (Morley 1998)

Jaundice is almost certain when a baby gets his or her full quota of blood, and is caused by the breakdown of the normal excess of blood to produce bilirubin, the pigment that causes the yellow appearance of a jaundiced baby. There is, however, no evidence of adverse effects from this. (Morley 1998). One author has proposed that jaundice, which is present in almost all human infants to some extent, and which is often prolonged by breastfeeding, may actually be beneficial because of the anti-oxidant properties of bilirubin. (Gartner 1998)"

We left the cord alone until it had stopped pulsing and dd had started feeding. One of the midwives started to get a bit fussy about it when it had been nearly half an hour but the other one was really laid back. Dd stopped feeding, we cut the cord and I started to stand up to go to the loo but felt mild contractions and delivered the placenta before going.

I didn't plan a physiological 3rd stage but mentioned being scared about the jab making me sick (hate being sick - hence no pain relief as was too scared in case it made me sick ) so the midwife said let's not bother with the jab.

We left the cord to finish pulsing and it took about 40mins before a contraction came to push the placenta out. I don't really remember it, so it mustn't have been much of an effort! Placenta came away fully intact and I didn't have much heavy bleeding or clots. I would request natural 3rd stage next time too.

Baby did have jaundice for about a week too - interesting link about it anastaisia

I had a homebirth and natural 3rd stage, baby was born and I held him and tried to feed him a bit and the cord was left until it went white and then was clamped and cut, baby went to DH for cuddles and I knelt down to deliver the placenta, it came out easily and then I went to the toilet and things. Baby had a slight tinge of yellow to his skin but wasnt really jaundiced.

Hadn't heard about it with DC1 but was keen to have one with DC2 as the injection had made me so sick and dizzy. Talked it through with the MW and we agreed to have the injection ready if things weren't going to plan.

Was very quick and easy and was really glad I'd done it. Didn't have a homebirth but we have a lovely MW unit nearby and managed on G&A.

I'm sure you'll be fine too .

I had a home water birth. Waiting for the placenta was a bit boring and the midwives were putting me under unnecessary pressure (they were very anti natural anything) but it did eventually come out with me standing over a bucket! I didn't feel a contraction; it seemed to just fall out. Took about 30-40 minutes. No bleeding at all. I am very glad that I did do it naturally as the injection had made me throw up for an hour with DS1.

Thanks for all these, very helpful. Especially the info about jaundice.

I am very fortunate that my midwife is very pro homebirth, waterbirth and natural third stage. She talked about delayed cord clamping before I even mentioned it. She's not too keen on epidurals, and tbh, was a breath of fresh air after being almost bullied into an epidural (which I still declined) with my induction last time.

Cord wasn't cut until placenta was out. Didn't get out of pool until cord cut!

No blood loss at all.

Interesting about baby's blood being a bit thicker this way, particularly as vitK is given for thin blood.

It was nice just to hold my babies close right after they were born and have no-one come and disturb us to muck about and cut the cord. Both times took about 15 mins i think. It was nice just to get over the shock have a bit of a rest and not worry about it for a while.
I don't remember pushing the placenta's out, just the huge feeling of relief once they did plop out.

Unplanned home birth here. Whole labour was pretty quick, but after DS2 popped out, the paramedics started discussing if they could administer the injection for a managed 3rd stage, and placenta just came out before they had a conclusion!- it took 4 mins according to my notes, with baby on my chest.

each time: baby wrapped in towel for first feed, cord cut after stopped pulsing placenta plopped out on loo/ on inco pad.

not more painful than other after pains.

only one of mine had any sign of jaundice, and he was a winter baby with a slightly prem look to him (despite being +10 and nigh on 9lbs).

i've never had the jab so no comparison.

I wanted a physiological third stage, left the cord to stop pulsing before it was clamped but started bleeding a lot so in the end had the injection. Honestly can't remember with 2 and 3, but in each case left the cord to stop pulsing before it was clamped. Only one of them was noticeably jaundiced .All of them were a good colour and very healthy for the first few months- it made sense to me.

Thank you all for these, very helpful.

Midwife has mentioned leaving it for up to an hour before considering the jab.

Forgot to ask this in OP, but did any of you choose not to have your baby have the vit k? Midwife said its not usually necessary in births with no intervention.

4 births here and never had the injection for placenta, and not had a problem delivering it, or any hassle from MWs about waiting till cord had finished pulsing before cutting.

I've never chosen not to give vit K but with 2 youngest chose the oral route in 3 doses rather than an injection (think DD2 should have had her 3rd dose about a week ago ) as it seemed kinder, didn't realise there was a choice with PFB

DS1 had vit k, as he was ventouse delivery, and intervention is a risk factor.

DS2 didn't - I work on the basis that mother nature probably had a reason to give low vit k for some reason to babies. Tho someone has mentioned they can't absorb it properly, but surely then mother nature would have given them a store? DS1 wouldn't have had it if he'd been a natural delivery.

We did oral vitamin k too - but it was such a hassle that I wish we had either had the injection or not bothered.

I just had one three weeks ago! It took 27 minutes for the placenta to come out, and I think this was in part down to the fact I really couldn't feel much in the way of contractions or urge to push it out. The midwife was asking me to push when I felt a contraction, but I wasn't really noticing any! It was fine though; she had a look, told me she could see it, asked me to get off the bed and stand up, and it fell out. I lost an average amount of blood, there were no problems whatsoever. DS has had jaundice, but below the treatment level, and is in generally good health.