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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

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Original poster

Natural third stage or the jab?

28 replies

ThreeWheelsGood · 25/09/2012 06:45

Anyone have any advice? Just moved hospital (35 wks) and told by midwife they always as standard allow the placenta to be birthed naturally, takes up to an hour of waiting. I'd read everywhere else they give a jab to speed up the process,.so it takes ten mins - they'll do the jab on request. Which is better?

OP posts:

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mom2rhysnruby · 25/09/2012 08:47

I had the jab and didnt even notice the 3rd stage, i did have an epidural and was pretty out of it though lol x

Dorisday13 · 25/09/2012 08:57

My midwife suggested a natural 3rd stage for me as I'm rh negative, I think the jab also can suppress breast feeding hormones is you'd like to do that. There is also an article by Sarah Buckley which may be worth a google

CherryBlossom27 · 25/09/2012 08:57

Hi OP, I had opted for a natural 3rd stage, but after sitting on a potty type thing for 45 minutes I just got bored! I asked the mw for the injection and delivered the placenta 10 minutes later. She said they only let you go an hour and then suggest the injection.

Next time I'll go straight for the injection so I can cuddle the baby longer!

CherryBlossom27 · 25/09/2012 08:58

Oh, and get my cup of tea quicker ;)

Badgerina · 25/09/2012 10:52

I wanted a totally natural 3rd stage with DS1, but I ended up having a combination. The placenta was delivered naturally (took 20 minutes), with cord cut after it had stopped pulsating. The MW then decided to give me the jab because I felt "dizzy" (I wasn't, I was just emotionally overwhelmed).

The jab made me feel like utter SHIT, and gave me heinously bad after pains. I wouldn't have it again unless absolutely medically necessary.

If you have any sort of intervention (forceps etc) or if the 2nd stage is long and drawn out, or very, very quick I think it is wise to have the jab though. The things I've just mentioned can disrupt your body's ability to begin the "shutting down" process in your uterus which can lead to excessive bleeding.

If you're keen to delay the cord clamping (so that baby can get all of his blood back) then hold off with the jab until after you cut and clamp.

EdMcDunnough · 25/09/2012 10:56

I usually go for the natural option if there's a choice, but last time I had a home birth and started bleeding loads and they had to give me the injection, which thankfully stopped it within about 30 seconds.

It's a half hour transfer here so there were some relieved midwives and I'd thought I was going to die.

This time I intend to have the injection in anticipation. I don't think it made me feel any worse than I already did, not sure, but I was fine to breastfeed (and kept going for 4 1/2 years!)

EdMcDunnough · 25/09/2012 10:57

My labour was very quick - interesting, maybe that was part of the problem.

Original poster

ThreeWheelsGood · 25/09/2012 17:28

Thanks for the replies. I think if possible I'll wait and try the natural route, I imagine they'll offer the jab after an hour if no progress.

Just hasn't thought about it as assumed I'd automatically get the jab, but this hospital has different policy!

OP posts:

LonelyCloud · 25/09/2012 17:36

I didn't even know you could choose!

I was given the jab without any kind of discussion at all beforehand (no excessive bleeding on my part either). I'm wondering now if they were supposed to ask?

CherryBlossom27 · 25/09/2012 20:48

Just wanted to add the mw at my antenatal class told us to put to in our birth plan of we wanted the jab or not. I don't know how my mw had time to read my birth plan, but she did and was brilliant!

DM was asking my community mw about it at a routine check up as she'd never heard of it and the mw told her they used to give you the jab without asking/telling you poor DM looked a bit shocked! :)

Badgerina · 25/09/2012 21:05

That's not the half of it Cherry! My mum had 4 episiotomies without being "asked", DH's aunty was given Pethidine without consent, and my grandmother was given "Twilight Sleep" and had twin boys pulled out of her, whilst she lay drugged

Women used to have it SO BAD. We are so bloody lucky that we have the care we get these days. It's not perfect by any means, but flipping heck...

kate2boysandabump · 25/09/2012 21:20

I've done it both ways, the first time I had the jab and had a horrible reaction, palpitations and headaches, I know it was the jab as it was the only medication I had. So the second time I didn't have it and felt so much better after the birth, it didn't take very long for the placenta to come away and I don't recall there being much difference in blood loss.

CherryBlossom27 · 26/09/2012 08:45

Badgerina that's awful! DM thinks the whole antenatal care and actual birth is much much better and was really impressed, but she thinks it would be better to stay in hospital longer after having a baby and rest rather than being at home trying to do things which I kind of agree with. She also thinks the HV's she had were a million times better than the service we have now.

Thumbwitch · 26/09/2012 08:50

I had already agreed to the jab in my birth plan after hearing that it had taken up to an hour for friends to deliver their placenta, but I'm pretty sure it was less than 10 minutes after DS was born that it came out! The MWs were only there for DS's final push (half hour stage 2) and although they did give me the jab, the MW just reeled the placenta out of me straight afterwards so I don't know if I actually would have needed it or not. Didn't have much blood loss after (and I'm Rh negative as well)

PiggyMad · 26/09/2012 19:34

I thought I would have the injection, but at the time of the birth I was obsessively (and randomly) telling the midwife I didn't want to be sick (!) so she advised against it. The placenta didn't take long to come out and we had delayed clamping and cord cutting too. Im also Rh- -not sure why this makes a difference to the 3rd stage? MW got cord blood fine (unfortunately I needed another stingy injection!)

puds11 · 26/09/2012 19:37

I had the jab and it did nothing. My placenta came half away, then i lost a lot of blood. However i don't know for sure if it would have been worse without the jab.

I think it takes longer to come out without the jab.

SchrodingersMew · 26/09/2012 19:45

I can't remember if I had the jab, I was so out of it for some reason but I do remember the Dr really pushing down on my stomach.

EleanorHandbasket · 26/09/2012 19:51

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ThatBintAgain · 26/09/2012 19:54

I had two HBs and a natural third stage both times. The first time wasn't too bad but the second time it took ages and to be honest I wish I'd just had the jab and got it over with!

nextphase · 26/09/2012 20:09

If your unsure, you can always delay the injection, and wait and see what happens. You can opt in at any point if you want to get things moving.

Tho I might well be bias, as my natural third stage took about 4 mins according to my notes - so fast the paramedics were still looking up if they could give it to me if there was no immediate need, such as heavy blood loss.

ballroompink · 27/09/2012 09:47

I chose to have a natural third stage. It took 27 minutes - towards the end they were encouraging me to focus on pushing it out as apparently they would give me 30 minutes before giving me the jab anyway?! Having just pushed a baby out I couldn't really feel what was going on down there. The midwife told me that if I stood up it would probably fall out, so I did. And it did. Lovely. No problems whatsoever though. Intact, average blood loss.

imustbepatient · 27/09/2012 12:28

For my first DC I had on my birth plan that I wanted to deliver the placenta naturally, however labour had been long, hard and ended with ventouse etc (a whisker from EMCS) so the midwife recommended I had the jab instead, which I happily agreed too.

It came out so easily I barely noticed and I had no nausea or other affects from the jab, despite knowing I get nauseous with things like general anaesthetic (the reason I'd gone for natural third stage in the birth plan). DC2 is due in a few weeks and I think I'll just go straight for the jab this time.

RhinestoneCowgirl · 27/09/2012 12:34

I had physiological third stage both times. Had wanted delayed cord clamping first time but DS had a ridiculously short cord and so MW cut and clamped so that I could give him his first feed. It took about 20 mins, was just starting to discuss having the jab (was knackered) when it came.

Second time I remember a slightly undignified squat over a kidney dish while I fed DD who still had her cord attached. Again placenta came within 30 mins.

Dorisday13 · 27/09/2012 16:09

Piggy mad, it's to do with if you early cord clamp then there is a much higher risk of foetal-maternal transfusion hence increased risk of sensitisation and antibody formation if your baby is rh +

lazzaroo · 27/09/2012 20:04

I just remember thinking 3rd stage was no big deal last time & that it would happen easily. It didn't! Labour was pretty straightforward for first time. I ended up with retained placenta & cord snapping. Had the jab as things weren't happening quickly enough & I was losing blood. Ended up have placenta removed manually...with no pain relief (just gas & air). Was worse than delivery! And if it happens this time (it's what I'm dreading most!) they'll have to drug me!

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