Avoiding interventions by labouring at home for as long as possible?

[musicmummytobe]

Hi all,
I was hoping for some advice. I was hoping for a birth in a birth centre but a routine scan showed slightly less growth for my baby than expected at 38 weeks, not much less and it was still growing but a little less than they like. The hospital did all the necessary tests on the placenta, heartbeat, amniotic fluid and everything looks fine. They have scanned again since (I am now in my 40th week) and again, everything still looks fine. However, because there was slightly less growth, they have now told me they want to hook me up to a machine all the way through my labour to monitor the baby's heartbeat so I can't walk around, have a water birth and I can't give birth in the birth centre. They want to induce and have warned of a c section if any problems with labour slowing down just to be on the safe side etc etc. The baby's movement is totally consistent and has been throughout - he/she is a very active baby and now I have had the two recent scans confirming there are no problems that associated with a growth slow down, I really feel confident in letting nature take its course and want to avoid these interventions spiralling.
What I would like advice on is how long to labour at home to make these interventions less likely. I live an hour away from the hospital so it is going to be tricky to time things well but I really want to be pretty far on by the time I get there so that labour doesn't slow down. Would really appreciate any guidance on this as I don't really want to give birth in the car (!) but I also don't want to be incessantly monitored and unable to do this as I hoped. Thanks so much in advance for any help x

Monitoring probably saved DD's life. Please don't avoid it just for the sake of it; they don't suggest it just for fun

'They understood and helped me through transition, I became cold and hungry, one brought me a box of jaffa cakes and a blanket.

I don;t think minimising interaction is a rule that covers all women.'

I think it's about finding the right balance between getting your needs met (to be warm, feel safe) and not be too disturbed. So a kind gentle midwife getting / keeping you warm and bringing food when needed of course would help. A good midwife would help you recognise those things were important.

Mine were not great. I repeatedly said I was cold (and in fact was running a temperature) but was told nothing could be done to warm the room. I wasn't offered blankets and didn't have anything suitable of my own (it was the summer so it didn't occur to me to bring, say a soft warm cardigan). I also didn't realise I was hungry. Again I think a good midwife may have suggested / offered food. The best intervention I had was a saline drip alongside the induction drip as I was also very dehydrated despite drinking ok. The midwives and doctors knee this, but it manifested as pressuring me to pee when I couldn't. None supported me to rehydrate earlier.

This also explains why some women labour very well in busy hospital settings: if they find all the interactions reassuring (some do) they won't be disturbing.

The trouble is, in the NHS it's the luck of the draw what King of midwife you get and how well they read you. My requirement for my next labour is choosing and getting to kiwi my midwife in advance!

Also, I think a lot of this is about better communication from care providers.

You hear so many stories of women who were in hospital but felt completely left along during their labour. Even if on paper they were 'good' so swift, low or no intervention, the experience for the labouring mother can be very frightening.

When I hear those stories, i often think, well, they were leaving you alone to minimise disturbance. But if that isn't priestly explained, in advance or at the time, it can feel like neglect. Which can be scary, even traumatising, even if the labour itself goes fine.

Although there were lots of aspects too it, what really created problems and delay for me was being frightened (by a midwife).

The trouble is the NHS measures successful labour on physical outcomes. I think a separate assessment of maternal mental well being shortly after birth should also be included and would drive and improvement not only in standards of care, but also communication of good care.

Gah predictive text. Should be 'completely left alone during their labour'

And

'Isn't properly explained'

goodluck- of course, and that kind midwife who brought me the jaffa cakes and blanket was not a qualified midwife, she was a new student ( aged 35 and had given birth 3 times herself) and I was the first birth she had witnessed.

I was lucky with the other staff though, both times I gave birth, and this was in a busy teaching hospital that has over 8000 babies born a year in the unit.

I wanted to labour at home as long as possible to avoid any intervention but my baby had other ideas. I was in labour for over two days and had an emergency c section. The surgeon told me that form the position of the baby's head I would have never delivered her vaginally.

Labour often does not go as planned for reasons outside of anybody's control. Remember your first priority will be the safe delivery of a healthy baby. I have a friend who is a GP who does all the post natal checks and she says Mum's are going best are the ones who can emotional deal with their birth however that birth may have occured. Try to be open minded.

I was induced with prostaglandin gel. O went from my cervix being "not even close to ready" at midnight to giving birth at 5:38am. My contractions came thick and fast and the move down to labour ward was horrific, I couldn't imagine how bad being in a car would be. They also wanted to monitor me but my body had different ideas and I couldn't stay still enough.

As others have said, I'd be going to hospital sooner rather than later. You never know how fast you could progress. My sisters first labour was fast, she was pushing while going up in the lift and they didnt get a chance to look at her notes or anything before she delivered, had there been even a hint of traffic she would likely have delivered in the car and she set off with what she thought was plenty of time.

Oh god, the idea of an hour's drive in late stage labour is making me feel quite ill. Don't do it - whatever you gain from spending longer at home you will lose spending an hour trapped in the same position in a car.

I was really into the idea of natural childbirth, invested a lot of time in hypnobirthing techniques etc, so was very disappointed when complications meant I had to give birth on the labour ward rather than the lovely MLU, even more so when I had to be on constant monitoring.

BUT...

My early labour experience was quite good, calm and well supported. Despite being on a wired monitor I had some scope to move - and stood, danced, crouched etc as I wanted to.

And ultimately I was glad to be both on the delivery ward and on a monitor as it meant when the baby's hear rate suddenly dropped dangerously low it was picked up immediately and he was out (via forceps) within minutes.

I won't lie, the last hour or two went to shit, and the delivery resembled a scene from ER more than anything else, with medical professionals arguing and shouting at each other - but it got him out safely and frankly we may well have had the same ending even if we'd had a different beginning.

The only thing I would do differently next time is resist any attempt to get me lying on a bed - the position really didn't suit me. But you can be monitored in different positions, you don't need to be on the bed.