Should I feed the midwives at a home birth? And if so, what?

[FillyjonkisCALM]

This is oddly niggling me

Last time I was transfered due to a Reason, but I DID get very worried that they might not be eating, also that they would think me rude if I ate in front of them and forgot to offer them food (yes I know this is a bit silly but I am odd at these times. I only polish my taps about once every 2 years-the week before I give birth...)

I expect they will bring sandwiches, but should I have biscuits in? And will they actually eat them, or just wave them away politely? Should I just leave them on a plate with a sign saying "please help yourself?" but then my MOTHER will eat them all...

Thoughts?

lol filly at this thread.

I would say a packet of biscuits and offer them tea, but don't worry if you forget totally, this isn't Brownie Hostess badge!

yes see I was in the woodcraft folk

we didn't do hostess badges, OH no. We had to trek up mountains and orienteer with the light of a star to get our badges

this is probably why I have a sense of inadequacy.

Message withdrawn

You shouldn't. That's your DH's job.

Your job is to have the baby.

Well i had a home birth and no you don't need to feed them, my dh offered her a cup of tea and some biscuits but it's just polite and she enjoyed the tea but they don't expect food. I mean you have quite enough to occupy you with out having to worry about your midwife. You will be in labour so they won't really expect anything, don't worry!!!

I bought a vast selection of delicious biscuits for my MWs, went 2 weeks overdue and scoffed the lot

If you are in labour for a long time, then they'll probably go away and come back, so I wouldn't worry about meals as such.

Cereal bars? Toast? Biscuits? I found DP liked to take on the MWs refreshments as something to do, so you could leave your birthing partner in charge and not worry.

Just have a few things in that they could snack on if necc. Biscuits, cheese, bread to make toast. I didn't feed my homebirth m/ws, but then they were only here a couple of hours.

If it was me then I would have some biscuits, or kitcats or similar and maybe some cheese or ham - and offer for them to make themselves a sandwich from the fridge - but tbh I'm sure they won't expect to be catered for. I hope it goes well

I was also in the Rangers. Fortunately we were allowed torches while night hiking.

Which reminds me - my midwife needed an angle poised torch for stitching afterwards

omg a WHAT belgo?

Thats not on mary cronk's list, is it?

I have a reading light, do you think that would suffice

I think I can actually safely assume that I WILL have biscuits in the house, on consideration . So this should be sufficient then, I don't need to be whipping up great spaghetti carbonaras or anything (it is possible I have overdosed on ina may here)

ina may

I meant angle poised lamp

a reading light will be fine - hopefully it won't be needed anyway

my midwife spent all of my labour knitting - you'd love her filly

biscuits , bread and the makings of some sandwiches. a cake if you want to push the boat out. as soupy said, that will be your DHs area, you will be birthing, then cooing over your new born and being waited on !

I stocked the fridge with a couple of ready meals, fruit, cake and things to have with toast. Put it in my birth plan that they should help themselves to drinks and snacks as required. And told my best friend (who was birth partner along with DP) that one of her jobs was to deal with household practicalities - like snacks and drinks for midwives.

They all sat eating goats chees tartlets at one point, I think!

goats cheese?

hang on, when you are actually IN labour, can you start eating all that stuff again?

I want a knitting midwife...

Personally, I hate goats cheese! But bf and mw's were veggie. You can eat it if it's pasteurised, can't you?

I ate a whole cherry cake and sicked it all up at transition. Into the waste paper bin. For some reason DP thought he should empty the waste paper bin before he passed it to me...and he emptied used tissues, amnio-fluid-soaked panty-pads and a yogurt-pot into.....the midwives bag!!!

I baked cakes for the midwives (and me obv ) when I was in the early stages of labour. It was really good actually because it kept my mind off my contractions for a few hours and when the cakes were ready I was in established labour

my friend across the road from me had a HB, in the first stages her husband was making a banana cake, the cake went into the oven just before she started pushing...... when she called us back after the birth, we toasted the baby with cake warm from the oven and a bottle of champagne i had chilled that morning ! yummy !

a cup of tea would be welcome but they won't expect anything. If they are working at the hospital, the nhs doesn't provide a meal for them does it?!

Placenta on toast?

As a midwife who has been to many homebirths, and likes to eat, please provide food. I have been caught short before and when not even offered a cuppa you feel quite depressed. Most people are very kind and look after us well. After all, you don't want your midwife to faint from hunger do you.

I promised my MWs bacon sandwiches and cake - they seemed to like that idea! Ended up going into hospital to have my DS though.

After filly's tap comment in the OP I think she and I may be cut from the same cloth- when people say 'sandwiches' my thought is 'damn i will ahve to clean the fridge then'

Actually my biggest birth worry atm- having to clean the house properly first.

Shame on me.