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Childbirth

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

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Original poster

What refreshments do I provide for midwives at homebirth?

18 replies

TotallyAndUtterlyPaninied · 01/09/2009 15:12

It's 25 weeks away but I want to be prepared so I'm making my lists now

So far I have:
tea/coffee/hot chocolate
Biscuits
crisps/tortilla chips etc
easy-to-make-in-labour sandwiches
frozen pizza/garlic bread
toast
soup

Am i off the mark? what should I be providing?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

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bumpybecky · 01/09/2009 15:20

wow you're organised!

I've planned a homebirth four times. We've always got tea and coffee in the house and I don't think any of the midwives has ever refused a biscuit!

The only ones who ever ate a more than that were there for dd3's birth when they turned up with a takeaway! (they were offically off duty and turning up as they were the only
ones experienced in water birth).

I wouldn't worry too much about providing lots for them. Tea & coffee, biscuits and the possibility of toast will be fine

reikizen · 01/09/2009 15:20

God that sounds good! All mine got were a couple of digestives and a cup of tea! (V fast labour so they weren't there long and wanted to go home to bed as it was early hours of morning to be fair). From my personal perspective (and I don't mean to sound horrible) what I ate would depend very much on how clean the kitchen looked! Some people have horrible kitchens (shudder).But I'm sure yours is lovely and clean and they will tuck in with gusto!

Original poster

TotallyAndUtterlyPaninied · 01/09/2009 15:27

reikizen- I'm the same, I won't eat out of a dirty kitchen haha that's tickled me.

Just have visions of a two day labour and them thinking ' this one is stingey!!'

OP posts:

sorky · 01/09/2009 15:37

1st hwb saw bacon sarnie's and cuppa's.

2nd hwb, all happened very fast and no one was prepared, they had a glass of champagne with us after the paperwork, then their shift ended. They were in/out in 2hours

3rd hwb they had slices of carrot cake and a choc cake and big mugs of strong tea, courtesy of Dh, whilst I was still in labour. It was very well received

Don't bother with anything that needs cooking would be my advice.

chimchar · 01/09/2009 15:39

mine only drunk hot drinks and ate biscuits.

i was in established labour when they arrived, and with all the form filling, history, obs etc, and then the actual active labour/giving birth, they were being very attentive to me, and were working, tidying away etc, literally until they left. they were with me through the night and left at 6am, so were probably desperate to get home!

mootie · 01/09/2009 15:43

Ours didn't want anything! Not even tea! Maybe because it was a Sunday, they arrived 15 minutes before the baby, and they just wanted to go home.

thisishorrible · 01/09/2009 15:45

ours just wanted tea... though the one who stayed afterwards to check all was ok did eat supper with us.

Original poster

TotallyAndUtterlyPaninied · 01/09/2009 15:51

Hmm.. new list og things to have in:

Bread
Butter
Bacon
Biscuits
Brew stuff
yummy cakes

I'll have some soft drinks in because I hate brews

Is second baby quicker usually? I'd love to just get on with my contractions and then them turn up, me have the baby in 15 minutes, them clean up and go and leave me with my gorgeous babba.

OP posts:

sorky · 01/09/2009 16:09

third was my fastest

Reallytired · 01/09/2009 16:20

My midwife said that community midwives like hobnobs. The only problem I had was that my seven year old like hobnobs as well and ate them all.

Still it did not matter as my labour was so quick the midwives did not spend much time with me.

MamaLazarou · 01/09/2009 18:55

I was just planning to make some mini spring rolls and things in advance, and freeze them, ready to be reheated on the day. Maybe also some biscuits or cake. We can always order a pizza if that's not enough. I am planning to order a takeaway curry afterwards.

(May be deluded)

ilovemydogandmrobama · 01/09/2009 18:57

Not sure about the garlic bread though. Keep in mind that you will be up close and personal with these people

GreenMonkies · 01/09/2009 19:14

Mine just had tea, but most like a biscuit or two, I did have some nice small bottles of water in the fridge (it was June) but no-one drank them at the time. I'd keep it very, very simple. When you are busy having a baby the last thing you will want to think about is what to feed the folks who are there to help you do it.

Bear in mind you can't predict exactly when you will go into labour, or how long it will last, so have a stash of non-perishable nibbles and make sure DH/birth-partner is well briefed about what there is to eat etc. A selection of nice biscuits, some decent crisps may be, perhaps some fruit, and of course a bottle of something nice for wetting the baby's head!

(Oh, and make sure you have stuff for you to eat/nibble/drink when in labour!!)

GreenMonkies · 01/09/2009 20:43

Have you met your Midwives yet? Why not ask them? One of the team I was with said "I do love flapjack" so I made sure I had a couple of those nice squidgey individually wrapped flap jacks in the cupboard, as it was she wasn't on call on the night I had DD2, but at least I had them if she had been!

illgetyoubutler · 01/09/2009 22:02

seeing as tea and coffee is always a standard in our house, the only things we got in specially for my home birth for my daugher was asdas extra special cookies. fruit and nut, double chocolate chunk chip, lemon shortcake and so on. you know when biscuits are reeeaaally good when they cost over a pound per box and you only get 6 inside. we bought 4 boxes (i think) bout 2-3 weeks befor my due date. i opened one box to 'try' them out, and by he time the midwives arrived at my door during my labour a week after my due date, all but 3 cookies remined in a solitary box on the kitchen shelf
btw, the midwives wanted toast with their tea, nothing else. good thing really!

Gemzooks · 01/09/2009 22:06

just to reassure you: I had hb for my second, midwife arrived at 9.15 am, when things were getting really painful, baby was born at 10.18 am! No idea whether she even had a cup of tea! This was after a 36 hours labour with my first. so hopefully you won't need too much!

pickyvic · 01/09/2009 23:07

omg! i never even thought of what to provide for the midwives....i had a home birth with DD and they went and made me a cuppa afterwards (i had 2 by the time i actually delivered!) and i think they got biscuits if they were lucky! i had tea/coffee in as always....my memory is a little shakey as it was 12 years ago! but they didnt hang about too long after i delivered so i dont think its much of an issue tbh. tea/coffee and biscuits would be fine im sure!

mootie · 03/09/2009 12:09

TAUP: My second was definitely quicker, but not so quick as to be scary. Bad period pain contractions started at 0330-0400. We rang the midwives at about 0500, they arrived at 0600, then left at 0730 because although they said labour was established, contractions were slow, and their shift change was at 0800. As they left, one said "you'll have your baby this afternoon!" The contractions picked up as soon as they had gone. We rang them again when it got hardcore, at about 10.00. Our son was born at 10.30! The midwives were gone by 12.00. It was pretty awesome. Our daughter had gone out with my mum to the park with a packed lunch, but they came back to eat it with us on our bed with the baby.

The midwives might have ate more/had more tea if they had been around for the boring bits between 0730 and 1000.

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