Midwifery Series! {Day 3}

I am due May 24th, scheduled once more for a c/s. Doctors will not allow me to vbac (even though they are okay for one prior c/s) because I’ve had two prior c/s’s and the spacing is close with these babies.

1. Would a midwife see me as a patient for a homebirth?

And since I have a history of large babies, would the success of the homebirth be minimized because of that?

There are some midwives that would see you. Call every midwife you can, ask them questions, ask them for a consultation to discuss your options. Lots and lots of women who have had previous C-sections have gone on to successfully VBAC big healthy babies.  To boost your confidence, you can find lots of VBAC videos on Youtube.

2) At what point is a woman too far along in pregnancy to be considered for a homebirth? For example, many doctors will not take on a new patient, say after 36 weeks.

This depends on several things. It depends on whether or not the woman has had any previous prenatal care and I suppose it would depend on the individual midwife’s protocols.  I believe most, if not all, of the midwives in the area would be glad to have a consultation with the woman and explore her options. If a woman has had previous prenatal care, I can take her as long as she gets a Risk Assessment to OK her for a homebirth. (I would also need copies of her previous prenatal records). If the woman hasn’t had prenatal care and she is past 34 weeks, I’m not allowed by my rules and regulations to take her.

I’m not really sure I totally understand the question, but I’m going to assume the person asking means birthing methods such as Bradley, Lamaze, Hypno Birthing, etc.  I do believe it is possible to make a game-day decision, but good decisions are usually based on knowledge, so the person making the game-day decision would need to have done their homework before hand and have the information available in their heads “at go time.” My suggestion though, would be to research and read about the different methods and then concentrate on the one that seems to appeal to you the most, keeping in mind a few things from other methods that you particularly think you might like.  Then stay open minded, trust your body, and go with the flow.

This is a very general question, but most midwives I know would draw from all resources at their disposal to figure out why mom/baby are not tolerating the pregnancy or birth well and make recommendations accordingly.

 

Midwives are able to do the things mentioned in this question, but seldom do. Midwives believe in allowing birth to naturally unfold in its own time. I’m not saying midwives never do anything that would be considered an intervention, but in my experience they make sure the parents are well informed about each possible intervention and the parents make the final decision.

Be sure to check back in tomorrow to learn from the next Midwife.

Sharing with Raising Homemakers and Deep Roots at Home.