#postdates

Postdates Homebirth Stories – The Birth Hour

First home birth

After 8 hours of back labor and a small scare with a compressed cord, Mika birthed her first child (a rainbow baby) in the comfort and serenity of her own home at 41 weeks pregnant. She was elated to discover she had delivered a healthy 8.10lb baby boy safely into the hands of his loving daddy. Aside from a 2nd degree tear and a postpartum hemorrhage that her midwife handled…

Answers to questions/comments I’ve received this week:

Yes, I am still pregnant

No, I am not in labor (honestly, for people who ask this question, would I be answering my phone or texting you if I was? I mean really)

Yes, I AM kind of uncomfortable

No, I don’t know when he’ll finally be here

Or how big he is

I’m sure you ARE excited for him to get here

Yes, I will have to eventually be induced if he doesn’t come. When you ask? Weird how that’s literally none of your business either.....

Yes we have tried that (see here: walking, sex, eating pineapple, curb walking, forward/all fours leaning, spicy food, sitting/bouncing/acrobatics on a yoga ball, nipple stimulation, hot showers, baths, and just about every other old wives tale you can imagine)

Need to vent here about the ridiculousness of getting multiple texts and phone calls Every. Day. asking where my baby is. Emphasis on my baby. I get that people are excited and impatient, but honestly? There is no one on earth more excited or impatient than me or my husband, so before you send that text, just stop and think for two seconds if us getting asked repeatedly if the baby is here is helping anyone.

This doesn’t apply to people who might text asking how I am doing. Totally different scenario. Because if you’re asking about me, then you’re not treating me just as the host of the person you really care about, and like an actual human.

Meanwhile, I’m fairly sure that we’re headed for castor oil* town today. We are scheduled for induction within the next week and a half if we can’t get him here on his own. And I’ve asked my providers and even though it starts with a foley bulb catheter, that part is nearly always followed by pitocin, which is the one thing I want to try to avoid. I am straight up terrified about using castor oil, but I’ve watched two perfectly healthy (and large) nephews be born of it, as well as countless friend’s babies. I’m mostly scared because I’ve been brainwashed by the whole “baby will come when he’s ready” thing. Honestly, some babies don’t come even though they’re ready. My body is definitely ready, and has been trying to go into labor on it’s own for weeks now. I’m pretty sure we’ve got a fear/trauma mental block going that’s the cause of the hold up. Which is also why I’m afraid to take the castor oil. It results in birth about 50% of the time (or at least that is the statistic I keep finding), which means if I take it there is a 50% chance I’ll be holding a baby by the end of today, and my whole world will have flipped upside down.

*also, please spare me the messages about how castor oil is the devil. My husband and I have researched it and I wouldn’t even consider it if I didn’t think it was safe for me or the baby.

The start of the 36th week of pregnancy is considered to be a period known as "TERM" . It is a time when the baby becomes increasingly capable of breathing on it's own, and the risks of complications of prematurity become greatly diminished. Should you begin contractons at this time , you would generally be allowed to labor and to deliver. Although we have yet to figure out what causes spontaneous labor to insue, we do know that infants born at 36 weeks and greater will have lower risks of complications than those born before 36 weeks. There is a transition period between 36 and 39 weeks where a signifant number of babies born, will be born with complications of prematurity such as "RESPIRATORY DISTRESS SYNDROME" . RDS , is one such complication which will require admission to the intensive care unit for intubation and breathing assistance. Current studies show that RDS can occur in significant numbers up to 39 weeks. Therefore, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist along with the March of Dimes have initiated a campaign to educate patients on the importance of waiting until the 39 th week to deliver. This is the current recommendation for those moms who chose to have an elective labor induction. Although you may opt for an elective induction at 39 weeks, there are factors to take into consideration to maximize your chance of a successful vaginal delivery. Always remember that the best way to reduce your chance of having multiple C sections in the future is to prevent the FIRST one from happening. If you are considering an elective induction and you are 39 weeks, the following are a few considerations:

1. Is your cervix open, soft and favorable for induction? Your doctor will check your cervix and assess its "ripeness" for induction . It stands to reason that the greater your dilation, the softer your cervix , and the lower in the pelvis that the baby is engaged, then the more likely you are to have a relatively short and successful labor induction. Conversely, the more unfavorable your cervix, the more likely you are to have a prolonged induction which may last 2-3 days, and result in infection, maternal fatigue and exhaustion, excessive bleeding, a need for transfusion or hysterectomy, or an eventual C-Section. Your doctor will rate your cervix's "ripeness" with a number called a "BISHOP'S SCORE". The higher this number is on a scale of 1-10, especially greater that 5, the more likely are the chance of you having a successful induction. If your cervix is favorable, then you will be given the induction agent called PITOCIN. If, however, your cervix is unfavorable, then you will be given a vaginal or oral medication called CYTOTEC.

2. Do you feel that inducting your labor at 39 weeks will prevent you from having a bigger baby at 40 weeks and thereby lower you chance of having a C- section? The literature shows that inducing your labor to prevent a C-section does not reduce your chance of having a C-section. Studies show that hundreds of unnecessary C-section wound have to be performed to prevent one case of a permanent shoulder injury at the time of delivery.

3. If you are a well controlled Gestational Diabetic, not requiring insulin,

then you can wait until 40 weeks to be induced.

AC Pickett M.D. FACOG

for more information:

Did you know that according to a study Harvard did in the 90s, your due date is actually eight days shy of what it should be? You can look up Harvard’s study here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2342739. This means that you should add an extra eight days to your due date and then you will have a more realistic picture of when your baby might decide to start living life on the outside.