October Chit Chat!

[DoulaMama]

GG- no cath for me, TG! But it took an hour to urinate. I thought I was going to die! The pain was horrible. I laid down in the tub and relaxed on my back, and voila! 4 cups of urine made it's way out!!! LOL!
I agree totally GG,! Mocha- you have such incredible odds of this being your Girl! I am rooting for PINK over here!!

[zanacal]

Z- yes! Mine tilts back so does my mothers...it's passed down from mom usually. This then presses the front of the uterus into the urethra.
I have weird positioned babies too. First was fine, but 2nd was complete OP at birth, second was complete OT(forehead facing right thigh). I have another anterior placenta(2nd DS did too) so I'm thinking this will be another joyous OP birth!!! LOL! They hurt hey!? Man oh man, the pain in my back was indescribable I think that some positioning helps- not reclining etc near birth day- but for the most part, babies just know which position is best for them as long as you have free movement through birth and labour. Have you had complete OP babies at birth? Were they long or fast pushing stages?

My mum had a tilting uterus and my sister does too - so that makes total sense! My labours have all been incredibly intense from the first contraction - not necessarily in the back by just 'OUCH'! I always look at ladies who say 'it wasn't too bad to begin with' like they're crazy! I wasn't prepared for it the first time and I ended up with your typical cascade of intervention having caved and had an epidural - thankfully I was able to give birth to him without assistance but it was a close call. I decided no more epidurals after that and, as you know, DS2 was at home with breathing difficulties. The midwife actually helped him to turn while I was pushing (in a standing squat!) for 2 hours and I really feel she shouldn't have done that and knowing what I know now I wouldn't have let her! DS3 came out relatively easily actually, I think I only pushed for around 5 minutes on my back (evil, old school midwife wouldn't let me turn off of my back - though possibly because there was a pile of shit on the bed lol!). I'm now used to being examined right near the end and being told 'baby is still very high up and there's a lip of cervix in the way'. It's very disheartening but I know what to expect and know I can do it now! When I was pregnant with DS3 I using the site www.spinningbabies.com and did lots of positioning - maybe it helped a little, maybe it didn't! Do you fancy coming and being my doula?!

[Mochagirl]

Is OP the same thing as a posterior baby? If so, both my births were like that too. My Baby A with my twins was posterior, which is probably why they declared that I was failing to progress and gave me a c-section. DS3 was also posterior, and as you know it was a completely unmedicated, natural birth...and OUCH!! Actually, the midwife did end up reaching into me at the last push and turning him around so he could come out. I'd been pushing forever and even had a huge eposiotamy and he still wasn't coming out. Is her manually turning him a bad thing? I know it hurt like HELL!

DM - I wish you could be MY doula as well!

[zanacal]

Yes - OP is posterior or back-to-back. I just feel that he should have been given time to turn by himself and that the shock of being 'helped' could have contributed to his not breathing when he was born. That may not be the case but in retrospect I wish they had helped me with some positioning techniques at least in the first instance.

[Mochagirl]

ds3 had some very brief breathing problems as well. I think he failed his first APGAR and needed some oxygen. They had told me they'd put him on my belly right after birth as long as he was healthy, but they whisked him away instead. I wonder if it was the shock of being turned? They did have me try different positions once they discovered he was posterior, but he wasn't budging.

[zanacal]

Still, the next ones will be easy peasy right?!!

[tweedledeedum]

I had my appointment today and we couldn't find a constant heartbeat. She thought she heard baby moving and we heard a couple beats a couple times but not enough to register. I'm 11 wks, 4 days. She said she sometimes can't get the heartbeat this early. I'm having an u/s monday to find out for sure what is happening.

Glad to hear you are all doing well. Gg I'm going to check out your potty shots now!

[zanacal]

tweedle - I'm hoping so hard that it was just too early and I'm so sorry you have to wait the whole weekend to find out for sure. The fact that she heard something is a good sign isn't it? {hugs} and I hope it doesn't go too slowly for you x

[Mochagirl]

tweedle - I wouldn't worry too much (I know, easier said than done). It IS definitely early and I agree with Z that it's good that she heard SOMETHING. I hope the weekend passes very quickly for you.

[DoulaMama]

My mum had a tilting uterus and my sister does too - so that makes total sense! My labours have all been incredibly intense from the first contraction - not necessarily in the back by just 'OUCH'! I always look at ladies who say 'it wasn't too bad to begin with' like they're crazy! I wasn't prepared for it the first time and I ended up with your typical cascade of intervention having caved and had an epidural - thankfully I was able to give birth to him without assistance but it was a close call. I decided no more epidurals after that and, as you know, DS2 was at home with breathing difficulties. The midwife actually helped him to turn while I was pushing (in a standing squat!) for 2 hours and I really feel she shouldn't have done that and knowing what I know now I wouldn't have let her! DS3 came out relatively easily actually, I think I only pushed for around 5 minutes on my back (evil, old school midwife wouldn't let me turn off of my back - though possibly because there was a pile of shit on the bed lol!). I'm now used to being examined right near the end and being told 'baby is still very high up and there's a lip of cervix in the way'. It's very disheartening but I know what to expect and know I can do it now! When I was pregnant with DS3 I using the site www.spinningbabies.com and did lots of positioning - maybe it helped a little, maybe it didn't! Do you fancy coming and being my doula?!

Oh, if I had the funds, I would be there in a second! My dad lives and works in Southern part of England(not totally sure where though!LOL!) so I'd stay with him!! I would LOVE to be there! I'd bring my newborn, strap her to my back and do what you needed me to do! LOL
WARNING...rant ahead....
It's frustrating to hear the stories....I know that it's not right to judge as I wasn't there at all, but....there are some things that just don't need to be done. I am 100% against cervical checks in labour. Unless the heart tones tell you there is a possible cord prolapse...cervical checks do nothing. A lip means NOTHING. Why can't a midwife trust a woman's body??? If you were checked on your back with an OP baby, there is ALWAYS a lip. You must be leaning forward, on all fours when checked and it will be much more accurate when checked. Was it an anterior lip? I'm guessing yes which is how most if not all OP babies dilate a cervix. If you felt the urge to push before 10cm it's because your body knew it could push the baby through the lip. After 3 babies...you know when to push, how to push and no check is going to tell you more than just listening to your body. I started pushing my last out at 7cm! Cervix's are stretchy! If you feel pain...it's better not to push. If it feels good, keep doing what you're doing.
If a MW is going to turn a baby, it should be done WAY earlier before the pushing stage even begins. A woman gets into the knee/chest position so the weight is off the cervix and then manually turns them. (Although, you don't have to turn an OP baby at all. A little time and they will come out. It just takes them a bit longer.) If the baby is too low, the neck gets cranked and it's not very good for the baby- especially if there is a nuchal cord. Plus this should only be done if the water has broken(on it's own). Breaking water is another issue I have with Dr's and Medwives. Pushing on your back is for the convenience of the MIDWIFE ONLY. It does not help mom or baby. Babies who's moms push on their backs have worse apgars than upright birthing mothers. A woman should be in whatever position feels right. Many times, a floppy baby is because the mom was put into a position by a caregiver...Mom can't listen to her body and adopt the right position for the baby. A mom instinctively knows when to change position....a midwife can many times interfere with this CAUSING the issues she wants to stay away from.

Is OP the same thing as a posterior baby? If so, both my births were like that too. My Baby A with my twins was posterior, which is probably why they declared that I was failing to progress and gave me a c-section. DS3 was also posterior, and as you know it was a completely unmedicated, natural birth...and OUCH!! Actually, the midwife did end up reaching into me at the last push and turning him around so he could come out. I'd been pushing forever and even had a huge eposiotamy and he still wasn't coming out. Is her manually turning him a bad thing? I know it hurt like HELL!

DM - I wish you could be MY doula as well!

Oh Mocha! I would be there in a heartbeat!! How many days would it take me drive??? LOL!

How were you pushing?? What position?? How long had the pushing stage been going on for? How were his heart tones?(Epi's don't do a whole lot for getting them out...she cut you because she needed to get her hand in there... )

Yes - OP is posterior or back-to-back. I just feel that he should have been given time to turn by himself and that the shock of being 'helped' could have contributed to his not breathing when he was born. That may not be the case but in retrospect I wish they had helped me with some positioning techniques at least in the first instance.

Yes....I agree. Any intervention can cause the baby harm. I guess a MW has to weigh the pros and cons....was he doing badly? Were his heart tones low and not recovering after the cx's? If he was fine, she should have tried something else. A rebozo in early labour is a wonderful way to turn a posterior baby. Let me know if you want more info Plus, lunges up the stairs 2 at a time, or standing lunges with one foot raised. Being on all fours, or laying against the back of a couch(leaning forward) can help. Sometimes squatting doesn't work well as it puts a lot of pressure on baby and they need more room to move. The knee/chest position is also great during early labour. A midwife needs to become a doula for awhile and figure out how they can get this baby to move without doing something medical.

ds3 had some very brief breathing problems as well. I think he failed his first APGAR and needed some oxygen. They had told me they'd put him on my belly right after birth as long as he was healthy, but they whisked him away instead. I wonder if it was the shock of being turned? They did have me try different positions once they discovered he was posterior, but he wasn't budging.

I mentioned this above...turning a babe too late doesn't often work as well as in early labour. Plus, cutting the babe's cord because of breathing issues!!!!! AHHHH!!! This makes me want to scream!!!! Room air has been proven to work BETTER than oxygen and they KNOW this. And with all the oxygen in that baby's cord...they were doing him a disservice by cutting his cord. Doing some back rubs, breathing in the baby's face, talking to him...all of these things work better at getting a baby to come around than cutting the cord prematurely and whisking AWAY from the mom. And even if the baby needs more than that, they can resuscitate while the cord is still attached. I so hope that Dr's(And mw's) start to "get it" soon. Babies don't need to breathe right away because they are still getting all their oxygen needs met by the placenta for the first few minutes. Most of the time it only takes a few minutes for a baby to really start crying and pink up I have some awesome video I could show you- mom does infant resus on her own baby and although it's a little scary to us...she just followed her gut and did it with no help. Pretty amazing what Mama can do!

Still, the next ones will be easy peasy right?!!

YES!!!! The more babies you have, the more confidence and knowledge you gain, and the easier it is!!! (at least this is what I hope for and wish for all the Mama's out there!) Empowering Births!