What If I Don't Make It to My Birth Place?
Show Notes:
[0:25] In today's episode, we'll answer: "What if I don't make it to my birthplace?"
[1:27] I want to calm most of your nerves and let you know that the majority of you that are listening is not going to have this issue whatsoever! When you come from a place of knowledge, then you don't have to be in a place of fear should these things happen.
[3:30] "The thing is, babies come when they want to. That part is very normal and natural too. With all of our best guessing, even when we're going to our providers those last couple of weeks or whatever, and they're saying, 'you're this much dilated and you're this much effaced.' Or even when a well meaning provider says, 'I bet I'm going to see you this Saturday.' We don't get to choose that. The babies get to choose. Most of the time, we get an opportunity to kind of work into labor and there's an ebb and flow to it.
[6:46] If you don't think you'll make it to your birth place in time, call an ambulance. Let them know this is what's happening, baby's coming, and you're not going to make it in time.
[9:13] What is the #1 thing you'll need? Towels. It always is like a nice buffer between you and whatever space you're in. Dads love it for their nice cars, right? Water can break. You can birth your baby in the car, and there are fluids and things. If you can have some towels, it's also helpful to have something soft to catch baby and then to wrap them right onto your skin after you give birth. Birth is messy, and you should have towels.
[11:12] "I want you to think of this right now. You're going to remember to stay calm, and you will be really, really good at that. I am putting that into you right now. You are going to be so good at being calm. It's going to maybe feel scary and a little overwhelming, but remember that you have been planning for this. You are prepared and your body knows exactly what it's doing. So the fact that you are having a baby wherever you are is just part of the process. Remember to repeat those birth affirmations. If you have any that are in your mind, I am safe. My baby's safe. My body is meant to do this work, whatever that is.Entrust your body and your baby because when it's time, it's time and you are there to enjoy it. It's also really good to remember all the things that you have learned. If you've been listening along to the podcast, if you're part of the My Essential Birth Course, all of those things will come back to you as they are needed."
[13:29] Another helpful tool to have on hand is a bulb syringe. Not that you're necessarily going to need it, but if you are noticing that once a baby is born that they've got kind of some of that like a gurgly sound in their, in their throat, you can use a bulb syringe and kind of like suction some of that out.
[14:09] Baby is born, now what? You're just going to pick that baby up and put them right to your chest. Immediate skin to skin, wrap them with a towel or blanket, and just want to make sure that their body temperature stays with yours. The very best way to regulate a baby's body temperature is just to have them skin to skin with mom. Don't worry about clamping and cutting any cords. Don't worry about delivering your placenta in the moment. All you're going to do is scoop that baby up, have them skin to skin and focus on the bonding.
[17:50] If you are having more serious bleeding, take a piece of the delivered placenta, rinse it off, and place it on the inside of mom's cheek. It is full of oxytocin, which will cause the uterus to clamp down and stop the bleeding. Breastfeeding also will produce the same effect.
[18:07] Treat your birth experience, which it does not necessarily have to be traumatic, as if it were a traumatic birth experience. And sometimes maybe it is, but so that you can kind of like work through the same steps that somebody that did have some of that, would work through because you may or may not notice that some of that shock, even though you're like, Oh my gosh, my baby's here and this is so exciting. It can all kind of like hit a little bit after and that's totally normal.
[21:14] Even as you're pushing, it's going to be low, guttural sounds, and the reminder yourself that everything is okay, that this is normal, and you are safe, and your baby is safe. Once that baby's born, catch everything, pull nothing, get baby immediately skin to skin, place a warm towel on top, and hopefully, you've got whoever you need to be talking to on the phone and just breathe and take it all in. Once that placenta is born, if you have any extra bleeding, somebody around you will grab a little chunk of that placenta, rinse it off, put it in your cheek. As much as you can, you're going to focus on controlling any excess bleeding, and just hang out with baby while you wait for help to arrive or for you to get to your birthplace and follow the next step procedures.
[24:22] Remember: birth is unpredictable, but it doesn't have to be scary.
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