its a girl!!! | Imamother

chavamom

Sun, Jul 03 2005, 12:29 am

Yes, the reason that some babies drowned (and this is a very rare occurance and hasn't happend in years!) is that in the early years you had hippies that didn't bring their babies to the surface right away. It had to do with a philosophy of the baby 'slowing adjusting to life on earth'. The amazing thing is that more didn't drown - b/c they were still getting oxygen from the umbilical cord and they weren't stimulated to breathe b/c they hadn't reached air yet. There is a waterbirth website (I think it is www.waterbirth.org) where you can read more stats on waterbabies. But properly done, a waterbirth is extremely safe.

ETA - checked on the website, it is correct. Here is a link to 'why babies don't drown in a waterbirth'

Caveat - photos of birthing mothers included on website.

baby's mom

Sun, Jul 03 2005, 12:53 am

I almost had a waterbirth. By the time I went into tub I was so exhausted that the water was calming me to the point that my contractions were slowing down!! (I was going for over 30 hours, you can imagine how sleepy I was
shock

)
How did you do it in your own pool Indymom?? The midwives brought the pool over to my house. Plus the water needs to be at a certain temperature....

I'm so glad it worked for you!

I think many homebirths's baby's dont cry right away. (I know many who have homebirths around here) My daughter also didnt cry right away. its a different atmospehere. Calm and not traumatic to the baby.

Tell us more details when you geta chance, would love to hear more!! --were you alone in tub? did you have a doula...?

IndyMom

Sun, Jul 03 2005, 8:52 am

I bought a brand new clean inflatable kids pool. We attached a new clean hose to the hot water faucet in my kitchen (we have an extra faucet usually used for the milchig dishwasher - but we got an attachment to attach the hose) and we bought a pool thermometer. My husband did a practice run a few weeks before the birth to make sure he could get the water to stay between 95 and 100 degrees. He actually needed to wait until the hot water filled up again so when the time of the birth came he filled the tub ahead fo time, covered it with a shower curtain to maintain the heat, then when the hot water refreshed he filled it again. He got it up to 110 degrees, and by the time I wanted to go in it was around 105 degrees, so he just added some cold and I was all set. In order not to melt the tub he also had done a few inches at the bottom in cold before adding the hot water. So, it wasn't to hard. The hardest part was cleaning it when it was all over. Lots of blood clots left in the pool. He used a shop-vac after the pool drained.

I did not have doula this time. I had one for my first two. A doula is a good advocate in the hosptial, and good for us frum women to do massage etc. Well, I don't need an advocate at home and I had my sis-in law, a birth assistant, and the midwife to help with massage so I decided not to hvae a doula this time.

I was alone in the tub except at the very end. As I was pushing her head out I suddenly got a tremendous fear of shoulder dystocia (it wasn't) becuase I had recently been at a birth where that happened. The midwife takes a woman's concern very seriously and jumped into the tub to make sure it wasn't. She didn't jump in in a traumatic way, I actually didn[t even notice she was there until after the birth when she toldme I am the first mother she actually got into the tub with.

TzenaRena

Mon, Jul 04 2005, 6:24 pm

Mazal Tov IndyMom! May you raise your daughter to Torah, Chupa and Maasim Tovim.

This is the first time I heard of a waterbirth. It is quite fascinating. I do remember reading somewhere that the baby crying at birth is good for her, it clears her lungs and enables her to breathe well??

About that cry: There's a very beautiful sicha from the Rebbe about birthdays in which the question is raised: why do we celebrate the birthday on the day that the child emerged to "avir haoilam", when the child was created and existed before that in the womb?

We celebrate birth because that is the moment that the child begins to have his own effect on the world. Even at that moment, when he is so tiny and helpless, he is already having an impact on the world around him. Just look what happens when he opens his little mouth and cries! Everyone around is concerned, and trys to help, offering food, or solace, rocking him etc. And when he smiles, why it makes everyone's day!

Unfortunately I don't remember the rest of that sicha, but it was about the person fulfilling their potential by learning Torah and doing mitzvos throughout their life, which begins right from the moment of birth. (If any one remembers which sicha this is from please pm me. thanks)
'

chavamom

Mon, Jul 04 2005, 7:35 pm

I have needed tylenol with codeine for the afterpains since my 3rd. Interestingly enough, I took a homeopathic and herbal remedy after my 5th and found I didn't need it. After my 6th, I tried the same remedies and bubkes - so I went right back to the tylenol with codeine. Works for me and doesn't knock me out like percocet which is what a lot of the OB's offer. The thing that always cracked me up in L&D was the OB's telling women (having not their first or second baby) that '600 mgs. of motrin really works the best for afterpains'. Uh - NOT! Motrin (ibuprofen) does NOTHING for the pain after the first few babies!

micki

Mon, Jul 04 2005, 10:45 pm

with my second I had to "breathe " thru the labor pains- that how strong they were. mamash like a contraction. now with my 5th I was home fromt the hospital before the pains started- so I never got any drugs. I just worked thru them and yup- they went away. I guess they werent that bad because I don't remember being in too much pain.

I wonder why they only start after the second or third- never the first.