Prenatals for homebirths

granola_mom · 07-18-2007, 10:13 AM

Just wondering if any of you do anything differently at your prenatals for homebirths? My third client is planning one, and for my first two, during the first prenatal we did a lot of talking about interventions and things that pertain mostly to hospital... but now I have this prenatal tomorrow and am at a loss for what to say. Do you still go over medical interventions, or do you talk less about them and more about something else that might be more applicable? If so, what? I kind of feel strange doing the same type of prenatal I have done for my other clients... input?

Cherylkind · 07-16-2008, 03:58 PM

bump! I'd love to see some answers for this topic, if anyone has any

delilahdr · 07-16-2008, 04:14 PM

I talk about their labor coping style, what they picture my role vs their husband's role being, what they hope and dream their labor will look like, look at the areas to see if there are things I might want to suggest (I notice you have white carpet in your bedroom, you might want to have a large tarp covering the area where the birth tub will go and then a path from the tub to bed and tub to bathroom and bathroom to bed, in case you are 'drippy" and don't want to wear underwear/pad")

I also talk to them about how to ask informed consent questions- which many times, because my client has hired a HB MW, she thinks doesn't need to be brought up, but the fact is, that even HB MW's all practice different ways. And some clients do not, for example, want their membranes stripped, while others don't care, but some HBMW's routinely do that, etc.

So I cover how to ask questions about suggestions and "give them permission" to still ask questions/have opinions, and it is so relaxing, because most of the HBMW's are not going to get into a turf pissing contest and will be happy to explain things, and take no for an answer... and most of the HB clients who have been to the hospital before are shocked and amazed at how easy it is to get information and ask for things to be done a certain way. Most HBMW's respond very well, for example, to my client asking not to have talking above a whisper in the room, or not to have vaginal exams on a schedule, etc. but only for a reason and have the reason explained along with the request to do it, etc. and the client feels very empowered that she has the right to make such requests and have them respected.

And we talk about love languages, and other times she has been in pain and how she handled it, and other times she has felt "under the weather" and how she deals with that, and how she relaxes/unwinds from stress and what she finds relaxing vs stressful... that kind of thing.

Cherylkind · 07-17-2008, 10:57 AM

I just had my first prenatal for a client who is due in 1 week. Her MW thinks she will give birth right about on time, too.

I gave her a much shorter binder, with all the hospital oriented thngs removed, and any interesting but less necessary articles removed. It's about 1/2 the size of my normal binder.

We spoke about a birth plan, some tips for writing it (she has some ideas, but hasn't actually put it on paper yet)

I went over the table of contents of the binder, and we spoke more in depth on comfort measures, vocalization, breathing and positions. We practiced some positions both with the birth ball and without, and I gave her some homework.

I had a "tour" of her home, got to know where things are, and we spoke about where she should put the pool. We also discussed her dogs (omg! They're huge! 120lbs!) we talked about safety with the baby, and that they'll be in their kennels for the birth. They were very sweet and docile for our meeting, but when she's in labor we don't want them spooked.

We also spoke much more in depth about breastfeeding, latching on properly and some basic knowledge on that. She is much more knowledgeable about birth then about BF and newborn care, so we spoke a lot more about once the baby is here. We also went over normal patterns of infant behaviour, sleep patterns and general care.

Lastly we went over dad's role, and I gave him a lot of tips on encouragement, what to do durring labor, and what role he wanted to have. I have a section for dad in the binder too, with more info on bonding with baby, baby care for dad, and a dad's and doulas article.

Then we went over comfort measures she particularly thinks will be helpful, how she normally reacts to stress and pain, and photos. We spoke some about optimal fetal positioning, and practiced some positions to help with that. We also discussed aromatherapy scents she likes and visualizations she may find helpful.

Last- question time. We went over foods for labor, natural induction foods, and how emotionally ready she is for birth. We also went over some positive affirmations for birth that will help her get 100% emotionally ready.