MSE Pregnancy Club XV

xmaslolly76

I'm only being seen fortnightly as well think i will be bumpt to weekly after next one as i will be 38+6 then.

I'm 38 wks tomorrow where has it gone ive still got the photos of my pregnancy test on my phone :eek:

Fitzio

I agree that people should be allowed to make informed choices, but that advice and experience of professionals should be heard. I assume these are her personal opinions but probably also that of the PCT - "we will do this/we will do that" is what is said so I think this is the consensus in this area.

It makes no difference to me at the end of the day as I do want a hospital birth (and have looked at the pros and cons of the alternatives), but I feel it's a shame as people would feel scared to state if they wanted to consider something different (not that I have any reason to suspect the others in my class would want anything different).

Anyway, I just need to decide whether I am happy with a bath or whether I want to lie to get in the birthing pool for labouring! Not keen on either option. Think I will mention it to my own midwife when I next see her at 38 weeks and put it in my birthing plan so hopefully they will get the picture!

xmaslolly76

Fitzio have i missed something why would you have to lie to get in the birth pool ?

Fitzio

The midwife said that if you are not going to give birth in the pool, but just use it for labour, then you should make that clear and they will just run you a bath for pain relief instead!! The physiotherapist recommended that I just lie and say I plan on giving birth in the pool!

xmaslolly76

Ahh ok i see i can kind of see there point in one way as the pool could be being used for someone who is going to give birth in there but even so i cant see how they can refuse the use of the pool if it is available. The baths in our hospital are over sized and can be good for relaxation but are not a patch on a birthing pool as you just dont get the boyancey needed for pain relief. Are you dead set against giving birth in the pool if not you wouldnt actually be lying just leaving your options open for when the time comes ??

Fitzio

xmaslolly76 wrote: »

Ahh ok i see i can kind of see there point in one way as the pool could be being used for someone who is going to give birth in there but even so i cant see how they can refuse the use of the pool if it is available. The baths in our hospital are over sized and can be good for relaxation but are not a patch on a birthing pool as you just dont get the boyancey needed for pain relief. Are you dead set against giving birth in the pool if not you wouldnt actually be lying just leaving your options open for when the time comes ??

I am not dead set for or against anything (not sure how anyone can be when it's their first time) so I am remaining open minded, but I think I would prefer not to give birth in the water. I know that the birthing pool would only be an option if it's available, but they do have a couple in the hospital. If someone wanted to give birth in it, I would leave no problem (not sure how long it would take for them to clean it etc though).

The MW said it would be too much hassle for them to fill up if we weren't going to give birth in it and a bath would do the same job. I don't know if the baths are bigger or not. I just assumed they would be a standard bath size which doesn't leave much room when you are a size 14 and pregnant!! lol.

nancmat

Hi all had my 32 wk appointment today all ok bloods fab iron good, still low blood pressure but thats fine and baby good measured at 31cm so its fine.

Oh re birthing have been told ours in Dorchester takes 1 hr to clean, and if ist available you can use, they dont book it, but my midwife who has been there for 8 years has only had it happen twice where the pool was in use and someone else wanted it, they only put you in for later stages of labour and to give birth if you want so no one person will be in there for a long period of time. Im excited to get in.

My work have thank fully agreed to split my SMP so its not in one lump, and also provided me with a break-down of what I will be getting, them paying me my holiday 17 days saved is brilliant, and my KIT days will bump it up, so only works out my Dec & Jan pay will be junk, and thats all on SMP, my work dont bump this up.

Hope everyone is good ? xx

xmaslolly76

In that case then be a bit fluffy with your birth plan say something along the lines of I will labor in the pool with the intention of birthing there however if things do not feel right for me at the time i will be vacating the pool to birth elsewhere. Dont let the midwives bully you as my midwife keeps telling me you have free choice and they cannot force you to do something you do not want to do remember she is only another woman and yes she may have delivered hundreds of babies but she has never delivered yours before. I had an awfull time with my first as i would not speak up and kept letting the midwives take over and not listen to me i have sworn this time it will be done my way unless there is a risk to baby. You dont know what is going to happen so never rule anything out but be clear on how you would like things to progress in a perfect situation and read up on your options for if things dont go to plan. :-) x

Fitzio

Glad your appointment went well Nanc and you got your pay sorted. You must be relieved! Are you planning on actually giving birth in the pool? Ours is the same in that you don't book it but if it's available you can use it. Said it takes 2 hours to fill so to mention it when you phone the hospital rather than waiting until you arrive there.

Xmas - thanks for your advice. I am not pushy, and happy to go with what they think is best if it's for health and safety reasons, but if they don't have a good reason for not letting me use the birth pool then I would speak up. Will discuss it with my MW and see if she has the same opinion as the other one before deciding how much I need to "fluff up" my birthing plan! It's not even like I have much of a birthing plan, but this is the one thing I do fancy doing. Everything else, I will go with the flow!

Off to do stuff now (didn't meant to take over the thread!). Where have the rest of you gone??? You can come back now! x

mountainlioness

There is a duty of care argument - she is acting as a teacher for the NHS and should therefore in the interests of her class attempt to present the facts in a fair and open way (her stance doesn't seem particularly in line with national guidelines). If she's personally or the PCT is against first time HB, and expresses that, she is influencing the class inappropriately, which could have a material impact on people's birthing experiences. It's actually quite a responsibility being a teacher of any kind and you have to think carefully about how you present your personal views given your position of power.