RE: Bipolar realities
Dear Carolyn There were a couple of reasons why I was not going to read your message. It came as a text attachment, and I am very wary of attachments; and because you said it was long. But because *you* wrote it I felt compelled to open and read. I'm glad I did. Thankyou. In my practice in the past week there has also been an event which has made me reflect seriously about streams of thinking. I have been challenged by the boundaries of normalcy - particularly time. The woman was planning homebirth; and experienced a slow and frustrating (first) labour that seemed to be going nowhere. Having tried all the physical and mental empowerment strategies I know, I suggested to both mother and father that they close their eyes and rest a while, in preparation for transfer to hospital. Stretched out in the bathtub, with soft winter light filtering through the closed louvres, with noone else around, and with me sitting on the floor with my back up against the bathroom wall, the woman's labour took on new energy and in a very short time the unmistakable sounds of pushing were heard. This was about 2pm. Four hours later, once again with infrequent and quite mild contractions, we agreed that hospital was the best place to be. There was a wild storm outside. I would have done anything to stay at home! The woman was not distressed by labour - in fact she appeared tired but totally unstressed as we stood at the desk in the birth unit, and introduced ourselves. In hospital, the doctor, a woman-friendly female GP with experience in homebirth, came into our partnership with new energy and confidence. Her words babies are meant to be pushed, not pulled, were beautiful. It was about 10.30 pm, when the woman gave birth to a very healthy boy. More than 8 hours after I suspected full dilatation! Birth challenges us from many different perspectives. I want to be able to be 'with woman' whether it's at home or hospital, whether I am taking a leading role, as the midwife responsible for the birth, or in a little team of strangers that have been allocated to work in that room. In the situation I have described, I had become puzzled and concerned by the lack of activity. Did I slow it all down even further by taking my client out through that storm? Could I have confidently waited for a couple more hours? What then? ... (I have many unanswered questions.) If anyone is interested in further reading on twin births, there is a wonderful account by Celia Adams and Tim Jacka - Three births in the Birth Story section of my website. www.aitex.com.au/joy.htm Joy Johnston -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit http://www.acegraphics.com.au to subscribe or unsubscribe.
Re: Bipolar realities long
Dear Joy and list What did u do in the hospital? was there anything different than at home was the family happier in hospital or was the midwife safer This is the common scenario go to hospital but what forhydration? syntocinon? 2nd opinion ?[why not get it from a mw or p/p from back up hospital?] it is soo frustrating was the woman activly pushing ? I READ A BIRTH PLAN RECENTLY FROM A PLANNED HOME BIRTH WERE THE REASONS FOR GOING TO HOSP WERE CLEARLY listed . They didn't include slow progress but did include if the family/midwife felt it was better even though no intervention was nec is this defensive midwifery? Recently during a labour I thought to myself this women has to birth at home because we can't front up now after all this time do we trans to aviod doing it with egg [TIME NOT PROBLEMS] on our faces] do we like to be well thought of because we miss the collegship of our cloth members?all these questions arise when your at home with no problems except, slow worst of all is it fear and for me i think it is. I have been with 3 pg this week they all took days to get to 4cms and then delivered after a few hard wondrful hrs. The first woman was a planned hosp birth and 42 weeks and I advised her to see her ob she did had ctg and u/s and was augmented at 4cm as the AFI was dangerously low out of all 3 her labour was most difficult and I regret my advise All three women had nvds and are all happy My ADVISE IS YOUR DAMMED IF U DO AND DAMMED IF U DON'T But what's new keep up the good work. LOL JAN hrs - Original Message - From: Johnston [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: ozmidwifery list (E-mail) [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, August 19, 2001 4:14 PM Subject: RE: Bipolar realities Dear Carolyn There were a couple of reasons why I was not going to read your message. It came as a text attachment, and I am very wary of attachments; and because you said it was long. But because *you* wrote it I felt compelled to open and read. I'm glad I did. Thankyou. In my practice in the past week there has also been an event which has made me reflect seriously about streams of thinking. I have been challenged by the boundaries of normalcy - particularly time. The woman was planning homebirth; and experienced a slow and frustrating (first) labour that seemed to be going nowhere. Having tried all the physical and mental empowerment strategies I know, I suggested to both mother and father that they close their eyes and rest a while, in preparation for transfer to hospital. Stretched out in the bathtub, with soft winter light filtering through the closed louvres, with noone else around, and with me sitting on the floor with my back up against the bathroom wall, the woman's labour took on new energy and in a very short time the unmistakable sounds of pushing were heard. This was about 2pm. Four hours later, once again with infrequent and quite mild contractions, we agreed that hospital was the best place to be. There was a wild storm outside. I would have done anything to stay at home! The woman was not distressed by labour - in fact she appeared tired but totally unstressed as we stood at the desk in the birth unit, and introduced ourselves. In hospital, the doctor, a woman-friendly female GP with experience in homebirth, came into our partnership with new energy and confidence. Her words babies are meant to be pushed, not pulled, were beautiful. It was about 10.30 pm, when the woman gave birth to a very healthy boy. More than 8 hours after I suspected full dilatation! Birth challenges us from many different perspectives. I want to be able to be 'with woman' whether it's at home or hospital, whether I am taking a leading role, as the midwife responsible for the birth, or in a little team of strangers that have been allocated to work in that room. In the situation I have described, I had become puzzled and concerned by the lack of activity. Did I slow it all down even further by taking my client out through that storm? Could I have confidently waited for a couple more hours? What then? ... (I have many unanswered questions.) If anyone is interested in further reading on twin births, there is a wonderful account by Celia Adams and Tim Jacka - Three births in the Birth Story section of my website. www.aitex.com.au/joy.htm Joy Johnston -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit http://www.acegraphics.com.au to subscribe or unsubscribe. -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit http://www.acegraphics.com.au to subscribe or unsubscribe.
Resolution for women's groups
Hi Denise, Here it is again: This is the wording that is suggested by Karen Guilliland for a resolution to propose at AGMs of any women's groups, as a way of gathering more generalised support. It is similar to the resolution used with great effect in New Zealand: -- that (the group) urges (government/state) to recognise midwives as autonomous practitioners who work for the public good and as such should have access to the same medical rebates and government/state funded professional indemnity schemes as medical providers of the same maternity service. - Andrea R -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit http://www.acegraphics.com.au to subscribe or unsubscribe.
Re: Twin policies.LONG
Dear Janet, Carolyn and list Have been unable to contribute much to the list because of my practise keeping me busy and the continued faxes and phone calls connected to the PI insurance chase. Last week after a 3 day marathon primi labour ending in CS ... followed by 2 days of a similar labaour ending in vacuum extraction, I had one night's sleep followed by a day that will be a highlight in my career - WATERBIRTH OF TWINS - Olivia and Brianna . and guess where? in their LOCAL STATE HOSPITAL!! The couple had their first baby with me in KGV Birth Centre. Once we knew twins were on the way the management care plan changed slightly. KGVs protocols insist that IPMs twins and breech births take place in their labour ward. The same provision of obstetric care exists and the staff specialist (bless him!) saw my client on two occasions after the twins were diagnosed and arranged ultrasound studies and reviewed and agreed to the couples birth plans. Arrangements were made for the staff specialist to be contacted when the woman came into labour . but circumstances decreed otherwise for the birth of these twins. My client came into labour early last Friday morning after achieving 39 weeks gestation - no mean feat with a toddler to care for. Trying to get through the peak hour traffic from the western part of Sydney is hazardous at the best of times and with the arrival of the twins eminent, we decided to stop off at the Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital which is en-route to KGV. Within a short time the twins were born thanks to the facilitation of the labour ward MUM and the OG Registrar whose kindness and empathy for the couple having their birth plans met will be remembered by the couple and myself forever. Donna and Waafa are two really SPECIAL people. The couple and I were assigned a room with a nice deep bath and a liasion midwife who organised equipment, note-taking and medications and left us alone to get on with the good births. The first twin was born slowly into the water, intact in her sac. Passed to mother sitting upright (supported by husband sitting on lip of bath behind her.) Olivia then rested, comfy on her mother's fundus, her little head stimulating nipple nerve endings. Twin 2's FHS were OK and we could see her oblique lie changing to longditudinal as she began to movedownwards. FHS also clearly moving downwards and into the midline (aren't hand-held Dopplers wonderful?) so we let nature take it's course. While waiting, Olivia's cord blood was collected (mother Rh -ve). After pulsations ceased, baby separated and clamp removed to let placenta drain fully - (we knew the twins were dizygotic from the ultrasound). Bloodstained water in front of the mother allowed to drain down the plug-hole while warm water continued to flow into the bath from the shower nozzle behind her, leaving nice clean water for twin 2 to be born into) With an urgent urge to push, Brianna almost flew out (flying fetus, face presentation). She burst through her sac and was retrieved and passed to her parents. She had her cord blood collected and then separated from her placenta (after she had gained plenty of good nutritive value from it). Parents full of admiration for her dramatic entry, but her poor little face was contused and lips a little swollen after her unusual mechanism through her mother's pelvis. Mother was exhausted by this time as she had been sleepless and vomiting for most of the night beforehand, so twins were warmly wrapped and placed in the one clear basket on the floor nearby so they could be seen and heard while waiting for the placenta. We tried a physiologic approach to the third stage, sitting on seat under the shower, sitting on the toilet, all fours, squatting etc but the placenta did not get a good push from the contracted fundus as it kept falling to one side. There was an additional problem of keeping up the mother's falling energy levels. Gaiteraide was sipped between contractions. There was also lots of labial and perineal swelling and I assumed there may be some in the lower birth canal as well. I suggested that we could 'tuck the mother into bed for a sleep, and the placenta would plop out the next morning' as suggested by Vicki Chan some time ago on this list... but that was not the mother's wish . so she was assisted to a position of comfort on to the labour ward bed (first time she had used it) and after some hours with both babies breastfed, and no further results from maternal effort, IMI oxytocin 10iu was given and the placenta was removed with controlled cord traction. (Mother had no energy left and just wanted to get some well earned rest!) So there you go folks, no interference, unassisted water births for both twins, no drugs except for the oxytocin to assist the placenta to be born and no, this is not a fairy story just to make us all feel good after what we have been hearing about twin
Re: Twin policies.LONG
Hi all, isn't this the most exciting and wonderful story? I had one night's sleep followed by a day that will be a highlight in my career - WATERBIRTH OF TWINS - Olivia and Brianna . and guess where? in their LOCAL STATE HOSPITAL!! Just shows what is possible when people respect women's plans and processes and work to create an environment where it can happen with a safety net in place. Happily Celebrating women's innate birthing intelligence, Carolyn -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit http://www.acegraphics.com.au to subscribe or unsubscribe.
RE: Resolution for women's groups
I support Andrea's call - which of course will only achieve anything if members of those organisations, once they have achieved agreement of the body on the matter, ensure that action is taken to follow through with lobbying and other political action. Joy Is there an ACMI member on the list who will be at the ACMI Annual Meeting in Brisbane next month? We need a motion to be prepared, and sent on notice to ACMI in time to be included on the agenda, and the person moving the motion being able to speak to it. Also members to vote for it. (I can't be there, unfortunately) Two suggested motions: 1. I move that ACMI urges the Australian Federal government, and State and Territory governments, to recognise midwives as autonomous practitioners who work for the public good and as such should have access to the same medical rebates as medical providers of the same maternity service. 2. I move that ACMI urges the Australian Federal government to ensure that midwives have access to reasonable and affordable professional indemnity schemes. -Original Message- From: Andrea Robertson [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Sunday, August 19, 2001 11:37 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject:Resolution for women's groups Hi Denise, Here it is again: This is the wording that is suggested by Karen Guilliland for a resolution to propose at AGMs of any women's groups, as a way of gathering more generalised support. It is similar to the resolution used with great effect in New Zealand: -- that (the group) urges (government/state) to recognise midwives as autonomous practitioners who work for the public good and as such should have access to the same medical rebates and government/state funded professional indemnity schemes as medical providers of the same maternity service. - Andrea R -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit http://www.acegraphics.com.au to subscribe or unsubscribe. -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit http://www.acegraphics.com.au to subscribe or unsubscribe.
