Join us 12-1pm TODAY Monday for a live webchat with doula Adela Stockton (click to find out more a bout what a doula is http://www.babyexpert.com/Birth/Get-a-better-birth-with-our-doula-webchat/v1 ).
Adela is an experienced birthing partner and will be answering as many questions as possible about labour and birth. This is your chance for a personal answer to your query so make the most of it! You can start posting your questions now and Adela will join us from noon.
Web Ed Nicola

Hi Adela,

I'm currently pregnant with my second baby and so am thinking a lot about my first birth experiences and what I may do differently for the next one.
I was very lucky with my first birth and although I was 4cm dilated for about 4 days I wasn't in any pain until about 4 hours before my son was born. I had no form of pain relief although I was given accupuncture which helped the feelings of nausea I started getting towards the end. I had also read a lot about hypnobirthing and used the breathing techniques from this. I only had to have 2 stitches and recovered well after the birth.

My question is I am thinking about whether I would have some pain relief next time, however as I live in Norway the hospital I gave birth at had very limited options pain relief wise and didn't even have gas and air. My only option was an epidural. I do remember thinking towards the end last time I wish I had had an epidural! Do you think it is likely the reason I recovered well from the birth and had little tearing was because I had no pain relief and was more aware of my body? Also is it likely I will be so lucky next time round and have such an easy birth?

Many thanks.

Liz

Hi Adela,
I'm about to have my 2nd baby but my first labour (No1 was an early caesarean for medical reasons). Want to keep pain relief to a minimum if poss but not sure whether I'll cope. Do have any tips on birth preparation that will make things easier? Last baby was a little titch (under 6lbs) so hoping for another neat one.
Thanks!

Hi adela im having my 1st baby after 10yrs of trying i have mildly bicornuate uterus and am ever so slightly nervous about what the labour will be like anytips or advice would be much appreciated
thanks claire.

Hi Liz

Many thanks for your question and congratulations on having had such a positive birth experience first time around! I do hope you enjoy this birth as much, if not more.

Second labours do tend to be more straightforward than first time around, your body remembers what labour is and your contractions will usually establish more quickly without the long latent phase (start of labour) that you experienced with your first baby. This is not however always the case as every labour is different with every baby.

Being emotionally and physically connected to what is happening to your body during the birth process means you are free to adjust aspects such as your positioning, your environment, your comfort measures just as you instinctively need.

Having an epidural does remove your connection to your labour process, and although they have their place in complicated labours, they also carry potential side effects for you and your baby. See http://www.aims.org.uk/Journal/Vol10No1/epiduralsDeadWaistDown.htm

If you are keen to keep this birth as gentle as last time around, rather than considering pharmaceutical pain relief, I would suggest you look into securing some extra support from someone you know and trust, such as a close family member or friend who has experience and trust in the normal physiology of birth. Or you could consider hiring a doula. I am not sure if there is a doula network active in Norway but you could contact teh European Network of Childbirth Associations to find out <http://www.enca.eu>. Alternatively send an email to Doula UK www.doula.org.uk to see if any of our members have contacts with doulas in Norway.

The research on the value of continuous one-to-one support from a known confidante during labour in this way has been shown to reduce the uptake of pain relief such as epidural or opiate injections. See Scott KD, Klaus PH, Klaus MH. The obstetrical and postpartum benefits of continuous support during childbirth. Women’s Health Gender Based Medicine 1999; 8(10), 1257-64 and Hodnett ED, Gates S, Hofmeyr G J, Sakala C. Continuous support for women during childbirth (Cochrane Review) IN: The Cochrane Library Issue 2, Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 2003.

All best Adela

Hi Adela,

I m currently pregnant with my second baby.
My first labour was extremely traumatic, was only 3 hours in total and my poor baby ended up in the NICU for weeks after birth.
This time I am being looked after by the consultant and we have decided that it would be better to induce labour at 38 weeks this time so that we can be prepared.
I am just wondering if you have any tips on keeping calm and relaxing during the birth, as I think this is going to be my biggest problem.

Naomi

Hi there

I will be having my 3rd baby in January - my last delivery was perfect, a lovely water birth with just gas & air for pain relief & I would LOVE to do this again - at home if possible

HOWEVER after the birth last time I had a retained placenta & had to go down to theatre & have a spinal & have the placenta removed manually & I am unsure as to how this may affect my chances of a home birth this time around

many thanks in advance

Sarah
27wks

Hi

My first labour was pretty straight forward but as i was alot younger then and drowsy from pethidine i was a bit unaware of anything that was happening.

With my 2nd i had suspected ruptured uterous. Mainly because all though my contractions were coming very strong and fast they were not dilating me enough and i can only describe them as being a burning pain across my bump.

I am now 27 weeks pregnant with my 3rd and am getting worried about the same happening again. I have also been diagnosed with SPD this time round and am concerned how that will affect the labour.

My main worry is that i will not know if my contractions are 'normal' and that i may actually have a ruptured uterous this time round. Will i be able to tell if there is something wrong?

Should the contractions feel 'hot and burning' or should they be a much sharper pain?

Hi Flamenca

Great to hear from you today and wonderful that you are planning for a VBAC (vaginal birth after ceasarean) with your baby this time around.

Doulas are often approached by mothers who experienced a ceasarean birth last time around and who are keen to keep birth as straightforward as possible this time. The value of having an additional support person for you (and your partner) is that you meet several times during your pregnancy to go over any concerns and expectations you may have about your next birth. In this way you can prepare for labour in a way that is truly individualised to you as a mother (and as a couple). You have the opportunity to talk through any possible lingering issues from your last birth, and work towards ways of keeping your next birth gentle. Being free to change position as you feel you need and making sure your environment is as private and undisturbed as possible, can all make a huge difference to your birth process.

You may like to write your hopes and wishes in a birthplan, this can be a useful reference point for all your caregivers towards you receiving the care and support that feels right for you.

I hope your next birth is everything you wish it to be!

Best
Adela

Hi Claire2mum

Congratulations on your pregnancy, how exciting!

As doulas do not give advice or undertake any clinical or medical care, I would encourage you to direct any concerns you may have about how your bicornuate uterus might affect your labour to your midwife and/or obstetrician, who I am sure will be happy to help you.

With regard to sustained emotional and practical support during labour, this can certainly make a real difference towards you experiencing a positive birth, and hiring a doula (see Doula UK's free Find a Doula service at www.doula.org.uk) is one way of ensuring this.

Why not have a look at my response to Flamenca where you will see some of the ways that you can help keep yourself confident and calm during labour, the presence of an additional supporter experienced in gentle birth herself and who is not necessarily part of the hospital system is integral to this picture.

Wishing you very much luck for a wonderful birth.

best
Adela

hope I'm not too late! only just realised it was here.

I have had SPD since 12wks and am now on crutches and each day is getting a little worse. I'm 28+3 at the moment.

I had to have an exam on friday and it was incredibly painful, in fact the doc had to stop because of the pain.

Is it going to be impossible for me to give birth naturally or am I likely to have to have a c-section? I really want to avoid a section if possible but am now very scared about natural birth.

We've got to 1pm so the webchat is now CLOSED - no new questions please.
Adela has kindly agreed to try and answer as many of the remaining questions already posted as she can. Thanks to Adela for her time and efforts and thanks too for all your questions.
Good luck with your births!
Web ed Nicola

Dear Riley's Mama

Thanks so much for your post, I am so sorry to hear that you had such a traumatic birth experience last time around.

Just to say that even though you are under consultant care this time and planning for an induced birth, you can still have a doula with you for additional emotional support during this process.

As doulas we are lay people, mostly mothers ourselves, and we are there to support you in whatever emotional or practical way that you feel you need to make your birth experience more positive. This may be from just sitting quietly beside you to providing hands on physical support such as massage or help with positioning to giving your partner a break etc.

This piece of research illustrates beautifully how the support of a doula can make a difference even during a non-physiological birth Berg M & Terstad A. Swedish women’s experiences of doula support during childbirth Midwifery (2006) 22, 330-338.

Wishing you all the very best for a gentle and positive birth experience this time around.

Adela

Hi jbean

Thanks so much for your post, this is an interesting question!

First off, it is absolutely your right to choose where you have your baby, should you be met with resistance from your maternity services, I would encourage you to seek the excellent support of the Association of Improvement of Maternity Services (AIMS) in order to secure the care that feels right for you and your baby.

Secondly, so that you gather as much information as you can regarding any possible risk of having a retained placenta again, or this being a possible risk factor to your homebirth, in addition to what your midwife is telling you, you may like to access the wealth of additional useful evidence regarding third stage from the following resources:

Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering by Dr Sarah Buckley (2006) Australia: One Moon Press
www.sarahjbuckley.com or www.capersbookstore.com.au

Lotus Birth edited by Shivam Rachana (2000) International College of Spiritual Midwifery

Delivering your Placenta: the third stage (1999) by N Edwards www.aims.org.uk

Odent M. (2007) Birth and Breastfeeding: rediscovering the needs of women during Pregnancy and Childbirth 2nd Ed. Forest Row, East Sussex: Clairview Books

Having a doula can help to protect your birth environment from disturbance and to keep the focus on you as much as your baby during the moments immediately after birth. This in turn helps to maintain the 'cocktail of hormones' at work within your body to facilitate a straightforward delivery of your placenta. Alternatively just being aware of this, this time around, might make a difference to how your third stage unfolds.

I hope that you have the birth that you wish for!

all best
Adela

Dear All

Many thanks for your posts today, I am so sorry that I do not have the time to answer all your queries, but please do feel free to contact me via my website should you wish to follow any of these discussions up.

You might also be interested in learning more about my childbirth handbook Positive Pain: a guide to emotional wellbeing through pregnancy and birth - see www.birthconsultancy.org/publications.php.

Wishing you all the very best for a positive birth experience this time around.

warmest wishes

Adela Stockton
www.birthconsultancy.org