Starfish Dreams

Here is some information on emergency childbirth, if YOU are the person with the laboring mama.  Seems to be an apropos topic for homesteading/self-sufficiency.  I have two more parts in mind as well, so if this is interesting to you, just stay tuned for more.

First of all, I have one small soapbox. :) We have a soaring cesarean rate, a sky-high epidural rate, a reliance on artificial induction, etc, etc. I’m here to tell ya, our bodies have not changed significantly since our ancestors gave birth - we really CAN birth our babies and for the women who say they "can’t" do it without an epidural, Pitocin, etc, I will say YES YOU CAN!! If you look at midwife stats, over 95% of ‘normal’ women "should" be able to give birth without an epidural or cesarean - the stats for midwife-attended, out-of-hospital births are excellent! Of course sometimes interventions really ARE necessary - but rarely, very rarely.

OK, off the soapbox.

First of all, as you are researching/learning/preparing, there are different levels. The first level, IMO, is the level EMT’s and police officers get - a few hours, maybe. That’s for when the baby is coming so fast, there is no time to get anywhere else and they were not planning on staying home. :) In the vast majority of those cases - unless the baby is more than 4 weeks early - everything is generally going fine and will continue to go fine, with or without assistance. An easy-to-find, emergency birth kit will be sufficient for what you need.

The basics for this level are this:

*get mom to a gravity-neutral position to help her slow down the birth - that would be side-lying or hands and knees - don’t put her on her back and don’t back her put her legs up, as if in stirrups. Both of those contribute significantly to tearing

*help her control the delivery to prevent tearing. You can provide support by putting your hands in the "C" position and putting them at the bottom of the "business portion". Even better would be to have her put her hands down there and let herself do the guiding. Burning due to stretching is mother nature’s way of telling you to SLOW DOWN. Mom will stretch, but it may take a contraction or two.

*You will see baby’s head emerge from the crown of the head first (this is the back part of the head). The skin is all wrinkled up - that’s normal. :)

*Baby is almost always going to be facing mom’s back. When the head is all the way out, the head will turn to one side or the other on it’s own. DO NOT try and "make" the baby turn - it will do fine.

*Be prepared to really "catch" - once the shoulders are out, the rest of the baby usually follows pretty darn quick, usually in a gush of fluid – and those babies are darn slippery. ;) (Don't ever 'pull' on a baby.)

*Get baby skin-to-skin onto mom’s abdomen and cover them with a towel or blanket. Also, get mom to lie down at least mostly flat (that will help insure the bleeding is minimal). Exchange the wet towel or blanket for a dry one in a couple of minutes.

*Baby should breathe and cry within the first 15 seconds or so. As long as they are breathing (you’ll see ‘em breathe and turn pink), they do not need to cry. If they seem to be a little sluggish, use a towel or the blanket covering them to rub 'em up good. That should get a response. :) If they seem white or grey, very limp and unresponsive (VERY rare), then do mouth-to-mouth on them. One or two “assisted” breaths is usually all they need.

*Don't do anything with the cord – don't cut it, don't pull on it, just leave it alone. ;) In about 10-15 minutes, there will be a small gush of blood, followed by some cramping and pressure for mom. The placenta should plop out shortly after. If it seems to be a little sluggish, help mom squat and it will usually come right out. If you are there because the birth was simply too fast and mom is still heading into the hospital, you can still just leave the cord alone – they can cut it in the hospital. Otherwise, once the placenta is out is a fine time to cut it. You can use a shoelace (better than “plain” string – the shoelace is flat and will not cut through the cord as regular string can) that you have boiled for 10 minutes (hey! You really CAN use boiling water at a birth!) Cut with a pair of scissors or a knife that has also been boiled for 10 minutes of you don't have your handy-dandy emergency birth kit.

• Birthing supplies for this level:

An emergency birth kit as purchased at a medical supply store will have everything you need for this unexpected situation. They will generally contain

1 pair of sterile exam gloves 1 sterile disposable scalpel (for cutting cord) 1 sterile OB pad 1 plastic lined underpad 3 disposable towels 1 receiving blanket 4 sterile gauze pads 1 sterile bulb syringe 2 sterile plastic umbilical clamps 1 disposable plastic apron 1 plastic bag for placenta 2 twist ties 2 OB towelettes

You can purchase emergency OB kits here:, here or here: (or google “emergency birth kits” for more websites – or even decide to make your own.) A baby hat would be a great addition to the kits that don't come with one.

Books/pamphlets/websites for this level:

Help! She's Having a Baby! By Nancy Crowley. It's out of print, but I just checked and found it on Amazon.com and half.com.

Emergency Childbirth by Dr. Gregory White. One great comment from him: “When in doubt, do nothing”.

A laminated full-sheet of instructions on what to do “When the Baby Arrives Before the Midwife” is here: 

 Very basic info here

More detailed info here

I did find several websites that advocated pulling baby up by the ankles and letting him/her hang there upside down. PLEASE DON'T DO THAT!

In a nutshell, there is your first overview (and probably the lengthiest of all the sections)