Pit and the placenta-advice

jsillyfun · April 2012

I saw my midwife today and she said we have two choices for getting the placenta out. The first is that we can let it detach on its own and come out and then (possibly) give me a shot of pitocin if I start bleeding a lot. But, she said, it is possible to have copious amounts of bleeding and the pitocin might not be enough to stop it, which is how people end up needing blood transfusions etc... The other choice is to give a shot of pitocin a minute after birth (while still doing skin to skin), which she said will get the placenta out in like two pushes and only take a minute and keep me from bleeding too much. She said we can still let the cord "be almost done pulsing" with this option. The only downside, in her opinion, is that the contractions might be more painful, but since I'm a ftm she said it shouldn't be too bad. She stated that she is willing to do option number 1, but clearly she preferred the second option.

I'm not sure what to do about this. Overall, I have been trying to do natural and drug free options, but of course, the baby will be out by this point. My normal preference would be to do the first option and just trust my body to do what it is meant to do, but she kind of scared me, like I'm going to hemmorage all over the place if I don't do the second option. Also, she is one of 6 mw I could deliver with, so the other mw might have other preferences. What are you ladies doing? Do you think I should push for option 1?

annabelle.27 · April 2012

I got the shot. I didn't have too much of a preference and my midwife said this is the "standard of practice" so if I really didn't have a preference she recommended the pitocin. However, I didn't get the shot immediately after birth- I hung out in the birthtub for a while, and the cord completely stopped pulsing, and then I got it. My memories of that time are a little fuzzy but I'm pretty sure about 10 minutes had passed.

I didn't feel any contractions at all with the placenta coming out. The midwife seemed borderline concerned after some time had passed and I still wasn't feeling anything. She took a look and it turned out the placenta had already detached and neither of us had noticed.

When you get right down to it, I doubt you'll hemorrhage without it. Our bodies aren't so ill equipped that we hemorrhage out without a shot of pitocin. Push for it if it's what you want.

Bonidiebabe · April 2012

I plan on delivering at a birth center that is very hands off/ very low intervention. They routinely let the mother labor down, no directed pushing, 0% epi rate, skin to skin, breast crawl, letting the cord stop pulsating. So after hearing they do all that, I was really surprised to hear that almost everyone gets a shot of pit afterward for the placenta and to prevent bleeding.

I have to trust these midwives. We will be out a the hospital setting and I understand why they are so conservative. I feel like if I get all the aforementioned things and I have my baby in my arms, at that point I won't care at all. I would be so upset if the birth went just perfectly then I refused the pit and had to leave my baby at the center (they have to be 4 hours old to leave) to go to the hospital for hemmoraging. For me, the shot of pit is nothing compared to what an OB would be offering/ requiring.

julyjennifer · April 2012

I could kind of go either way on this one. With my first I had a natural hospital birth and they suggested a shot of pitocin afterwards to which I consented. I can't remember how many minutes after the birth it was, but I think it was more of a precaution than due to any clear need. I was ok with that. The afterpains were not bad.

With my second, we birthed at home and I had no pitocin shot. The placenta detached fine on its own at some point and I pushed it about about 30 minutes after the birth. The afterpains were worse than I remember with my first, but they say they do that with subsequent children.

I would say that you probably don't need to decide now, they can check with you right after the birth and you can either consent to the 1-minute shot then or take a wait and see approach depending on the circumstances of the birth and moments right afterward. If the baby goes right onto your chest and starts nuzzling around, you may have less of a need, I would think, as you'll probably get a hit of natural oxytocin that can help you contract.

sedge1 · April 2012

I had a different experience than most. I delivered my daughter 8 weeks early due to pPROM with no epidural because my labor progressed too quickly. I had an IV in with antibiotics to keep out infection and fluids to hydrate my uterus. I had to push my placenta out about 10 minutes after my daughter was born, but I wasn't having contractions when I pushed it out (and really that part is nothing compared to birth lol). They gave me pitocin AFTER the placenta was out in my IV to help my uterus contract back down. I would say wait until the baby is out and then decide because most times, the placenta just kinda comes right out, or with a little push.

sschwege · April 2012

At the hospital I delivered at pit was not routinely administered, so I never really had to consider whether or not to get it. The placenta came out fine and I didn't need it. If going forward the hospital offered it routinely I would probably refuse it unless medically needed.

StefandTodd · April 2012

At the hospital I delivered at, pit is routinely given after the birth of the baby. I wrote it in my birth plan to not have it, unless needed. My H and doula both reminded my MW. They had a syringe of pit nearby to give me if I needed it, but I didn't. They probably would've preferred overall to give me the pit, as a precaution, but they were supportive of my choice and it was all fine.

I plan on the same thing for baby #2.

alice2Bcheshire · April 2012

I delivered in a hospital where the administration of Pitocin after delivery is routine. I declined to let them give it to me, and it was no big deal. The placenta came out on its own about 10-15 minutes after DS was born, and I don't even remember having any afterpains.

Want a personalized experience?

Pit and the placenta-advice

Re: Pit and the placenta-advice

Choose Another Board

Search Boards