Ask Me Anything

rabtaido1214 · July 2018

Thanks for sharing @BabyRobbinsAdventure. So glad you had a good outcome and it’s reassuring to hear.

SweetSweetTooth · July 2018

If you are not birting in a hospital, but at home with a midwife or in a birth center they SHOULD have the meds on hand to stop or slow down a hemmorage. If you plan to do either of those please confirm they have meds for that!

jennybean80 · July 2018

@SweetSweetTooth Midwives should have Oxytocin at a minimum (it’s the first line drug). Some will also carry tranexamic acid, but if they’re needing that you an ambulance should already have been called.

shortstack930 · July 2018

@jennybean80 any tips for a successful VBAC based on the women you’ve seen go through it?

jennybean80 · July 2018

@shortstack930 mainly try to be patient, but realistic. There is a higher successful VBAC rate (about 75%) than there is for a first time mom to have a vaginal delivery (66%), so the odds are actually pretty good.
There isn’t really a lot you can *do*, either it works or it doesn’t.

cdepperschmidt · July 2018

@jennybean80 You might not know. What percent (roughly) of Moms who had vaginal deliveries with #1 end up with C sections for subsequent babies?

mytrueloves · July 2018

Question about GBS status. I was positive with ODD and came in immediately after my water rupture to get antibiotics. They gave me vancomycin and I had an immediate anaphylactic reaction to it. They told me they couldn't give me anything else due to my other allergies.

I'm allergic to amoxicillin, suprax, and vancomycin. Is there another antibiotic they can give me for GBS if I'm positive again? Or will they just have to hold the baby for observation as they did with ODD?

jennybean80 · July 2018

@cdepperschmidt not off the top of my head (and I couldn’t find any clear studies). But typically having a previous successful vaginal delivery makes for a good candidate for another. It takes a pretty serious scenario to do a c-section on a multip (woman who has delivered before).

@mytrueloves the other one we use is ancef (cefazolin) although there is around a 1% chance of cross sensitivity with penicillin (some studies indicate it's higher). And I’m not super familiar with suprax so I’m not sure if there is a cross-over there as well.

cdepperschmidt · July 2018

@jennybean80 Thanks! I’m trying to mentally prepare myself for labor because I really didn’t last time. I’m trying to include the possiblity of a C section, but I wanted to know if it was likely.

knottieamusements · July 2018

If you had to have a catheter, and experience painful urination following its removal, how long before you should suspect a UTI, instead of simple irritation from the catheter?

jennybean80 · July 2018

@knottieamusements having a catheter makes you more prone to a UTI. If it’s not at least starting to feel better by now, I’d want to get it checked out. Irritation should be resolving within 3-5 days.

Edited to add: unless you have a periurethral tear (up from the vagina towards the urethra). That would take a couple of weeks to heal up, but you would have stitches up by the urethra, and they would have warned you about it.

shortstack930 · July 2018

@knottieamusements I agree with @jennybean80 that you should definitely get it checked out sooner rather than later. I had a UTI from the catheter and just assumed any pain I had was from the c-section and by the time I was a month postpartum it ended up being a kidney infection that landed me in the ER. Hope you get it cleared up quickly!

eireyes · July 2018

I had the periurethral tear with DD, and they'll definitely tell you about it - nobody wants that kind of surprise! Plus, in my experience, it was a different type of burning than a UTI; with my UTIs it burns almost the instant I even started trying to pee, with the tear it was slightly delayed. If you're dousing yourself/stitches with water while peeing and it still hurts, I'd probably assume UTI.

lrlybbert · July 2018

I have to drive 90 minutes (if traffic is good) when it is time to have baby. I’m terrified of having the kid in the car on the side of the road. With a 90+ minute drive, do you guys have different guidelines as to when to head to the hospital? Right now the plan is to induce at 39 weeks since baby is measuring huge, but DD measured big and I didn’t make it to 39 weeks. I’m trying to prepare to not make it to 39 again.

jennybean80 · July 2018

@lrlybbert with that kind of a drive, and having had a baby before, if you are having regular painful contractions that seem like the real thing, I wouldn’t wait much before heading in.

lrlybbert · July 2018

Thanks @jennybean80!

jenchoo · August 2018

My baby keeps measuring big. Just saw him at 80th percentile and two weeks ahead today at a growth scan. At what point would they move up the due date?

jennybean80 · August 2018

@jenchoo at this point, they won’t change your due date based on baby’s size. They just assume baby is big for dates. They typically won’t adjust your dates after the first trimester.
Mine is between the 75 and 90%-ile this time, but DD was over 95th, I just grow big babies (and because they’re all IVF we are 100% on dates).

mytrueloves · August 2018

TW- Mention of sexual violence.

It was suggested to me by both a support group and a counselor that I either include in my birth plan or notify hospital staff that I'm a survivor of sexual abuse and assault, especially because the most recent instance of assault was during this pregnancy. The suggestion was made because I don't know exactly what might be triggering for me during the birth process.

Is this something that staff would actually care to know / take seriously or something that might just put people on edge without actually accomplishing anything?

Like I'd hate to admit this painful thing to strangers if it's just going to be "oh that really sucks but we're doing this cervical check anyway" type of situation.

jennybean80 · August 2018

@mytrueloves we often know if a woman has a past history of sexual abuse/assault. Sometimes she mentions it and sometimes it’s included as a note in her prenatal paperwork from the doctor. We try to act in a more sensitive manner in those situations.

There are also women who choose not to disclose, and there are often indications (more reactive to vaginal exams, difficulty with breastfeeding, more anxious than typical) that lead us to suspect a history of abuse.

Its really up up to you whether you choose to disclose or not, but it is often helpful for staff to be aware.

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