Some babies just don't want to wait! This information is not intended for
planned home deliveries - but for when your labor quickly and unexpectedly takes
a turn you did not expect - and your baby decides to come out at home.
Your
first job is to remain calm and breathe. If you know your baby is going to
arrive before you can get to the hospital, have someone call 911 for an
ambulance if at all possible. Find a comfortable place and breathe or
pant. Your partner should wash his or her hands thoroughly and bring a
stack of towels to where you are. If this is happening quickly, you may
not have time to cover where you are with plastic such as a shower curtain - but
if you have that moment, it will protect surfaces from blood and fluids.
Save several towels to lay your baby on after delivery. And as you hear on
television, "get some water." Several pots or bowls of warm water will
serve to soak towels and wash clothes to clean your baby and Mom.
If you see your cord protruding from your vagina, you have a prolapsed cord,
and must get help immediately.
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Try not to push. If your baby begins to come out, you will reach a
point where you cannot control it. Do not try to hold in your baby with
your hands or legs, as it will hurt your baby. Allow nature to take its
course. You will probably feel a stinging or burning as your baby
stretches your vagina. Breathe as long as you can. If you push too
quickly, you risk more tearing of the perineum. Feel around the baby's
neck for the cord. If the umbilical cord is around the baby's neck, have
your partner gently place a pinky under the cord and pull it over the baby's
head. If this does not work, lift the cord enough for the baby to be born
through it. Be extremely careful with the baby's umbilical cord. If
it is pinched, pulled or twisted, it can stop carrying oxygen to your baby.
The baby's head and cord should never be pulled. Your baby's head will most
likely be delivered face down, then will turn to the right or left. It may
take two contractions to deliver - one for the head and one for the body.
Partner, remember, the baby is very slippery, so handle carefully so you won't drop him
or her!
When the head is delivered, have your partner wipe your baby's eyes from the
inside outwards - each with a separate washcloth. If the membrane is over your baby's
face, pick it off so your baby can breathe. Your baby will probably gasp and cry. If your baby does not cry, have
your partner place the baby tummy down over your belly or thigh with the head lower than
his or her body. Rub the baby's back and talk to your baby. The
rubbing and position will help all the mucus to flow out. Your baby's
blood pressure will change and your baby will most likely begin to breathe.
If you have a nose suction bulb for infants, you may suction out your baby's nose and
mouth. Do not cut your baby's umbilical cord. When your baby is out,
squeeze the cord to be sure your baby is not deprived of blood.
Hold the baby to your skin and try to get your baby to nurse. Nursing
will help to release oxytocin which will contract your uterus and help to
deliver your placenta. If your baby will not nurse, stimulate your nipples
to make your body release oxytocin. It is important to keep your baby warm, so keep
skin to skin contact, wrap blankets over your baby and if you have a hat, put it
on your baby's head.
If your placenta is delivered before the ambulance arrives, have your partner
massage your abdomen below the naval in circular motions. Firmly push down
about two to three inches, making the circular motions to keep the uterus hard
and contracting - diminishing the chance of hemorrhaging.
Deliver your baby in the car? Use your partner's shirt to wrap up the
baby and keep it warm.
