From: mwalker@taimyr.Colorado.EDU (Marilyn Walker)
Subject: Re: Birth Story & moving with a newborn
Organization: University of Colorado at Boulder
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 1992 20:43:47 GMT

In article <Bw0wM8.6DF@access.digex.com> minx@access.digex.com (minx) writes:
>In article <1992Oct12.143657.17078@chpc.utexas.edu> jbyrd@chpc.utexas.edu (Jan Byrd) writes:
>>I've often wondered what midwives do if the water *isn't* clear, which was
>>the case for me with baby #3.  He was overdue and had pooped in the amniotic
>>fluid, so my water was greenish-black.  My OB just said he would have to 
>>suction him extra good when he finally made his way out but before he was 
>>"allowed" to breath.  This didn't seem to be a "big problem".  But the OB 
>>of a friend of mine did an immediate caesarean on her because of this (SHE 
>>says that was his only reason for doing a caesarean.
>>
>>So what do midwives say about this?
>
>I believe that what midwives say is that the woman should come in to have
>the baby monitored.  Passing meronium (sp?) in the amniotic fluid is 
>POSSIBLY a sign of fetal distress.  If the baby is not in distress, and
>the labor is progressing smoothly, I believe that you can still have an
>out of the hospital birth.  Of course, if the baby is in distress, a
>midwife would take you to the hospital since it is no longer a low risk
>birth.
>
It is not just fetal distress that is the worry in this case.  Babies 
continually swallow amniotic fluid, so if there is meconium in it, they
swallow that too.  The big problem comes when they take their first breath.
If they have swallowed the stuff, there is usually some still in the mouth,
and it can cause serious consequences if inhaled.  That is why the OB did
the extra-deep suction.  The baby may show no other signs of distress, but
the birth is no longer truly low risk.  If it is inhaled, the baby could die
(hate to say it but true) or wind up in NICU for a while.

Now my disclaimer - I am neither a OB nor a midwife.  I got this info from an OB
friend who was explaining to me how HE feels when a failed home birth comes in,
which is usually a true emergency, and he gets treated as though he his sole
intent in life is to perform unnecessary surgery on laboring women.  In fact,
he has a very low c-section rate and is well respected by the midwives in
town.  What started us talking about it was that he (unexpectedly) delivered
the baby of some other friends of mine, who had planned a home birth but were
sent to the hospital because of meconium (LOTS of meconium).  I won't repeat
the whole story, but at the end he (OB) told me that in all the deliveries
he had done, a meconium baby was the only one who had died.  He was still 
mourning it a bit, years later.  I was originally just going to answer the
question, but then I just wanted to say this.  It made me realize how quick we
can be to judge someone, perhaps especially doctors, as though we know
exactly the motivations behind their actions.  Yes, I believe that births in
this country are done all wrong.  There is far too much intervention, too many
hospital births that could and should be done safely at home.  But not all
doctors (and probably not most) are motivated by greed or fear of lawsuits.
Their first priority is life, and trying the best way they know to protect it.

Marilyn
mwalker@taimyr.colorado.edu

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