From: dhouge@quasar.Tymnet.COM (Diana Houge)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: Meconium, cord, etc.
Date: 16 Oct 92 23:20:11 GMT
Organization: BT North America (Tymnet)

To the worried-mother-to-be:
My little guy was VERY active.  When the doctor broke my water, there
was merconium in it, but the doctor said not to worry, she would just
suction him real well on his way out.  The doctor broke my water
at 3:00 pm and Mark was born at 8:15 pm.  I was connected to monitors
constantly.  The monitor on my tummy kept losing him (this panicked us)
since he was
still very active even while I was in labor, so they put a monitor
directly on his head (this doesn't hurt or even feel uncomfortable).
When he was born, the cord was wrapped around his neck once, but
loosely.  As soon as his nose and mouth were out the doctor started
suctioning him.  The cord being wrapped around did not cause any
problems, I did end up with an episiotomy though.  Part of this
being because I am rather small and my baby was 8 lbs 3 oz., 
(with a big head, just like Dad :-)
also I think they wanted to get him out really fast due to the merconium
and the cord.

The down side was I did not get to hold him for about 15 minutes.
They took him away immediately to do very through suctioning.  My
husband went with them and stayed with the baby the whole time.  

Even though my husband and I were very worried, we felt better since
we were in a major hospital which was equipped for all types of
emergencies, we knew if anything had gone wrong at least they  were
equipped for it.

I don't know if any of this is putting you at ease, but what I am
trying to say, is that in my case, my baby had both the merconium
and the cord, and neither one caused ANY problems at all.  Mark is
now 4 months old, 26 inches and 15 pounds and very healthy.

Also, just FYI, I think labor and delivery were the easiest part of
pregnancy.  My eighth and ninth month were very uncomfortable, not
much sleep and as I said, Mark was very active, it looked as though
I had a large football turning end on end in my tummy.  Labor for me
felt like menstrual cramps, and when they did get severe, I had an
epidural.  The epidural worked great for me because for some reason
I could still feel pressure, but not the pain, so I knew when to
push.  I only had to push for @ 15 minutes and there he was.

Things I would have done differently ( or will do differently next time)
- I would put a note on the door asking visitors not to come in while in
labor.  I had told this to most people, but I guess some just don't
get the hint. (My mother-in-law, of all people, brought two of her friends
in and her 12 year old son)  This really ruined my breathing and concentration
and I ended up in tears before they figured out they should leave.
- I would ask to watch in the mirror.  (I didn't care to this time, I don't
know why I said no, but now I wish I had watched)
- I would have my mother stay in the room during delivery.

Something that did really help me was that I brought in my own tapes of
classical music and played them through delivery.  I still remember the
beautiful music playing as they held up my little boy and he cryed in tune;)

I know I went on too long, but hope this eases some nerves.

Diana Houge
dhouge@quasar.Tymnet.COM

 - My comments are my own -
Newsgroups: misc.kids,soc.singles