With Central Otago Midwives professionalism and years of experience you are in good hands, also during the time of your baby’s delivery. We consider a good delivery one on which you can reflect positively, whether this was a normal vaginal delivery in primary care setting or a more complicated one in hospital environment. The most important thing is that you and your baby get a good start. You will receive guidance throughout this process. Before it is time to deliver we will have thoroughly screened, informed and prepared you for this special event. This process starts at intake gathering your history and general medical health details and it continues during every single antenatal visit collecting observations and adjusting care on these as necessary. Once you have had an anatomy ultrasound at 18-19 weeks of pregnancy we will start discussing your labor and delivery in more detail. Together we set up a plan. Your central Otago Midwife will take time to listen to your (previous) experiences and needs, fill you in with the appropriate information and discuss your labour and delivery options.
Depending on the location where you are and where you want to deliver further advice will be provided.
It is recommended to ring when contacting your midwife rather then text as a text message is more easily missed, especially in the night.
Despite you can’t predict how your delivery is going to pan out; you can prepare yourself on what is going to come:
Search for information. Read the pamphlets provided during theIn 90% of women labor starts with contractions. These are regular tightening of the uterus that causes dilation of the cervix. Most often this is preceded by weakly and irregular tightening, softening and shortening the cervix before it can dilate. These pre labor tightening are called Braxton Hicks. Braxton Hicks generally start about 20 weeks in pregnancy and are felt as ‘hard tummies’. From about 30-36 weeks onwards they become more evident, but are not called labor contractions, as they are irregular and not causing dilation of the cervix. When they become regular and are about 5-6 min apart it often means that the labor will progress further with dilation of the cervix.
In 10% of deliveries the first sign of impending labor is the rupture of membranes and with that loss of amniotic fluid. The amount of fluid you loose can variant. Some women experience a big gush of fluid, whereas others experience a little continuous trickle. Amniotic fluid is blurred, has the color of very thin milk or bitter lemon and can be white cloudy. In comparison to urine it smells sweet and you cant control the loss of it. If you are doubtful about whether you have broken your waters, wear a pad and give us a ring for further discussion and advice. If you experience this in the middle of the night and you don’t have regular contractions try to lie down and get some rest. You are most welcome to ring if this puts your mind at ease. Most labors (80%) do start within 24 hours and so use this time to gather your energy for later on
Some women loose ‘show’ towards the end of the pregnancy. This is some red/brown bloody discharge mixed with mucus. It isn’t a sign that your labor has started and most often it does take a while before regular labor contractions commence.
A delivery doesn’t usually go like you see in movies. Its progress can be described in several stages and before we discuss pain relief we will take time during the antenatal visits to explain these stages to you.
From 37 weeks of pregnancy you have choice as to where you would like to deliver your baby, if there are no medical or obstetric indications beforehand. Where you would like to deliver is your choice. Central Otago Midwives guide deliveries in primary care setting at the Charlotte Jean Maternity Hospital or in Dunedin, Queen Mary hospital (secondary setting). If during your pregnancy an indication arises to deliver in hospital under the guidance of an obstetrician your Central Otago Midwife will refer you and share your care with the hospital obstetric team. When in labor, you will continue to be supported and guided by your midwife as much as circumstances allows.
Important is that you feel comfortable wherever you deliver and we consider it our job to make this happen. When you have chosen your place of birth things still can change along the way. You can always change your mind before you are actively starting to dilate.
Queen Mary Hospital
201 Great King Street, Dunedin
(Queen Mary delivery suite is on the second floor)
Ph 0800 740 999
Charlotte Jean Maternity Hospital
26 Ventry Street, Alexandra
(Red brick looking house with a sign on its fence)
Ph 03 4485229
Every woman when pregnant wonders how she will cope with giving birth. It doesn’t matter if it is your first pregnancy or perhaps your third baby. Every pregnancy and baby can be experienced differently and with that comes a natural amount of doubt. How bad will it be? What if I can’t handle it? Giving birth hurts. There is no denying, it is a simple fact. But every birth is different and so is every woman. Some women handle pain better then others. And for some who thought they have a low pain threshold are surprised by their capabilities. There is no way of predicting. But don’t worry too much: there are several ways to relieve the contractions and dealing with the labor. There is medical pain relief and there is natural pain relief whether you are in a maternity home or in larger hospital environment.
A few facts about contractions and pain:
A few tips to help you through labor naturally:
When the natural ways to help you cope with labor are not sufficient for you, you can receive support with medical pain relief options. Depending on the setting in which you are giving birth there are the following options: