Posts with tag Labour
Hero dad delivers baby after hospital turns mum away TWICE
Pregnancy & birth, Latest news
When heavily pregnant Emma Habens' waters broke she headed straight to her local maternity unit at the North Hampshire Hospital, certain that she was due to give birth imminently. Medical staff, however, disagreed, and Ms Habens, 30, was sent back home, only to deliver her baby just hours later with her partner, Dave Brown, 40, playing midwife.
But the drama did not end there, as roofer Dave delivered his new daughter, he immediately noticed she was blue and not breathing.
The Newborn Diaries: Four weeks until D-Day
Babies, Pregnancy & birth, Weekly pregnancy diaries, The Newborn Diaries
Jennifer Barton is a freelance writer based in London who is originally from New York. While she'll miss her daily dose of Ben & Jerry's, she's desperate for labour to begin, mainly because she has a mini bottle of pink champagne waiting in the fridge for her. Oh, and she's looking forward to meeting her baby, too. I can't quite believe that I'm 36 weeks pregnant.
Now that I've finally started to feel like a competent pregnant person – able to manoeuvre around in a semi-graceful waddle, well-versed in the vocabulary of labour (I am proud to say I've used the word meconium in a sentence, albeit just to show off in front of my partner) and generally feeling positive about my pregnancy, it will all be over soon.
Mother-to-be taken to FOUR hospitals - then gives birth 15 miles from home
Pregnancy & birth, Latest news
A mother was taken on a 'nightmare' 230-mile round trip to FOUR different hospitals - before giving birth just 15 miles away from her home.Helen Ramsey, 33, was turned away from three specialist baby care units before giving birth at her local hospital after a six-day-wait.
Helen's partner James Baird, 31, drove her to Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex, when her waters broke seven weeks early. But the couple were rejected from the hospital's special care baby unit - because there was no room.
Mum has healthy baby - after 20-day labour
Babies, Pregnancy & birth, Weird stories, Latest news
A mother from Lancashire has told how she gave birth - after 20 days of labour. Ouch.
Amy Buck, aged 17, had her little boy Daniel almost five months early after having stomach pains and contractions for almost three weeks.
The Daily Telegraph reports that Daniel weighed just 1lb 3oz and doctors gave him a 15% chance of survival.
The tiny baby spent five months in intensive care but this week celebrated his first birthday and now weighs 17lb.
Amy's ordeal began when she went to Royal Lancaster Infirmary on May 4 last year suffering from stomach pains.
She carried on having labour pains until Daniel was finally born on May 24.
Amy told the Telegraph: "'Thinking back now I don't know how it was possible for me to be in labour for the best part of 20 days and Daniel to survive despite being born so small.
''Looking at him now, I realise he he's little miracle and a little fighter. So many times I thought I was going to lose him. He's supposed to be eight and a half months old now and he shouldn't even be doing what he's doing.
"He's a happy little baby. He said Mummy for the first time on Mother's Day. I was so excited. He's a big mummy's boy."
Real life story: You know what to expect the second time around!
Anne-Marie Hughes gave birth to her son Coby at Wigan Infirmary. Where were you when you realised you were in labour?
"I was three days overdue at the time. I was just at home. In the bath actually, having a bowl of coco pops!"
Oh no, I hope you didn't spill them and make the water all chocolatey!
"Haha, no, I just started getting really bad contractions straight away, so I went right to the hospital."
What did you think of the hospital?
"The labour suite was lovely and brand new. It had everything I needed, I'd give it a 10 out of 10."
Hundreds of women in labour turned away from hospital
Babies, Pregnancy & birth, Latest news
New figures reveal that at least 747 women who were in labour were turned away from the hospital where they were due to give birth because there were not enough staff or beds.
Some women had to travel up to 99 miles to find another hospital which would accept them.
The hospital records were obtained by the Conservatives as part of their election campaign.
They show that in Greater Manchester hospitals closed their doors to women in labour 85 times, sending 329 women on to other units.
In the Norfolk and Norwich university hospitals trust area, some women faced journeys of 99 miles to the next hospital.
The longest time a hospital closed to women in labour was 78 hours, at the Heatherwood and Wexham Park hospitals trust in Berkshire.
The most common reasons for closures were staffing and lack of beds.
Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley told the Guardian: "It's a shocking situation that mothers are being turned away from their local hospital and are forced to travel great distances under stressful circumstances.
How will the big three political parties help families?
Childcare, Primary school, Money & work, Latest news
Were you one of the millions of people who watched the big election debate last week between David Cameron, Gordon Brown and Nick Clegg? The debate was designed to convey their policies when it came to the big issues, but overall I was left no clearer on what they were actually proposing. So if, like me, you're still unsure who to vote for, you might find these summaries useful in understanding their manifestos for families.
Conservatives
- Freeze council tax for two years, giving families a much needed break from the annual increases.
- Marriage tax, equating to around £150 a year for parents who stay married.
- Extra Sure Start health visitors for parents to get the advice and help they need
- Give teachers the power to discipline in schools
- Create smaller schools, with higher standards for teachers
- Flexible parental leave, allowing you to share the leave between you or take it at the same time.
- Flexible working hours for any parents with children under 18.
- Free nursery care for pre-school children, allowing more mothers to go back to work earlier.
- Greater access laws for non-residential parents and grandparents.
- Clamping down on inappropriate advertising for children and allowing teachers the ability to ban advertising and vending machines in school.
P: What is prolonged labour?
Prolonged labour is classed as any labour that takes longer than 18 hours. It is more common in first time mothers or mothers over 35.There a number or reasons why prolonged labour may occur. One of the most common reasons is tension in the mother, which is known to slow down the progress of contractions.
This often happens when a woman reaches the unfamiliar surroundings of a hospital and starts to feel anxious. When anxiety sets in, the uterus - which is a muscle - tenses up, which halts the progress of the contractions. For this reason, women are advised to stay at home for as long as possible in order to allow the labour to continue without the risk of undue anxiety or stress.
F: What is foetal distress?
Foetal distress is a condition that occurs when a baby starts to encounter difficulties during its birth. It is usually a warning sign that the baby is severely fatigued, or is suffering from a lack of oxygen. When the uterus contracts, it cuts off the supply of oxygen to the placenta. If the placenta does not hold enough oxygen in reserve, this can result in a shortage of oxygen to the baby which then results in distress.
Foetal distress reveals itself in a number of ways, with the most common signs comprising the presence of meconium in the woman's waters; changes in the baby's heart rate; and a reduction in the movements made by the baby.
D: What is dystocia?
Dystocia is an abnormal or difficult labour and/or birth, and affects one per cent of vaginal deliveries. The condition has two categories - cervical dystocia and shoulder dystocia.Cervical (or uterine) dystocia happens when the woman's cervix fails to dilate sufficiently during labour, meaning that her contractions will not be strong enough to deliver her baby.
Cervical dystocia is classed as a medical emergency. Once diagnosed, doctors will attempt to stimulate contractions with oxytocin and, if this fails, the baby will need to be delivered by caesarean section.
Risk factors for developing cervical dystocia include previous injury to the cervix, maternal obesity and diabetes.
Baby Alice born in hospital doorway
Mrs Meech made it to the hospital before reaching the final stage of labour in the doorway. She then proceeded to give birth, and was rather comically joined by the opening and closing of the automatic doors every time she pushed.
Watch the CCTV footage below:
Husband leaves his wife in labour - to queue for football tickets...
Babies, Pregnancy & birth, Latest news
A football fan almost missed the birth of his first child - because he wanted to make sure he got tickets to see his team in the FA Cup.
Vince Reeves, 32, a Southampton fan, was queuing up with his wife Rebecca, 26, to get tickets for the clash with Portsmouth.
But when his missis went into labour he got a mate to take her home - while he stayed in line to collect the tickets.
Rebecca's waters broke 90 minutes later while she was in the bath, but Vince stayed in the queue as he was only 50 places from the front.
Fortunately he managed to get the tickets and make it to his wife's side before she actually gave birth.
Even more fortunately, his wife appears to have been very understanding about the whole episode.
I: What is induced labour?
Induced labour is the term used when a woman's labour starts artificially by means of medical intervention. It is used when a baby is significantly overdue, or if there is a medical requirement to deliver the baby.There are three methods of inducing labour, comprising a membrane sweep, prostaglandin insert, and a syntocinon drip.
A membrane sweep is often the first method to be used. This involves a midwife or doctor inserting fingers into the cervical area and gently separating the membranes that surround the baby from the cervix. This may be repeated two or three times before moving on to the next method of induction, prostaglandin.
Study recommends end to 'nil by mouth' during labour
Pregnancy & birth, Latest news
New research has overturned years of perceived best practice by many maternity hospitals who ban pregnant women from eating and drinking during labour.It had been feared that eating and drinking could pose potentially fatal dangers for women who needed general anaesthetic.
However, findings of the Cochrane Systematic Review suggest that the time has come to look again at the policy which dates back to a time when general anesthetic was used more commonly during labour.
Lead researcher Mandisa Singata, said, "Since the evidence shows no benefits or harms, there is no justification for nil by mouth policies during labour, provided women are at low risk of complications,"
"Women should be able to make their own decisions about whether they want to eat or drink during labour, or not."
M: What is the mucus plug?
During pregnancy, the cervix secretes mucus to form a thick plug. This seals the cervix during pregnancy, acting as a barrier that prevents bacteria from entering the uterus.As labour approaches, the cervix thins and dilates, enabling the mucus plug to come out sometimes as a whole or simply as increased vaginal discharge over the course of a few days.
