Home Delivery of Babies
(Page 5 of 6)
Compression of the umbilical cord is much more apt to occur
during breech deliveries; less likely when the baby's head
is presenting. The complication is one of several
conditions which may make the baby's heart rate (listened
to over the abdomen) drop below 100-per-minute and which
may cause the passage of watery and greenish baby stool
from the mother's vagina during labor. Another possible
cause of such symptoms is medication which a doctor
sometimes gives the mother for pain.
RELATED CONTENT
INFECTION OF BABY AFTER DELIVERY
If you run a test on any 100 women, 5 will probably have
gonorrhea germs even though they have no symptoms. If a
baby is infected with gonorrhea during delivery, that
infection can cause blindness. This is prevented by putting
either silver nitrate drops or penicillin drops in the
baby's eyes immediately after birth. You should obtain
these drops at the prenatal clinic and always apply them
following a delivery at home.
In those instances where the bag of water breaks before
labor pains begin (dry labor) there is increased risk of
fever and infection in both the mother and baby. This is
particularly true if the bag breaks and no labor pains
begin for 24 hours or more (premature rupture of the
membranes). In such cases (estimated to occur in about
1 in 80 hospital deliveries) the mother may develop a fever
and the baby may be born covered with foul-smelling
amniotic fluid. Such a baby must be watched carefully by
experienced persons, since it may develop a
life-threatening infection during the first week of life.
CHILDBED FEVER AND KIDNEY INFECTIONS
Both childbed fever and kidney infections can occur in the
mother at any time during the eight days following
delivery.
The symptoms of childbed fever are a high temperature,
smelly vaginal discharge and abdominal pain. The condition
is caused by germs getting into the uterus during or after
delivery. Usually these germs are introduced into the
vagina by the person doing the delivery. Always use sterile
gloves (available from a physician's supply house)! Kidney
infections are identified by a high fever and pain on one
side of the mother's back.
In general, if significant fever occurs in the postdelivery
period, you have reason to consult an M.D.
OTHER COMPLICATIONS
Almost all other possible childbirth
coniplications—including blood incompatibility,
anemia, swelling of the feet, blood pressure elevation,
diabetes and syphilis—can be detected by prenatal
check-ups. Some of' the complications I've
mentioned—twins, small pelvic size and abnormal
presentation—are also frequently detected in such
examinations. Additionally, problems such as a bad heart or
bad kidneys in the mother would probably be noted and home
delivery properly discouraged.
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