Planned Home Birth Checklist for Clients of Quinte Midwives

 

The following are the items that we recommend having ready for a planned homebirth:

 

1. A hospital bag packed and ready to go - including change of clothes for mom, toiletries, and some baby clothes. Mother’s health card should also be ready and accessible.

2. 2-3 painter's tarps or large waterproof picnic blankets

3. A couple of extra old sheets

4. 2 garbage bags (one for garbage and one for laundry)

5. 4-5 old towels (more if you are planning waterbirth)

6. Minimum of 8 Receiving blankets for baby

7. Minimum of 5 old facecloths

8. 2 large metal bowls - one for warm compresses and one to receive the placenta

9. Have a large table close to the planned delivery area, with an outlet nearby

10. You should also have some Tylenol (extra strength) and Gravol (regular) on hand

 

In addition to the above equipment, we ask that you consider the following measures to accommodate the caregiver coming to your house and to ensure the safest home birth possible!

 

1. If it is snowing, make sure the driveway and walkways and stairs leading to the house are cleared

2. If it is night-time, keep an outside light on to help us see, as we carry equipment in and out

3. Have street numbers cleared and easily visible

4. If you have an entrance that is hard to find (back of the house, or with a call number), please let your midwife know about how to enter your house before she arrives

5. Clear planned delivery room and table for our extra “stuff”. Emergencies happen, and a clear working space makes a difference

6. If your bedroom is upstairs, we may ask that you have a mattress on the main floor - this is the safest for ambulance access in the case of an emergency

7. Please discuss any pets that you have, with your midwife, she may ask that you make accommodations. For example, some midwives have allergies, others may not be comfortable with large dogs.

 

Waterbirth specific recommendations:

1. You will need more towels than you might expect. You may get in and out of the water several times over the course of the labour!

2. We recommend you have the following items

   1. Brand new hose for filling the tub – the hose should be rinsed for a few minutes before use to prevent Legionnaire’s disease

   2. Fish net

   3. Water thermometer (ideal temperature is 36.5-37.5)

3. Do not fill your tub until you are in active labour

4. Make sure there is space cleared around the tub for easy manoeuvring

5. If it is a rental, you will need to make sure you have a liner/all of the equipment for filling the tub

 

 

Preparing for labour at home:

 

• When you are in labour, make your bed with sheets and pillow cases you want to sleep in.

• Then cover those sheets with a plastic tarp or plastic picnic blanket and cover your pillows with a garbage bag and tape them shut

• Cover everything with old/shabby sheets and pillow cases

• When you deliver, the old sheets will get some blood and gunk on them, but your good sheets should be protected

• After the baby is born we will strip the old sheets, tarps from your bed, and garbage bags from your pillows while you get up to shower - then your bed will be ready and clean!

 

You may want to make some ice pads to have ready for after the delivery. Take some large heavy duty pads (not Always Brand, and nothing with Dry Weave), lay them on a cookie sheet or in a bowl to “pre-curve” them and sprinkle lightly with water and maybe some witch hazel. Put them in the freezer and then stack them so they are ready for after the baby is born!

 

You do not need to feed your midwives! We do however recommend that you have light healthy snacks and lots of water for yourself.

 

Your midwife will need a station to set up a warmer for the baby. This is ideally a table (not coffee table height) or counter top that is cleared, close to an outlet, and close the planned place of delivery.

 

Your midwife will do a home visit prior to a planned home birth. She will bring a box of supplies that she will use during the delivery. She will also assess your home for its suitability for a homebirth. If there are any safety concerns with the location or layout of your house in regards to having a homebirth your midwife may discuss the option of hospital or clinic birth with you.

 

Approximately 25% of all planned home births transfer to the hospital. The most common reason to transfer in, is for pain medications. Your midwife will discuss with you how emergencies are handled at home, and when it will be recommended to move into the hospital.