*Part IV – Birth Bag #2*
Disclaimer(s):
1 – This series is a bit like Star Wars, meaning that I’m first releasing the middle parts of the series, because these tend to be the ones people ask about most often. Don’t worry though, you’ll get to see the beginning eventually! 😉
2 – As a home birth Midwife, a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM), and a Licensed Midwife (LM) in Michigan, who accepts low risk people with a normal and healthy history and pregnancy, I generally only need to access a small percentage of these equipment/supplies to help facilitate a normal physiological pregnancy/birth/postpartum. More often than not, my presence in care only requires routine health monitoring, physical comfort measures/suggestions, reassurance and basic counseling, gentle non-invasive support, and documenting the whole experience; the pregnant-birthing person and babe do most of the work! However, when you hire me as your Midwife, rest assured that I come with the bells and whistles needed to help you and/or your babe in a more difficult situation. I have the education, training, skills, experience, and equipment to manage the most common and sometimes not so common complications of pregnancy/birth/postpartum. That’s where the peak inside my bags comes in!
*DO NOT HESITATE to reach out with any questions or concerns that you may have after viewing anything in this series*
The following supplies/equipment pictured from left to right & top to bottom, includes:
1. Birth Bag – carefully carries all the supplies listed below
2. Purple O2 Tank Bag (my favorite color you’ll learn) – includes: (a.) O2 regulator, neonatal bag & mask with attached reservoir bag and oxygen tubing, (b.) adult O2 mask, (c.) Laryngeal Mask Airway (LMA) for helping a *rare* babe with facial/respiratory anomalies
3. Urinary Catheter Kit
4. Headlamp – for better lighting during perineal exam and repair of tears after birth (if needed)
5. Sterile Field/Towel – for prepping suturing in supplies
6. ZigZag Bag – to hold suturing instruments and supplies
7. Sterile Suturing Instruments Set
8. Sterile Suturing Material
9. Syringe & Needles – for administering Lidocaine for suturing
10. Sterile gloves
11. Eldon Card – to check babes bloody type if birthing person is RH (-) Negative
12. Sharps container – for proper disposal of needles and other biohazard sharps
13. 2 Soft flannel slings, scale, and measuring tape – to use during full examination of babe after birth and get all the exciting measurements that everyone asks about
14. Another set of umbilical cord care/quick birth instruments
15. Kit to Hold lots of supplies (in 3 Sections): (1.) IM Injection supplies for administering Vitamin K (if you choose), and extra syringes/needles for IM Pitocin if there is excessive bleeding, (2.) Thermometer – used for monitoring babe and birthing person, Sterile vaginal exam and release of membranes supplies (sterile gloves, amnicot, lubrication gel, and Amnicator swab – to confirm release of membranes), (3.) More umbilical cord care supplies – umbi ring/sterile cord tie/cetro ring (all used as alternatives to the plastic cord clamp used in the hospital
16. Rebozo – a comfort measures tool and to help encourage babe into a good position for birth
17. Protective face mask – if anyone on the birth support team is feeling under the weather
18. Line of Herbal Tinctures – alternative options for managing excessive bleeding after birth and discomforts of labor/birth/postpartum
19. Vial of Oral Vitamin K (if choosing this option)
20. Collapsible white laundry baskets – to keep things sanitary and contained during home birth (1 basket for soiled linens and 1 for disposable materials)
21. Metal Strainer – for straining the lovely Sitz Bath (I will describe this in one of the ‘bonus kits’ posts at the end of the series)
22. Straws – for getting adequate hydration in labor/birth/immediate postpartum (the larger straws are for a placenta smoothie after birth if desire)
23. Small freezer containers – to store placenta pieces for smoothies (if desired)
* STAY TUNED FOR MORE PARTS OF THE SERIES*