Hands on delivery * with gory details

Yippee! I got to catch a Dutchling! A very nice plump baby girl was born on the early morning of the 25th. It was sort of a strange labour, not really powerful contractions until transition, but they did the job. There was a unorthodox management for the third stage as this mom had a history of postpartum hemorrhage. So we did give oxytocin, then to my surprise my assistant started to massage the uterus. I think it is because she was already bleeding more than normal, but I have never seen fundus fiddling prior to placental separation... anyway in 10 minutes the placenta came and that was the end of it (thankfully). So I guess I can tell you about the other placenta delivery I saw. It was at the home birth. One of the marvels of the midwives here is that they go from the office to a birth in their "work clothes." So the midwife I was with was wearing a dress with some long necklaces and pumps. (We usually leave our shoes on in the houses - so I was crawling on the bed to get fetal heart tones trying not to get my feet on the bed.) Anyway she delivered the placenta out and up by the umbilical cord magically trapping all of the extra blood that usually gushes out of the placenta and membranes - when I do it at least - and placed the whole thing on a blue pad. And she did it all with one hand, in her dress and heels, without getting a spot on the bed. I'll really try to do it myself - and get photos!!