Emergency Childbirth, or common sense?

This was forwarded to me by another midwife - advice for impromptu birth attendants, straight from the DOD. It would be wonderful if medical practitioners routinely followed this commonsense advice for safe birth! Notice there is no mention of checking for a Cesarean scar first...


Emergency Childbirth Reference Guide Posted at 01:18 AM on January 06, 2010

U.S. Department of Defense

Emergency Childbirth
A Reference Guide for Students
Medical Self-Help Training

Course Lesson No. 11
Emergency Childbirth: What To Do
1. Let nature be your best helper. Childbirth is a very natural act.
2. At first signs of labor assign the best qualified person to remain with mother.
3. Be calm; reassure mother.
4. Place mother and attendant in the most protected place in the shelter.
5. Keep children and others away.
6. Keep hands as clean as possible
7. Keep hands away from birth canal
8. See the baby breathes well.
9. Place the baby face down across the mother's abdomen.
10. Keep baby warm.
11. Wrap afterbirth with baby.
12. Keep baby with mother constantly.
13. Make mother as comfortable as possible.
14. Identify baby.

What Not To Do
1. DO NOT hurry.
2. DO NOT pull on baby, let baby be born naturally.
3. DO NOT pull on the cord, let the placenta (afterbirth) come naturally.
4. DO NOT cut and tie the cord until the baby AND the afterbirth have been delivered.
5. DO NOT give medication.
DO NOT HURRY - LET NATURE TAKE HER COURSE.

{emphasis is not mine - I copied this exactly as written}

This is how I approach attending VBAC as a traditional midwife and it works quite well - just ask the mothers!