Polyhydramnios

Hi H., sorry I can't help you, I've never heard of that condition. But, I get aggravated when I hear people say home births are not safe, so I wanted to get a word in.
Both of my children would have been "emergency lifesaving caesareans" had I been in the hospital, I am so grateful i had my midwife at home to teach me proper positioning to get my children out, unharmed, and perfectly healthy (without a scratch on me).
You probably know since I'm sure you've done your research, that the outcome is the SAME for home or hospital emergency, study after study shows this. And in fact, there is less risk of injury or intervention to the baby at home with a professional midwife. Anyone who argues this has not done their research. Plain and simple.
I applaud you for looking outside the box of our health care system, which is at the very, very bottom as far as infant and mother health is concerned in the top nations (number 27, dropped from number 26 last year) There are 3rd world countries doing better than us, and 99 percent of our babies are born in the hospital. hmmmm...rich doctors, dying babies and mothers...it doesn't add up.
I hope, hope, hope your midwife can be there for you as long as possible during the birth. But since this is your 3rd one, you know what to do. Speak up, don't give in, and do your research!!!
good luck to you!

I have not had this, but I have had pregnancy complications, including being on bedrest for 13 weeks. Try to keep a positive outlook. This could be a blessing in disguise, perhaps the Lord's way of getting you not to have a home birth. My dad is a neonatologist (ie, "baby doctor") and is completely opposed to home births. He has seen more than a few babies die because they were delivered at home and could not get the help they needed quickly enough, even for things that would have been routine and easy if the baby had been born in a hospital. You can't predict what will happen at delivery and how the baby will be health-wise at birth. Why take the risk? Four of my five babies would have died without routine medical care at birth. I can't imagine how awful I would feel if I had chosen to deny them the opportunity of prompt medical care by purposely delivering at home. Imagine my surprise when after two perfect pregnancies, my second child was born with premature lungs even though he was not even premature. He was gasping and bubbling at the lips and in great distress. It was so hard to watch. His oxygen was only getting up to 39% because his lungs weren't ready. Fortunately, since we were in the hospital, he was whisked away to intensive care and two weeks later came home in perfect health. It was a blessing rather than a shock to see him hooked up to all those tubes. He looked so peaceful compared to his panic of not being able to breathe. I can't comprehend why anyone would risk the life of their baby to satisfy their romantic notions of a home birth. Each baby deserves the best chance possible. I wish you and your family the best.

Hey H.,

I did have this during my 2nd pregnancy, but it was not severe. It went away in about a week, which is the time frame the doctor wanted to wait to see if it corrected itself. Like yours, mine happened toward the end of my pregnancy. During that week I felt like my skin was being stretched to the max and it was definitely painful and uncomfortable. For that they recommended warm(not hot) washcloths on my tummy. I was on bedrest at the time so I did this as much as possible, and it seemed to help.
I would ask your doctor what they do in this case if it doesn't clear up on it's own. I was informed that this happens frequently, but in most cases you don't have too much to notice. Sorry this is happening to you. Try not to stress too much. Good luck with your birth, and congratulations in advance!
P.

I also had this in my pregnancy. I had it from 21 weeks until I delivered - 3 weeks early due to the extra fluid. I always measured 2-3 weeks larger than my gestational age and then at my ultrasound at 21 weeks they diagnosed me with this. My water broke at home and I had to get pitocin to help my labor along, as I was having NO contractions. I had no real complications...They did give me antibiotics since my water broke at the house and my daughter was turned a little to the side and my Dr. said that could be from the extra fluid but she was able to turn her a little and it all worked out fine. I'm sorry that your home birth plan is not going to work, but at least you know that if there is a problem due to this condition you and your baby will be getting the best care they can. I don't agree with the PP that totally bashed you for wanting a home birth, that is your choice and for a totally normal pregnancy is a great option to consider. I think your best bet is to talk further with your Dr.s/midwife if you are still worried and see what they say!! My Dr. told me that there really isn't anything you can do to help with this issue and that it is very common!! Congratulations and good luck! Let us know how you make out!!

When I had this problem with my second, the doctors were concerned about the formation of my daughter's stomach and concerns about the chord. It also could just be one of those things and mean nothing. When my daughter was born, she had x-rays done within the same day to rule out any complications. I was told that it would be a simple procedure if there was a need to correct it but nothing is simple when you're paranoid about anything being done to your little one. I'm sorry I can't remember what the abnormality was called but I thought I would just throw that out there. I'm sure that the doctors would have thought about it by now. I had my girl at 38 because I had a scheduled c-section and she turned out okay. I'm sure you and your baby will too. Congratulations!!!

I had it, but didn't find out about it until I was 38 weeks, and same thing - they had no idea why. I had twice the normal amount of fluid. The doctor ended up inducing labor a few days later for several reasons (not just the polyhydramnios). They also broke my water at the hospital, but the baby was just fine - went right into position and all! I'm sorry that you can't do the home birth that you wanted, but I'm sure that you and your baby will both be just fine!

I had polyhydraminos with my first pregnancy, i found out at 26 weeks i was measuring 40 weeks and i just kept getting bigger nad bigger befor ethey could do anything i had my daughter at 30 weeks she spent 49 days in the nicu she is 2 almost and great. im now 24 weeks pregnant and at my lost drs apt i was measuring 29 weeks. i was hopping for a normal pregnancy this time but they way it looks im doing the same thing as the first. me and my dr are talking about amnioreduction to reduce some of the water so this pregnancy will last longer but since i constintly make more and more fluid she is worried i will replace it twice as fast. both time they call it idiopathic cause because they can never find a reason why i have it exspically seeing as how severe it was the first time. good luck

Hi. I have never heard of that but I did have too much fluid around my son when I was pregnant. The doctors never said anything to me about how big I was and they were not concerned. I was 36 weeks pg and I measured 53. That's alot of fluid. I was complaining all the time about how big I was and the doctor wasn't concerned. When I went in to have my son and they finally broke my waters there was a HUGE mess. I soaked the bed and the floor. I think about 5 gallons of water came out. There was so much water that they had to call maintenance and move me to a different room. I looked like I was having triplets. But I had a perfect 9 lb. 12 oz. baby boy. Just wanted to let you know also that because I had all that excessive fluid that my stomach muscles were so streched for so long that I now have a pouch that hangs over and will never go back. Ask your doctor if there is anything that can be done. My doctor didn't seem to care about it but hopefully yours does. Good luck!

I don't know what is wrong with me, but I am measuring too large too. I plan on having a midwife attend my homebirth and so far she has no concern (I am about 27 weeks). You may want to just keep checking into it, maybe get a second opinion. Some days my belly seems really big and other times it seems lower, do you have that same problem? Having a homebirth compared to a hospital birth is so much healthier and more relaxing. I had two in the hospital and this will be my fourth at home, so I know both sides. I hope you can still have your homebirth, just do your research and see if there is really a problem that would keep you from doing so. Good luck and congrats on number three!!