Midwife deliveries are usually low-tech deliveries, with fewer medical interventions than most physician-assisted births. Around 95 percent of certified midwives or nurse midwives deliver in hospitals or birthing centers, according to Midwife.org, and have all types of high-tech equipment on hand. But in 2006, non-certified midwives attended more than 19,000 births, half of which were home births. Midwives who deliver at home need medical tools, if not as many as are available at a hospital.
Labor Devices
Assessing the fetal heartbeat from time to time during labor is essential. A fetoscope, which looks like a stethoscope but has a wider bell to pick up the heartbeat, is a traditional midwifery tool that's easy and safe to use, MoonDragon Birthing Services states. Regular stethoscopes can be used, but it may be more difficult to hear the heartbeat. Some midwives use a fetal doppler, a small handheld device that amplifies the heartbeat. A plastic hook called an amnihook may be used to rupture the bag of waters during labor or at the time of delivery.
Sterile Gloves
Gloves are worn to help keep mother and baby from picking up bacteria on the midwife's hands, but they also protect the midwife from any diseases the mom and baby might have. Non-sterile gloves can be used when cleaning and drying off the baby.
Vital Sign Monitoring
Blood pressure monitoring equipment is used to take maternal blood pressures during labor, if necessary. A stethoscope may also be used to listen to a pregnant woman's heartbeat or lungs, and to check the baby's heart and lungs after delivery. A thermometer is used to monitor the mom's temperature before delivery, if necessary, and to check baby's temperature after delivery.
Delivery Supplies
Scissors are used to cut the umbilical cord after delivery. Scissor must be sterilized, or the mother or baby could become infected by bacteria on the scissors. Scissors might also be used to cut an episiotomy, but many midwives prefer to have the mother tear rather than cut an episiotomy, as many women don't tear at all and others have only a small tear. Sterile sutures and a needle holder may be needed to sew up a large tear or episiotomy.
A sterilized clamp is placed on the umbilical cord so that when it's cut, the baby doesn't lose blood through the cut end. The cut is made just beyond the clamp. If the cord is cut before the placenta is delivered, two clamps are placed a few inches apart, and the cord is cut between them.
Intravenous Equipment
As a general rule, midwife home deliveries do not involve giving IV fluids. However, if a pregnant woman has heavier-than-normal bleeding after the delivery, an IV with medication to contract the uterus may be started. Syringes may be used to administer medications intramuscularly as an alternative to an IV.
Postpartum Equipment
Many babies have fluid in the trachea and mouth at the time of delivery. A suction bulb may be used to gently suction out the fluid so the baby doesn't aspirate it. If the baby passed meconium, the first stool, before birth, the midwife may suck the baby's mouth and nose out with a DeLee trap, which has a thin catheter that can be threaded further into the baby's mouth and throat. Midwives may bring a scale to officially weigh the baby after delivery. Some midwives may also have a pulse oximeter, to assess infant oxygenation levels after birth if necessary.
