Chapter 9: Getting ready for labor and birth
Bring supplies
When you think a mother’s labor is near, be sure you have all the supplies and
tools you will need for the birth. The mother will probably have some of these
supplies at her home. A midwife should bring the rest. It is a good idea for
every midwife to assemble a kit with these tools and supplies.
The most important supplies to have at a birth
If you can only get a few supplies, get these:
Clean water
for drinking
or washing
Soap and, if possible,
some alcohol and a brush
for cleaning hands and
scrubbing fingernails
Sterilized string
to tie the cord
Sterilized razor
blades or scissors
to cut the cord
Clean gloves (or very clean
plastic bags) to wear
whenever you touch the
mother’s genitals, the
baby, or any blood or stool
Mucus trap or
suction bulb to
suction the baby
after the birth
Other things to make a birth easier
A way to get to
a hospital in an
emergency
A clean place in
which to give birth
Many very clean cloths or rags
for the mother in labor and for
the baby after the birth
Heat to
boil water
Bowls for washing
and for the placenta
Food for the mother
and the helpers
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A Book for Midwives (2010)
Loving people
to help in labor