Comments on: Want a Natural Birth in a Hospital Setting? 10 Questions to Ask

By: Cynthia

Cynthia — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 01:54:50 +0000

Check out the book I wrote about having a natural hospital birth! It is possible! After years of being a doula, a mother of three, and conducing my own research I’ve worked to empower women and have created this guide. I wish you all well! http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Hospital-Birth-Best-Worlds/dp/1558327185/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321234080&sr=8-1

By: CF

CF — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:33:02 +0000

I had a home birth with my daughter and it was a wonderful experience. She was in the posterior position, which meant a long and intense labor. At some point, the midwife called the hospital and instructed them to prepare the OR. She didn’t think I could handle anymore. But my husband insisted that wasn’t what I would want, so we continued at home. My baby turned around just before I started pushing, and I ended up having no stitches, perfectly healthy mom and baby.

I just love the way I was so supported and everyone in the room had confidence in me. The midwives were so calm, so knowledgable…

I am now in my third trimester with my second pregnancy. I’m in a new city and wasn’t able to get a midwife here, as they are in high demand. My experience having my pregnancy followed by a doctor instead of a midwife is completely different. Instead of going every 4 weeks, I normally stretch it out to every 6 weeks, because I feel there’s little point to the visits, other than ordering the standard ultrasound, glucose tests, etc. It seems like the medical approach to childbirth is all about identifying medical problems or emergencies, and responding to them. If you’re having a normal, healthy pregnancy/labor, they have nothing to offer (other than to rule out the possibility that something is wrong, which of course is important).

In my first visit, I explained that I would be thankful for medical intervention in the event that it was required, but that it was my hope to have an unmedicated delivery. My doctor flat out told me that I would need an epidural, because second births are more painful than first. I can tell it’s going to be an uphill battle trying to let a healthy, normal delivery stay that way. But I have confidence in myself and my husband has confidence in me. It would be preferable if I could be surrounded by professionals who also have confidence in me, like I was the first time when I gave birth at home, but I’ll keep an open mind. Who knows? Maybe I’ll get really cool nurses who are excited about attending an unmedicated birth.

By: halema davis

halema davis — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 18:10:14 +0000

did you by chance have your baby in a hospital in nyc

By: Caitlin

Caitlin — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 02:46:07 +0000

I had a natural birth in a hospital. I used the only local midwives available. They do not attend homebirths and they do not have a birth center, so hospital was really my only choice. I took a Bradley class, which helped me learn a great deal.
I think there were two things that were very helpful
1. I waited as long as possible to go to the hospital. I labored at home for a number of hours which meant I was already 6cm when I arrived at the hospital.
2. I refused an IV. It was hospital policy for all laboring mothers to have an IV. Just standard. I refused and instead asked for a heplock. Even this was a big compromise for me because I hate needles. Just getting the helplock in while laboring through contractions was very difficult. Without an IV I was free to move around, which speeded up my birth.

By: Lexi

Lexi — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 16:18:04 +0000

Update I had a natural child birth Nov 5th I didn’t have my DD in the military hospital because my water broke at 3am and the drive was 45 minutes away and my contraction went from every 4 minutes when I got into the car to by the time we were halfway down the high way to less than a minutes apart. So we went to Stafford Hospital and I tell you it was AMAZING!! I had a room and bathroom all to myself it was a private suite and the nurses were very helpful with letting me labor in different positions to get the head down, I had my DD at 11:54am the doctor said that was the fastest delivery he has seen for a first time mom. I recommended Stafford Hospital to my other friends who were lucky like me to have their water break in the middle of the night and a fast L&D.

By: Melissa @ The New Mommy Files

Melissa @ The New Mommy Files — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 23:39:58 +0000

due to limited options, I did have a natural birth in a hospital and my birth preparation looked a lot like yours. I read several books on birth so that I would know what to expect, and I had a very specific birth plan, which I asked each of the obstetricians (I also had a you-get-whoever-is-on-call situation) to look over with me in advance. I think this really set the tone, and helped both me and the hospital staff know what to expect. They knew my wishes, and I knew their limitations. In the end I got a lot of respect and nearly everything I asked for, including saying no to the hospital gown. I compromised on one thing, and that was the HEP lock. I did not want an IV of any kind, but the doctors respectfully requested that I wear a heparin lock “just in case.” I really did not want to, but there had been so much take, that I felt like a little give was in order and I agreed. I never did end up needing it, thankfully.

By: Sara

Sara — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 22:20:37 +0000

I really wanted a natural, non-intervention child birth…but sometimes the baby and your body have other plans. My water broke, but labor never started on its own. However, I can say that the hospital where my son was born was wonderful. They explained that they baby needs to be born within a certain period of time after water breaks because of risk of infection. But, instead of pushing the pitocin on my right away, they let me wait several hours to see if labor would initiate naturally. I waited pretty much til the last possible second before being induced. Because I had stated that I wanted a natural child birth, no sort of pain relief was ever suggested, recommended, or pushed. I decided on my own to take the epi. 7 hours after the first drop of pitocin, my son was born, and placed directly on my chest for me to hold while my husband cut the cord. (My husband also assisted in the delivery). After a which wipe down and check of vitals, he was given back to me, and we were initiating our first breast feeding within 10-15 minutes after his birth. Never once were we offered formula, nor was it suggested we use it.

We’ve moved to a different state, but the hospital where I will be delivering in a few weeks has several doulas on staff for patients. Unless requested otherwise by the mother, the baby is placed directly on mom’s chest after delivery, and unless there are serious medical concerns with baby or mom, the stated goal is to ensure a first breast feeding happens within an hour of birth. Again, my goal is a natural, unmedicated child birth. But, the health and well being of my baby is what comes first!

By: Melissa

Melissa — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 21:50:38 +0000

We were supposed to be a home birth and had to go to the hospital due to being two weeks overdue and having what my midwife described as an “alarming” amount of meconium detected on the ultrasound conducted at +12 days. We were induced, which really bummed me out. Turns out it was good we were there, as our son had to have his stomach pumped and mouth cleared (thankfully, there was no aspiration due to quick action immediately after birth, but it apparently WAS an “alarming” amount of meconium). But we hadn’t been prepared for a hospital birth and had to create a birth plan on the fly. We were able to get a doula at the last second; she was training and not certified yet, but she was WONDERFUL, and less expensive, and was able to get some much-needed experience, too. GET A DOULA!!! We also had known which hospital was our backup in case of transfer, and it had the reputation of being the most respectful of natural birth (10% C-section rate as compared to 34% at some local hospitals). The reputation was well-deserved! Although we were offered morphine multiple times and warned repeatedly that our midwife had NO privileges and would absolutely not be allowed to assist, everything else related to the nursing staff was beyond terrific. They referred to our birth plan throughout labor, and I remember a hilarious moment right before I delivered when the nurse leaned over and said, “Do you still want a mirror?” and I said, “$*#& no, let’s just do this!” (I was honestly too scared to look at that point.) My biggest gripe was that the O.B. (really a very sweet old man who let me labor without harrassing us for a C-section much longer than most, my midwife told me) insisted I deliver on my back. I was very cranky about it and made them wait til the end of a contraction and move me themselves. I also ignored any attempts for him to coach me through pushing; I probably caused myself a little damage by pushing my son out in one push rather than going for head, then shoulders, but it was kind of fun to ignore the doctor and one of the few times I felt I was in control (and not just watching my body do this crazy thing). My partner was in the bed with his arms wrapped around me for the last several hours and was very, very involved; he got to sleep with our son on his bare chest for four hours during the night after we gave birth (giving me a much needed break and yet providing our boy with skin-to-skin contact).

So, we were prepared in that we’d read a ton about what we did and didn’t want to have in our birth and attended Bradley classes, and had some element of a back-up plan. We were unprepared in that we had no doula, were initially terrified of the hospital staff, and weren’t sure what we were willing to compromise on (induction, having to hand our son over for a medical intervention and immediate cord cutting as a result, birthing on my back, etc.). But we felt that the birth went well in the end. And if we ever do this again, we’re going to plan for another home birth.

By: Sherri Edman

Sherri Edman — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 21:44:47 +0000

I had, in order, an unplanned c-section (with a doula), an epidural VBAC, and a drug free hospital VBAC. The first two were in Loudoun County, VA and the third was in Prince William County, VA.

I’d say the difference in having a natural birth in hospital was that I WAITED AT HOMEas long as I could stand it, and then a little longer. I arrived at the hospital 9cm dilated and gave birth within an hour.

I was also much less shy of conflict the third time around. I rejected an IV (compromised by getting a hep lock) and insisted on a fetal monitor that allowed me to move around. The only time I was on my back was when they were examining me. I labored leaning over the bed and squatting, and finally on the bed on my hands and knees. I did not ask if I could deliver on my hands and knees, I just did it! Later the OB and her resident both told me they had never seen a woman deliver in that position before. So I am glad to have contributed to their education– now that they have seen me do it, maybe they won’t be so shy of “letting” other women do it.

By: pamela

pamela — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 21:44:03 +0000

Oh yeah. Big time. The postpartum experience was awful.

I gave birth at a very baby friendly hospital (which was actually mentioned in Mothering for this) and the pp nurses were still very antagonistic.

One told me my breasts were too big to breastfeed, I had to tell at least 4 people not to circumcise my son, I had to fight to keep them from taking him to the nursery, and I had to beg for ice packs for my stitches.

Someone bothered me every 15 minutes, it seemed, for asinine things like checking on how long he had eaten and diaper counts and to check my epidural (didnt’ have one…had to tell every single different person that I didn’t).

The room was tiny and we had to beg for a cot for my husband.

Hated Hated Hated postpartum.