Hi! I don't even know if we're candidates for home birth yet, so it may be a moot point since we're not due for, ohh, a million months. But, has anyone successfully had a natural hospital birth? As I understand it Cayuga Medical Center has a birth tub, they always do one room care (so baby doesn't go to nursery) and they have one of the highest breast feeding success rates in the state. I'm presently being seen by a practice mixed of midwives and OBs, but I'm only seeing the midwives (haven't actually seen them yet, but am booked).

I'm a generally pushy person, but I wonder how well that holds up in labor. I mean, I don't want drugs, I don't want to be induced, I don't want my water broken, I'd like to not have fetal monitoring so that I can be up moving around as I please. Is all of this too much to expect at the hospital, even if there are no rules against any of this? Will I be pressured constantly? Can I have my OH advocate for me, or will they ignore him? Would hiring a doula help? This will be my first and my mom is far away.

Thanks for any advice. The only thing I'm scared with home birth is the same thing everyone is scared of... the what-ifs. What if something goes wrong, the baby isn't breathing, or ??? I don't want to lose the baby or even a few IQ points of his just because it took too long to get to the hospital. I know, most home births are fine... but I am high nerves. :/

It really depends a lot on your Dr/MW and hospital staff. I am very lucky, my Dr/Mw's are all very keen on doing things they way you want. If you want to go all natural, they are all for it (I think they actually prefer it). They talk to you about what you want, have you write a birth thingy.. The hospital is great too. They all know what you want because they read your birth thingy and talk to the Dr/Mw. I've had 3 very positive births, although 2 were inductions that I couldn't help.

So talk to your Dr/Mw. Tell them what you want and your concerns. And if they aren't on par with you, maybe find a Dr who is.

It it totally possible, but you need to find a provider that has good NCB rates and who are open to that. Getting a Doula also helps.

I see that you are in NY. I think this is a very regional thing and really comes down to the policies and 'tendencies' at that hospital by that doctor. There are midwives that have hospital privileges in some places but it's not that common.

Still this is definitely not an impossibility. What about looking into free standing birthing centers near you? That can be a happy medium between the standard hospital environment and home.

In terms of research I'd want to call local hospitals and find out their csection rates, rates of episiotomies, rates of use of other assisted delivery tools like vacuum and forceps, whether you are free to move around during labor rather than being strapped to a bed. What are their policies on fetal monitoring (is intermittent okay, or is it mainly constant monitoring (device wrapped around your belly basically making it harder to change positions, move etc)...let's see what else, whether they have tubs available to labor in (not likely to let you deliver in them), can you have your early labor at home (not going in until your contarctions are close)...

All of these factors can have an effect on whether you would need pain relief or whether labor stops progressing (happens often when women forced to lay on back during labor), which can tend to bring on a barrage of medical interventions, at least in US hospitals.

Another option is a doctor in a hospital but hiring a doula, like a birth coach, to advocate for your wishes during labor. Still that would probably be subject to the policies of that hospital.

Talk with your OB or MW about your wishes and take it from there. I had a natural hospital delivery, didnt even get an IV, but I discussed all my concerns with my Dr well in advance. Also spending as much time laboring at home helps avoid the possibility of giving in to pain meds, as does a strong birth partner.

It is possible to have an unmedicated hospital birth, but its more difficult than it sounds like. I soooo wish I would have had a homebirth instead of attempting it unmedicated at the hospital. I had midwives and they said they were suppirtive of natural birth, but when it came down to it that was really BS. The staff was nice, and didn't pressure me, but hospital policies just aren't conducive to unmedicated birth. I had to argue with them about getting an IV, and they "compromised" with me that I would only "have to" have fetal monitoring for 20 minutes of every hour. When the fetal monitors are strapped on you can't move around, so that was the beginning of the end of my birth plan. I couldn't focus on labor and fight their policies at the same time. And its not like they were being jerks, they were just doing their jobs according to policy. With my next baby I will having a home birth with no hesitation whatsoever.

definately chek if there is a midwife led birth center near you because epidurals are not kept there so they dont do any procedures that would lead to you needing one. living in england myself i truly believe that midwives are all that is needed for a low risk birth as doctors and nurses dont just specialise in birth and sometimes have never seen a natural birth but midwives spend there life doing it.
look into a doula if you are going into hospital so you have someone there that knows if you really need that pitocin or not and can argue on your behalf. i personally would steer clear of hospitals that want to monitor you constantly and wont let you move arround.
bear in mind if you have a home birth then the midwife will bring tools to monitor your baby without you needing to be lay down and they will bring gas and air and pethadine and tools for ressusitation of your baby so they are still medical proffesionals and know when to say home birth is a good idea or they think you should go to hospital

watch the buissness of being born if you havent if only to see how nice the homebirths look

i hope you have the birth you want

Definitely talk to your doctor in advance.

We took in a birth plan at about 38 weeks and went over it with mine. It covered the basics, like intermittent monitoring, wearing my own clothes, not being asked about pain relief, etc. We also plan to ask for a nurse who is more familiar/comfortable with our birth style (hypnobirthing), and mentioned that to my doctor, who said that she'll pay attention to who our nurse is and switch them out for us if we get one she thinks is more intervention-happy.

The hypnobirthing materials include a sign for the door that encourages people to be quiet and low-key when they come into the room... I don't see why you couldn't print up a friendly one yourself that says, "We are aiming for a natural birth... please don't offer me pain medication!" or something. Just planting those ideas in people's heads on neutral territory can make a big difference.

Also, I'm having a doula as well as my husband, and they're "running block" for me in terms of dealing with hospital staff. For instance, when they check my progress, they'll tell my doula in the hallway and not tell me.

I think it's very possible, especially if the hospital is set up to support more natural birthing (which it sounds like they are, if they have a tub). You just need to be clear, firm, and polite about your hopes and expectations. Any time they make a suggestion, you have the right to ask, "Is Mom okay? Is baby okay? Then can we have time to discuss privately?"

And also make it clear that you know all may not go as planned and will be willing to discuss other options should they become necessary for your/baby's health.

I'm not even dead-set on a natural birth, I just don't want people bugging me all the time.

SOunds like you have a really sensible plan for asserting yourself at the hospital. Please report back and let us know how it goes. I too want to do my hospital birth without drugs and worry a little about pushy medical personnel. It's my first baby so this is all new to me!