Can you have a natural birth in the hospital?

[kcw81]

Hi,
I was wondering if you can give birth in the hospital with your obgyn but try to do it without an epidural? Or do they sort of force you to take the epidural if you are there? Is that why people birth at home, so they can avoid the temptation or pressure of drugs?

 

[mommyof3co]

Of course you can I do think that nurses and OBs tend to offer the epidural a lot more, which in the middle of labor can be really hard to say no when you have someone constantly there saying "oh here you can have this it will make it all better" but I think if you talk with your OB and let them know what you want to do and you find a supportive dr you def can! You might want to look into hiring a doula too, they will be there to tell the nurse your plans too when you are in the middle of labor and to help you through labor. Or even going with a midwife instead of an OB would be helpful too, they are less likely to intervene (here in the US)

 

[kcw81]

Thanks! I am still undecided. I want the option of the epidural and of all modern science technology being right there in the hospital and I want my OBgyn to deliver me since I trust his experience, but I have been hearing scary things about epidurals possibly causing permanent back probs and this freaks me out more than the labor pain! So if I could do it without the epidural, I want to. I think I will just tell my doc about my feelings and he hopefully will be understanding.

 

[mommyof3co]

Hopefully he will, if he's someone you trust I'm sure yall can work something out I did have an epidural with 2 of my 3 births (one was a spinal because it was a csection) but this time I'm going all natural in a birth center. But I never did have any problems with my epidural, no long term problems at all. But I think going into it with an open mind but being educated on the risks and benefits of it all is really good, instead of having your heart set on one thing and being disappointed if it doesn't work out...especially being your first you just never know. But I really hope you have the delivery you want!!

 

[flubdub]

You should be allowed to birth however you want! I see you are the US, and I know most people over there seem to have epidurals, whereas in the UK - most people definately dont. If you feel really strongly about it, make a plan and stick to it. Also get your birth partner clued up on it too, so you are not pressured into something when you are in pain.
Good luck x

 

[aliss]

They cannot force you (you will need to sign a consent for for epidural) but... they will push it, especially if you are in the US.

Another option is having a doula at your birth. I didn't want an epidural but when I started begging for one, OH couldn't stand to see me in pain and quickly collapsed on the whole support issue (support me in NOT asking for one). Natural for them I suppose, to not want to see their loved one in pain. I think a doula can be much more impartial, iykwim???. Anyways, I had a lot of complications from mine, very dangerous one, so if I don't opt for the C-section next time, I absolutely want a doula there to help me say no!!

 

[kcw81]

hey aliss, thanks for the info! Yeah about the doulas, I know they help a lot when it comes to sticking to your birth plan but I really do not want to pay extra money for one!

 

[PepsiChic]

i had a natural birth at hospital! im from the Uk and i live in the USA. people do tend to think your going to have an epidural, they assume it infact! i told my OBGYN from the begining, that no meds at all (except some oral antibiotics late pregnancy for group b strep) YES there is oral pills not just the IV they try to force on you during labour!).

i had no IV, no epidural, not even some tylenol.

i was too nervous to have a home birth and i went 6 days overdue, i only had oral antibiotics in late pregnancy for group b strep not the IV antibiotics during labour, so they had to clean him up good as soon as he was born. which was fine.

was in labour for 6 hours - felt like half an hour! 5 pushes and he was out, didnt tear, didnt need stiches. labour didnt really hurt till the last few minutes where i was told i couldnt push and so trying not to push i tensed up and it made the contractions worse. breathing really helped during the rest though. pushing was a breeze, didnt feel any pain at all.

placenta delivered 2 minutes later with a tiny push and no pain.

i didnt have the shot afterwards to stop bleeding even though i did bleed quite badly afterwards, i was given tummy compressions which hurt a bit but more felt uncomfortable then anything, it stopped the bleeding and we left hospital 30 hours after Lo was born.

 

[Jenniflower]

i had a natural birth at hospital! im from the Uk and i live in the USA. people do tend to think your going to have an epidural, they assume it infact! i told my OBGYN from the begining, that no meds at all (except some oral antibiotics late pregnancy for group b strep) YES there is oral pills not just the IV they try to force on you during labour!).

i had no IV, no epidural, not even some tylenol.

i was too nervous to have a home birth and i went 6 days overdue, i only had oral antibiotics in late pregnancy for group b strep not the IV antibiotics during labour, so they had to clean him up good as soon as he was born. which was fine.

was in labour for 6 hours - felt like half an hour! 5 pushes and he was out, didnt tear, didnt need stiches. labour didnt really hurt till the last few minutes where i was told i couldnt push and so trying not to push i tensed up and it made the contractions worse. breathing really helped during the rest though. pushing was a breeze, didnt feel any pain at all.

placenta delivered 2 minutes later with a tiny push and no pain.

i didnt have the shot afterwards to stop bleeding even though i did bleed quite badly afterwards, i was given tummy compressions which hurt a bit but more felt uncomfortable then anything, it stopped the bleeding and we left hospital 30 hours after Lo was born.

Love the story!! Especially coming from a hospital in the US. Really shows you can get the birth you want.

 

[PepsiChic]

Love the story!! Especially coming from a hospital in the US. Really shows you can get the birth you want.

thank you! im a stubborn brit, and i wanted the birth to be as natural as possible with no needles as im phobic. my OBGYN was fantastic and i'll be sticking with her for #2 when we ttc next summer!

finding an OBGYN that listens to what you want is key for having the birth you want.

 

[MummyMagoo]

Course you can its YOUR birth!!
I live in the UK so things are a bit different here but i had a natural hospital birth with DD1.
Good luck
xx

 

[LisaJanse]

I don't know whether you have a similar thing in the US but we have a lot of hospitals with midwife led birthing units inside them. That means you can have a very natural birth in a relaxed place with just midwives, limited pain relief and birth pools, but that you can very quickly be moved to the more medical part of the hospital (usually just up or down one floor) if things don't go very well. I had that for my second and had a water birth.

 

[bambikate]

Hi hun I had a natural birth in hospital - hope it all goes well for you xx