Natural Birth in Hospital

[PrincessBree]

Hey Ladies,

I am not due for another few months but I am trying to write a birth plan .

I have always been a fan of the natural route and definitely would like to give it a shot for as long as I can . However having a homebirth is not an option for me personally.

I wanted to know if it is possible to have a natural birth at a hospital with as little intervention (pain relief, examinations ) as possible.

Is there any such thing as just going in and having your baby without being prodded and poked every few hours ?

I know I would appreciate the midwives nurses and doctors on hand if I needed them and of course would do whatever I needed to do should myself or baby be considered to have any kind of risk along the way .But just want to know is it possible to have a natural shot at birth at the hospital ?

 

[GI_Jane]

Yes of course. Do you have a local midwifery led unit at your hospital/local area? This would be the best place to go for the birth you hope for assuming your pregnancy is low risk and they would of course transfer you quickly should you need more intervention.

I had my baby on a delivery suit as he was early but even though the unit was highly medicalised and there was a consultant present, I didn't have much intervention, only what was necessary to ensure we were both safe.

And don't forget you can always ask why, what the alternative is etc if you are offered something you are not sure of.

 

[emyandpotato]

I went in and had one examination and had him about half an hour later, so it's possible! I ripped up my birth plan asking them to not examine me/not offer gas and air/allow me to be mobile, thinking I didn't care any more, but that was a big mistake as they went against all of those things. You can definitely have things your way though, just have to be firm!

I don't know about no examinations in quite a long labour though, I know you can refuse but they'd probably be very pushy about it.

 

[PrincessBree]

Thanx Ladies!!

I would love to go to a birth centre but at the same time I want to know that should I change my mind or if there was something wrong with baby (God forbid) after birth I would want to know intervention is right there.

I know I will need to be quite firm with them and that will include having birth partners that support my natural birth plan .At the moment I have dh who just wants me to be ok and mom who is pro drugs and intervention all the way lol so I'm wondering how that is going to go down if they are for example pestering me to give an examination. I don't know if I am being ridiculous wanting to go into their territory but wanting everything to be done on my terms!

 

[MrsKChicago]

You should be able to go pretty natural in a hospital, if you pick the right providers and the right hospital. Some hospitals will say they support natural birth, but they don't, and some really do work to make it possible. Look at their statistics and it should give you an idea of how much they really mean it. You may have to compromise a little on examinations, at least, so they know how you and baby are doing, but if you don't have complications, you should be able to avoid IVs, constant monitoring, being stuck in the bed, being pressured to use drugs, etc, and you should be able to make the environment comfortable with flameless candles and such.

If it's really important to you, the biggest two things you can do beyond making sure your doctor or midwife is on the same page are to hire a doula who can advocate for you, and to do as much of your laboring as you're comfortable with at home. As long as your water hasn't broken, you can stay home for most of labor and go in when you're close to transition.

 

[justplay91]

I have a friend who just had her baby a few days ago, and she was in a birthing center connected to a hospital. She had a water birth and everything, with very little if any intervention. And if either she or her baby had needed any medical attention (they didn't), they'd just need to be wheeled down the hall. I would ask your doctor or midwife next time you see them what the options for something like that would be. Good luck!

 

[Eleanor ace]

Are you in the UK? Guessing so from your sig. If so you definitely should be able to have a natural hospital birth . Here active labour is encouraged and pain relief isn't pushed. With both of my labours I was offered gas and air once the MW's could see I was in need but there was no pressure to have it. I was examined during both labours but could have refused with my 2nd (with my 1st there were some complications so it was important to know what was going on and whether he was likely to come soon), there was no pressure.

 

[VerbingNoun]

Not sure about the UK but my hospital has portable everything. They have the monitors that are waterproof and report via wireless signal. The best part about it is that all patients are monitored on a big screen behind the RN desk up front so they're not poking and prodding you all the time

 

[PrincessBree]

O my gosh thanks so much ladies
I really feel so much more at ease that I'm not going to be pressured into having lots of intervention and lots of examinations .

Finally I have got dh and mum on board with my birth plan so for now gonna worry about it too much and see how things go xx

 

[Lauraxamy]

Absolutely. I had my first in a normal hospital as I had to be induced so unfortunately it wasn't the experience I wanted and there is a lot more examinations, being hooked up to machines etc when you're induced but my second labour was very natural and I had him at a midwife led birthing centre.. I was examined once when I got there and then pretty much left to it and left to move around and labour on my own, obviously my midwife was there for support but she didn't push anything onto me and didn't examine me again until I said I felt like I needed to push.

 

[NDH]

These links are from an Australian site but should still be relevant.

https://wholewoman.hubgarden.com/three-non-confrontational-ways-to-be-the-boss-in-a-hospital-birth/

https://wholewoman.hubgarden.com/its-okay-to-say-no-but-its-not-easy/

https://wholewoman.hubgarden.com/the-dos-and-donts-of-natural-birth/


https://wholewoman.hubgarden.com/10-tips-on-how-to-write-a-spectacular-birth-plan/

https://wholewoman.hubgarden.com/the-customer-is-always-right-even-when-she-is-pregnant/

https://wholewoman.hubgarden.com/what-to-ask-a-care-provider/

 

[Shadowy Lady]

I had my baby naturally at a hospital. I live in Canada and went the midwife route (most people chose OB's here though the trend is changing). My midwife was chill and mostly let my hubby and be while I laboured. Baby had all the routine examinations but no extra poking,...I was never pressured into interventions but that's not really common here in Canada anyway if you're under a midwife care.

I loved my birth and if I were ever to be pregnant again, I will chose to give birth naturally at a hospital again.

 

[Triocd]

We are planning on doing just this (any day now ). To give ourselves the best shot, we have a midwife and a doula. Between these two choices, we will have the support and advocacy we need to make good decisions. maybe look into if one or both of these are an option for you?

 

[PrincessBree]

Thanx ladies,

In my country it is standard practice that the midwives deliver the baby unless there is something medically wrong,but even then I have heard of instances where they try to push a very medicalised agenda ,more than say if that lady was having a home birth

 

[ClairAye]

I had two hospital births, my second was (I think as I'm not 100% sure on the definition of a natural birth) natural. I had no intervention and the only 'medical' thing I had was gas and air. Up until about an hour before she was born I was just checked up on to check baby's heartbeat, I only had my cervix checked once, which was when I first arrived (it was going to be twice but my waters broke and she came 20 minutes later lol) and actually my midwife put off giving me something stronger (I asked a few times) and I think she could tell that, really, I was coping with no pain relief, maybe. I don't know why she did it but I am glad she did. Sorry, I went on a bit lol, but yes I had a birth where I wasn't poked and prodded etc.

My first birth was heavily medicated and not 'natural' (forceps) but I had a few complications, I think if you are able to avoid it, they won't (well, shouldn't) push it.

 

[MummyToAmberx]

Birth plan is such a vital thing if you want hospital birth without intervention. Make sure your partner knows of all your wishes.