US ladies...natural birth at a hospital?

[sarsaparilla]

I figure this will be geared more toward US ladies, as labor and delivery is vastly different than in other countries. By that, I mean that a lot of hospitals are VERY pro-intervention. When I found out I was pregnant, naturally I went to the OB/GYN office I see for my annuals. I've had a great experience with them, but there are a few things that have started raising red flags. For starters, there are 8 doctors (and one CNM) in the practice that do OB care and deliveries. At almost 20 weeks, I've only seen 4 of the doctors. There is a good chance that I could have a doctor I've never met (or only met once!) deliver my child. On this same topic, even if I have a birth plan that I go over with the doc beforehand, there is no guarantee that doctor will be present at delivery.

I've known others to deliver at the hospital and they had wonderful things to say. However, when I told them I wanted a natural birth, their whole tune changed....I'm slowly finding out now that the hospital is very pro-intervention, even with a birth plan (I just want to say, I'm only opposed to unnecessary intervention, not emergency interventions!). That makes me nervous, so now we're looking into having to hire a doula to be an advocate for us. To top it off, the hospital has a mandatory policy that all babies visit the nursery for 1-2 hours after delivery. I find that so sad...I want to bond with my baby after birth--that time is so necessary!

All those things considered, I'm now looking into a midwifery/birth center in town, but I really don't know if my husband is on board, as this is our first child. I think he likes the security that a hospital can offer if something goes wrong, but I am concerned that it won't be easy to have my natural birth in a hospital setting...and if it is possible, I know it won't be without a struggle. I know every hospital is different, but I'm looking for stories of people who have had a successful natural birth in a US hospital and what your experience was.

I have an appt. in two weeks and will talk to the doctor about having a natural birth. I'm hoping that I will get honest answers and not just answers I WANT to hear. I'm also hoping the doctor won't question my decision and if they show that they aren't comfortable with it, that will probably be it and I'll be transferring care elsewhere.

 

[Jencocoa]

Good luck!

I used a midwife with my first two, but at a hospital. No drugs, all natural. I had to go to a hospital further away because the ones nearby would not accept my midwife. I wanted to do a water birth, but both times my kids heart rates dropped too much (cord issues) and I was unable. Gonna try again this time. A doula is great and I highly recommend it! My birth plan was no intervention unless necessary for baby's or my life. They unfortunately had to use a vacuum with my second, last step before C-section. I did not want an episiotomy either, natural tearing heals better usually. No inducing etc. I agree the US has made birth into too much of a medical procedure with too many interventions.

That is ridiculous to have a policy that the baby HAS to go to nursery. I would be wary of that. Are there other hospital you can go to? I worry because there are reported cases of babies being given formula or even shots that the parents declined. I found a hospital where Dad could say and baby could stay.

While I am super into the natural, I am also a worrier, so I felt better being in a hospital environment just in case. Peace of mind.

Good luck on your journey!

 

[daddiesgift]

A natural birth at a hospital is VERY hard. Impossible? No! But hard. Things to consider..

1. Natural birth HURTS LIKE HELL. There I said it. This is pain youve never felt in your whole life. Everyone goes through it. No matter how pro natural you are at one point you are going to want to give up and give in to pain medication. At the hospital its as easy as saying GIVE IT TO ME NOW!! Its hard to achieve all natural birth when the solution to no pain is right there.

2. Doctors are not going to want you there all day. Natural births take longer, at times. They are going to want to give you pitocin, Youll say no I dont want that, and they will come up with some reason to why you need it. It makes contractions longer and harder, and hurt so much worse. Again making it hard for you.

3. Being your first child and just having your husband there is going to make it hard to fight off the interventions from the doctors.

If I were you Id hire a doula to come to the hospital with you. She will inform you on whats going on when the doctors or nurses are doing things and not telling you. She will help you with all natural pain relief. She will talk you down to acceptance when the pain becomes unbearable. We think our husbands will, but when the wife is crying and in pain they want to help and make it stop. If you HAVE TO have a hospital birth I recommend a doula to the MAX.

A birthing center is focused on giving you a natural birth and following what you want. The midwives will be the ones you see every time. They will have pain relief but not epidurals. They will be the support you need. Birthing centers DO NOT accept at risk women. If anything at all ever comes up during your pregnancy or labor you will be transfered to a hospital right away. They dont take risks. Especially if you do your research on the facility.

Id have you and your husband watch The Business of Being Born. Its very PRO home birth which Im sure your OH is against but it gives great information on how the hospitals and OBs work.

Ive had two very different births. A natural at birthing center, and a hospital epidural birth. With our next Im trying my hardest to have a home birth. I wish I wouldve always chose home birth, but as a first time Mom I can see how that would be very scary and off limits. Im not sure I couldve done it.

No matter where you go just have the support you want and need. Take as many natural child birth classes as you can and read as many books as you can. Nothing can prepare you for becoming a mother but going blindly in is not the way to go. TRUST ME. My natural birth wouldve been 100 times better If Id had support, tried more classes and books and practiced techniques.

 

[juhnayrae]

Hi there! I actually just did a natural birth at a hospital last week! Before we even got pregnant DH and I decided we wanted a natural birth, but we wanted to do it in a hospital because DH's sister was born with several different birth defects (several holes in her heart, she's missing her corpus callosum, and she has a really rare eye defect called Peter's Plus Syndrome) So going to a birthing center or doing a home birth was really out of the question for us, we just couldn't bring ourselves to get comfortable with it.

Like you, we started our prenatal care with my OBGYN, but quickly felt uncomfortable. My main doctor was pushy about inducing if I went a week late (which I thought was a little early still) and starting talking about interventions he would use, even though I made it very clear that I wanted a natural birth. Again, like you, there were like 5 or 6 other doctors in his practice that I had never seen and didn't know if all of them would be on board with doing a natural birth with no interventions unless it was medically necessary. We decided then to switch care.

We searched all over the area we live and were fortunate enough to come across a group of CNMs that have hospital privileges because they have a doctor that works with their practice. All three of the midwives are very supportive of natural birth, as is the doctor. They do minimum interventions unless it's deemed medically necessary. Also, at the hospital, all the nurses know our CNMs tend to have patients that want natural births with no interventions, so the nurses just stay out of the way.

When I got to the hospital, I was taken to a room and only ever saw my CNM and a nurse. Everyone else left us alone and because of that I got to have the natural birth I dreamed of. It went exactly how I wanted it to (other than a little long )

In general, you're right, I think most hospitals here are VERY pro-intervention, but if you find a group of CNMs like I did, you probably wouldn't have anything to worry about. I hope you do find a CNM or even a doctor that will give you the experience you want!

Just wanted to share my experience and let you know it IS possible! Best of luck!!

 

[sarsaparilla]

I agree the US has made birth into too much of a medical procedure with too many interventions.

I couldn't have said it better myself! It's natural for women to have babies, and I feel like so many doctors are trying to turn it into something it's not.

I have a list of questions for my appt. in two weeks...one of them addresses the fact that the hospital policy says online that the baby has to go to nursery after birth for 1-2 hours. As someone responded to me in a local mom forum they "literally take the baby from your arms and walk away." While I'm sure that's a little dramatic, the bottom line is that I want that time to bond with my baby--not send him off to the nursery. I don't see a need for it.

Daddiesgift, thank you so much for your honest responses. I do worry that in a hospital, having drugs available would be "easy"...easy for them to push them on me, easy to say yes, etc. Almost like a forbidden fruit. I know I am a strong person, but while in full labor, I have no idea how things will be. I agree that if we do end up in a hospital setting, there WILL be a doula there. My husband is wonderful, but I know he won't like seeing me in pain and I don't know if I'd be able to count on him to say NO to everything.

There is a wonderful birth center in town that I've heard nothing but great things about. A large part of me wants to just go the birth center route. Two midwives, quiet environment, being able to do things MY way with no outside pressure...it seems awesome. I'm having a bit of trouble getting my husband on board with it all because it's "different". On the contrary, I'm also nervous because this is our first birth and I don't know what to expect.

We're looking into taking Bradley classes. My mom took them with my sister and I back in the 80s and swore it was the best thing she and my dad could have done to prepare. I've ordered the book and am looking into what classes locally can fit into my crazy work schedule.

Juhnayrae, CONGRATS on the birth!! That's great you were able to find a group of midwives with hospital privileges! Unfortunately, there are no independent midwives in town here...the only midwives in town operate out of three birthing centers. So it's OB or bust in terms of the hospital...there is an OB practice I found that is very focused on natural birth and also has a CNM there. I wouldn't be opposed to switching there if I can't get my husband on board with the birth center idea. The downside is that the hospital doesn't have tubs, allow birthing balls, birth bars, and several other things. But it's definitely an option!

So much to think about and not going to lie, it's a little overwhelming. Early in the pregnancy, I was so focused on making it to the end of first trimester, then I was focused on having good screening results, then finding out the sex of the baby...now I feel like we're almost halfway, I'm starting to focus more on the birth and realizing I might not have chosen the best situation for all of us. I'm excited for it all though and really looking forward to what changes are in store!

 

[daddiesgift]

Thats a crazy policy!! I would for sure tell them thats not an option for you at all. With my first he was never taken anywhere out of my site, with my second my OH went with him to nursery so they could clean him up. Then after I was cleaned up I went to get him so he wasnt away but maybe 10 minutes my OH was there whole time. They asked me a few times, said I looked tired, if I wanted them to take him so I could sleep. Odd question I thought.

Birthing centers are great. This isnt always the case but most the time any complications in labor are going to have been for seen in pregnancy. Maybe present your OH with the facts on how many deaths occur to mothers and newborns in hospital versus birthing centers. Even at your midwife interview you can ask them what problems theyve faced and how did they handle it that way you can get peace of mind that they know exactly what to do.

 

[juhnayrae]

I can't imagine my baby being taken away from me at birth!! What an awful policy! Can you put your foot down and just tell them no?

Before birth I told DH that no matter what was happening with me, his job was to be with our baby at all times if they tried to take her away. After I delivered we spent 2 hours in recovery where they monitored me and the baby, but they never took her away. It wasn't until they moved us into postpartum did they take her into the nursery to wash and measure her, but DH went with them. They kept asking if we wanted her to stay in the nursery so we could get some rest, but we never took them up on that. I wanted to be with her as much as possible! Plus, when we got home there's no "sending her to the nursery so we can get some rest" so it seemed a little unrealistic...

 

[Sbmack]

I'm feeling lucky that I live near the hospital I do after reading some of these policies. Last night I went to tour the labor ward and water birth room where I will deliver. They will not take the baby from you unless there is a complication. They even have some machines to deal with minor ones right in the room. All measurements and cleaning up are also done right in the room. The hospital as a whole has a fairly low rate of interventions. The nurse said they only do like 10 epistemologys a year. I'm also quite happy with my practitioners. It's a team of obgyn's ans CNM's. There's five of each. I can specify if I want an obgyn or a CNM to deliver. all of the dr.s at my practice are pro natural birth so I haven't decided if I'll even specify. Also, it's usually the midwives that deliver anyway.

I hired a doula towards the beggining of my pregnancy and I couldn't be happier with her. I would definitely do that if I was concerned with the hospital and intervention happy doctors. I know my husband wouldn't be able to stand up and vocalize our birth plan if I was in too much pain.

It sounds like the birthing center near you would be a great fit. I definitely second the reccomendation to watch The Business of Being Born with your husband. Mine was totally freaked out about seeing me give birth, but watching the film had calmed him a bit. You also might want to read the book 'Ina May's Guide to Childbirth'. If I had access to a birth center, that's where I'd be delivering.

 

[MommyJogger]

To top it off, the hospital has a mandatory policy that all babies visit the nursery for 1-2 hours after delivery.

I had a hospital birth with unnecessary interventions that were sold to me as necessary or required by hospital policy. This quote is a huge red flag for me. I've been talking to different doctors and midwives in the area trying to get a feel for what our hospital is legally allowed to require in case we end up there again. They cannot force you or require you to keep your baby in the nursery for any length of time. And if they don't let baby sleep in-room with mom, they can't force you to stay the 48h after delivery. You are well within your rights (and it's good sense) to demand that any procedure they need to perform on your child is done in the recovery room with you present. Those first hours after delivery are some of the most important to establish breastfeeding, as well, if that's something you wanted to do.
Good luck! I wish we'd had a doula. It's one of the biggest steps to achieving a natural birth in the US, imo. If you can afford it or can find someone in need of training hours, a postpartum doula would have been amazing as well.

 

[TicToc]

I got lucky before and had a natural childbirth at a hospital with no pressure form the nurses or doctors, of course I had a quick labor and everything went smooth. This time around I kept my OBGYN instead of switching to one of the midwives in the practice because I do have a lot of risk factors and there policy is that all high risk patients must see an OBGYN. But I like him and have discussed my desire for a natural childbirth every time I see him and he seems cool with it. I know DH won't freak out and panic since he has been through this before but I am glad I read this thread because I have yet to tour the birthing center and ask questions about all their rules (the hospital just did a big renovation and changed thier maternity ward to a birthing center...whatever that means). And I am terrified of them taking my baby and doing things to her that we don't want done. >_<

 

[bassdesire]

I had a natural birth at a hospital with very high csec rates. I hired a doula (you really should in the US if you are at a hospital) and you should use a midwife.

The key is setting yourself up for success. This includes, not running to the hospital at the first contractions...wait until they are three minutes apart for awhile. Drink tons of water and eat as long as you can to have enough endurance to go through labor. Know that it serious hurts like a bitch. It's like really, really painful. I had convinced myself I was only 1 or 2 cm. I got to the hospital at 9 9.5 and cried with joy. I knew I could do it. Hire the doula who can help you with pain management. Make sure your oh is on board and ready to be at your side through it all.

You can do it, but it is very hard in the US. We jump to pitocin so quick and then are shocked when baby doesn't react well (um, duh)...then we say you aren't going fast enough while you are strapped down basically onto a bed...it is ludicrous. So obviously it is an immediate csec. It is labeled emergency, but they take 45 minutes to fit you in. A real emergency is rolling you down the hall ASAP

I went on to have a homebirth and now I'm doing another homebirth

 

[cricks]

I had my son naturally at a hospital as well.
My advice if possible is to research the hospital 1st. I am pregnant with my second and made sure that the hospital I chose was supportive of my plan to have a 2nd natural birth. Also, try to do most of the labor at home. The more you do at the home the less you have to worry about at the hospital. Just be careful not to cut it to close where you are giving birth on the car ride over. With my 1st, I did not even have enough time to get an epidural, the baby was on his way and there was no point in drugs (even if I did want them). Of course I am not doctor or expert on birth by any means. But as long as you do research it can be done.
I am in my second pregnancy (due in 10 days) and I made sure my ob/gyn was okay with my birth plan along with my hospital choice.
I have also heard of birthing centers that are connected with hospitals. To where you plan on giving birth at the center but you are also pre registered at the hospital in case there are major complications.
I am not sure if my post was helpful at all but good luck and I hope you get the birth you were looking for.

 

[keyahopes]

Id have you and your husband watch The Business of Being Born. Its very PRO home birth which Im sure your OH is against but it gives great information on how the hospitals and OBs work.

I think the Business of Being Born gives a very biased opinion. It supports home births without talking about any of its negatives, and it gives a negative opinion of hospitals, including misleading statistics. All hospitals and OBs dont work the way they describe. Here's an interesting read:
https://whatifsandfears.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-business-of-being-misled.html

With my first pregnancy, I watched the documentary and was convinced that all doctors force c sections on patients to make money. I had a wonderful easy pregnancy and went in confident that all would be well. My daughter's heart rate kept dropping through labor due to low amniotic fluid and her pressing on the cord. I was told many times that I may need an emergency c section. I was in so much denial, i thought "there they go pushing c section on me". But ultimately the doc decided not to do a c section. I got my vaginal delivery. Unfortunately, my baby was born with severe respiratory distress. She almost died! After a major surgery and many procedures, the medical system and hospitals saved my little girl.
In retrospect, I wish I had pushed the doc for a c section. Maybe it would have prevented her from going into distress (repeated heart deceleration can contribute to distress). I realized then that doctors push interventions for a reason. Talk to a mother who has just lost a baby because the docs couldnt get the baby out fast enough. They will tell you they would have taken an emergency c section over a funeral. I was always a low risk healthy patient, but it didn't take much for things to go wrong. Sorry, I don't mean to play the dead baby card, but now I always think about that 1 in the "1 in 1000 births" kind of statistics that are quoted.

This time around, I do plan to birth in a hospital, and I do plan to go completely natural (barring induction, if medically necessary). But I have hired a doula because i believe it will help me immensely. I will try to resist unnecessary intervention, but I will any day pick a c section or interventions over the smallest chance that something was wrong with my child. I do agree that hospitals are to a certain extent so medicalized and so scared of being sued that they take the safest route possible, which is not always the easiest for the mother. But they do have the health of the mom and baby in mind.

P.S - sorry this is long, but I dont want anyone to suffer the heart ache that I did.

 

[daddiesgift]

Im sorry that happened to you. Im not recommending the movie as something to make people chose home birth, just to show how Obs can be. I have had two children, one in a hospital, one in a birth center. Ive seen first hand how they can be. I am working on certification to be a doula myself because I want every woman to be informed of her choices, no matter what she chooses. There is no doubt in my mind that natural birth is much harder in a hospital setting. Not because what this movie showed me but because what I know and have seen.

There is so much out there saying how bad home birth is, how bad it is to use a midwife, how un necessary it is to have a natural birth, how interventions are needed. In some cases they are, in others they are not. You couldve blamed your doctor for your daughters problems, said he didnt give you a csection when you needed it. You could go online and tell everyone this doctor did this and hurt me and my child. Instead you believe the doctor saved and helped you and your daughter. Same with home birth or birth center experiences. People could blame someone or thank someone for what happened to them. They always talk about whats wrong with midwives and the deaths or babies hurt but the same happens to OBs and in hospitals but its never talked about. With my 2nd so many people told me not to see my doctor, hes csection pro, the hospital has the highest rate of csections, hes done this and that. I didnt have that experience, I didnt have a csection. But he had hurt others.

What are any of us to know? We didnt go to medical school, we arent OBs, so when a doctor tells us something is needed we just do it. They know best. Sometimes it is for the best, other times its not. I think thats what the movie was saying. Overall a woman has to think for herself. Research everything you can, get as much information as you can from every type of party. Decide for yourself. If you trust your doctor then you will trust what they want to do with you. If you ask why thats going to be used the doctor has to tell you. Unexpected things happen everyday, things we dont know why it happens to us or our kids but it does. Hospitals are great for those times, Obs are great for those times. Just like home birth, birth centers, hospitals things are going to go great for some women, others are going to go horribly wrong. Whether you have a midwife or an OB anything can happen. If you feel its safer to see an OB and go to a hospital by all means do that. Just be educated on any decision you make.

 

[GrowingMum]

Its not always difficult to have a natural birth in a hospital in the us. I think it depends on the hospital and the ob or mw. If you have the option, definately use a midwife with hospital privlages rather than an ob if possible. In my experience, the nurses are used to patients of midwives wanting natural births and adapt accordingly. A doula is probably a good idea, although I didn't have one and don't think I needed one. DH, the midwife and nurses were wonderful. Maybe I was lucky, but I got the impression that the midwives were very good at facilitating natural births and working with the hospital. That said, its still very important to do your reasearch, make a birth plan, and discuss your options and concerns with your midwife.

 

[AC1987]

I had an almost natural birth with my LO... well I would call it natural til it came time to push that is when I demanded an epidural, I think it was mostly from exhaustion then anything.
I had a midwife she was amazing, I'm crossing my fingers I get her again!! the hospital that supports them, have a rotating shift of about 5 midwives, there was only 2 I didn't like, so crossing my fingers that next time around I either get the one I I had the last time or one I don't mind having

 

[Lyana]

I'm a little worried about this too, even though my obgyn says they support natural births I'm worried that they won't let me move around or that they'll try to force me to be on my back. And I don't want them giving me drugs the first thing to make my labor faster, I'd like to just go with the flow and do what seems natural and comfortable to me unless my baby's life is in danger or something.

 

[Proserpina]

See my birth story here. I just got done attempting a natural hospital birth 10 days ago; wound up with a very low level of interventions that were almost certainly needed. Used a family practice doctor, hired a doula. Overall very pleased with how things went.

You will almost certainly have to push back against some unwanted interventions. I did, and I also had a nurse who made some derisive comments on my desire to go without pain meds. But it's still possible to have a good experience in a hospital birth if you push for it.

I really recommend Natural Hospital Birth by Cynthia Gabriel.

 

[Sbmack]

Congrats and he's gorgeous! Sounds like it was pretty natural to me. You did what tended to be done to get him into this world safely and without pain meds. Hats off to you!!

 

[korndogger123]

I didn't have a problem with a having a natural birth in the hospital, although it was a womens hospital. I actually couldn't get them to give me anything for the pain because I told them before hand I didn't want it! (Thank goodness they listened!)

It also helped I got there 8cm with a bulging water bag.