List of Questions for the Midwife

Olliepoppet

I'm  17 weeks pregnant, high risk, and will be attempting a VBAC in a hospital. I see my OB once a month and my MFM every other week for ultrasounds, and while both okayed my desire of a trial by labor without batting an eyelash, I'm new to both this hospital and my doctors' respective practices, and I'm nervous. 

My OB's clinic has CNMs, all of whom have privileges at the hospital I'm going to be giving birth at, so I'm ASSUMING the hospital is fairly natural birth friendly, but I'm not certain. I had to go with an OB over a midwife because the practice doesn't allow them to deal with high risk patients, but because of scheduling conflicts, the receptionist at the practice put me with one of the midwives for my next OB appointment. I'm going straight from there to an ultrasound with my MFM, so I'm not in the least bit concerned about not seeing my OB that day. 

I AM thrilled to have this one chance to bombard the midwife with questions about hospital policy, the openness of the doctors I'm working with, and anything else that may help me to have the birth experience I so badly want this time around. I've worked out a list of things to ask, but I KNOW I'm forgetting stuff. Could ya'll glance over my list and point out anything I've missed? 


Are VBACs common and considered normal at this hospital?

What are the policies surrounding them? How do the rules change for a VBAC? 

Are VBAC patients considered candidates for induction measures? If so, what methods are used, and how common are they? How many hours are you allowed to labor without sign of distress before hospital staff grows uncomfortable?

Is the L&D staff, as a whole, natural-birth friendly? How seriously do they take birth plans? Are there things I can do to make my birth plan more "staff friendly" for this particular hospital? 

How common are episiotomies; are other measures taken or encouraged?

Are lactation consultants available 24/7? How much support can we expect to receive in this area? 

I understand that constant monitoring is standard for VBACs; is mobile monitoring available? Are there waterproof units available, so that I can labor in the shower if allowed?

What positions/tools are available for laboring? For birth? 

To limit the restriction of mobility, will I be eligible for a heplock instead of an IV?  

I would like to request the following: 

*Delayed cord clamping

*Immediate, extended skin-to-skin contact

*The opportunity to begin nursing immediately

*Opting out of eye-ointment

How common are the above requests? Are they honored? The eye-ointment is especially important to us; are the staff well versed in TN law regarding this issue? Are waiver forms available and commonly used, or should I expect conflict here? What can I do to minimize that? 

If something happens and I am unable to deliver vaginally, is there any way to still delay cord clamping? In the event of a repeat c-section, what can we do to encourage successful breastfeeding in the hospital? How long are mother and child generally separated, assuming both are healthy after delivery via c-section? Is there anything at all we can do to minimize this time?   

That's all I could think of. Do you guys know of anything else I'm leaving out? 

rooftop

personally, I would ask for the hospital statistics. "How many VBAC attempts a year, How many are succesful?"  instead of the much more vague "Are VBACs common and considered normal at this hospital?". other than that I think you have a great list. GL

Olliepoppet

You're right, thanks! I'll be sure to change that one.