Introduction and question
ArcadianDreams
member
Good morning ladies 
I got a BFP on Friday and am starting to plan beyond just getting pregnant to the rest of everything. I've been lurking around the bump for some time and am thinking of trying for a med-free birth (if possible) for our baby. I am a pretty low-key, anti-drama person and don't really love the idea of all the fuss with monitors, drugs, and everybody constantly in and out. This is something women have been doing on their own for millennia, right? (I'm also the type who doesn't take drugs for a cold unless they're desperate, I prefer to sleep it off, so...). Plus needles and I, well, we just don't get along well.
Anyway, I set up my first ob appointment for March 28th (I'll be about 8 weeks) and was wondering how you went about feeling out whether your practice/hospital were friendly towards intervention-free birth. My practice has 6 doctors and 2 midwives, but on the website it says the midwives only attend births if the doctors are unavailable and mostly handle the prenatal visits. That didn't really give me the best vibe? Any advice/stories to share with a newbie?
Thanks!
Re: Introduction and question
Hi!
If you are in VA you can look up the hospital stats online for c/s and a 'ranking', although it's pretty vague. One site is here:
https://www.icanofnova.org/articles/Cesarean_Rates
I'd try to see if you know anyone that had a med free birth that you can ask about your provider/hospital...friends, etc. Usually it is a mix of doctor wishes and hospital policies, but some are much better than others.
Congrats on your BFP!
For my first, I found a practice that had both midwives and OB's but they were basically two separate groups. I never saw an OB and there was always a midwife on call at the hospital when you went into labor. For me it was the best of both world, I was able to have the med free birth I wanted, with a good OB backup if necessary. The midwives were very like minded when it came to natural birth, though I had the option of drugs if I wanted them.
Since you're still early on, I'd keep looking for a practice that either has very open minded OB's or a stronger midwife presence.
Congratulations! I'm in northern VA too, do you know what hospital your practice delivers at? In my (very limited) experience, it was really important to be at a hospital that was supportive of natural birth, because I barely saw my doctor while I was in labor. The nurses were very understanding and supportive and let me labor how I was most comfortable. My doctor and I discussed my plans for a natural childbirth around 3 months, which would have given me time to switch practices if I hadn't been comfortable with their policies.
I'll probably end up at Potomac because it's a stone's throw from my house. Gonna go look up the statistics right now!
eta - oh my gosh! Their c/s rates are the lowest in the area! I totally did not expect this
Congratulations! I would suggest doing a little research and reading prior to your first appt., and then discuss your wishes for a natural birth and see how your ob reacts...it will give you a good indication of how you want to proceed. See if you can find info on your hospital's c-section rate, if not that's a good question to ask too, along with what percentage of women give birth med free. With my first child, I switched practices mid-pregnancy because I did not have confidence in the ob or my hospital to support natural birth. Remember that even if your ob gives you overwhelming confidence in his/her support of your choice, they may not be the one on call when you give birth, so getting a feel for the philosophy of the entire practice and hospital staff is important (going on a hospital labor and delivery tour and asking questions will also help give you clues).
If you aren't feeling confident after these steps, I would strongly recommend that you make a switch if you insurance allows. Even if it takes some time to jump through hoops, that's ok, I didn't make the switch until @ 30 wks, and my friend switched at 35 wks. I drive over 45 minutes for my prenatal care and delivery because it's the only hospital in my area I have confidence in when it comes to natural birth.
The Bradley Method really helped us. We did take a class, and I would recommend the book Natural Birth the Bradley Way by Susan McCutcheon.
Good Luck! You can do it.