Maybe this is silly.
I love our OB...though I have yet to speak with him about our natural birth plan using hypnobies. Well, all of a sudden I feel that choosing an OB and a hospital birth is not a good way to go. I fear that we are not giving ourselves a good chance for a NB.
Am I overthinking this?
Please share if you had a NB and went with an OB and hospital. I need the encouragement as my husband is highly opposed to switching to a midwife. Also, please keep your fingers cross that our OB will be on board with our plans. I should know on our next appointment in July.
Thanks for reading this!
I don't mean this to be snarky in any way at all- are you pregnant right now? I can't tell from your tickers. Anyways, what you should do is first speak with your OB and also research the hospital, or go there and ask questions. My OB practice and hospital are extremely pro-natural birth and have tons and tons of resources available for laboring mom's to use that support NB. You'll never know until you research and get out there and find out; just because you use a hospital/OB doesn't mean you're automatically setting yourself up for an epidural.
Talk to your doctor about it. See how they react to your choice of using hypnobabies. If you don't feel comfortable with their answers, then you know to give it more thought.
A great way to meet half way with your husband is to hire a doula. Most OB are willing to work with them, and encourage it, because doula supported Moms are less stressful Moms. They are amazing. They not only help you through the process, but they help your husband know how to help you. They are there the ENTIRE time you progress. You create a relationship with them beforehand, discuss your bp desires, and some even do postpartum care to answer any questions or concerns with not only baby, but YOU and DAD.
Your OB will only be in the room a few minutes every couple of hours. They are a surgeon, still seeing patients while you labor away, still doing paperwork, still meeting hospital requirements for their job. Same with nurses. They have rounds to make, files to update, etc.
I had 2 wonderful natural births in a hospital that is not very natural birth friendly. My doctors were very much on board with natural birth and supportive of my wishes. With my older daughter I was assigned a nurse that was also pro-natural birth, who (with DH) helped me through transition and convinced me I didn't really want an epidural even though I asked for one. With my second, my nurse was not supportive and it was very important for me to have DH advocating for me. I probably would have requested a different nurse, but my labor progressed so quickly there wasn't time.
If you go with an OB and hospital, make sure your doctors are on board with your birth plan and also that you have a good support team in place (your partner and/or doula) to support you in the hospital.
I think your actual provider has more of an effect on NB success than just the fact that you're giving birth in a hospital. If your OB is truly supportive, I wouldn't worry about it too much. I chose good providers and I made sure I was well-prepared so I could give myself the best shot at a med-free birth despite the hospital setting. It worked out and I've had two great, med-free, hospital births with two different CNMs.
med-free birth x2, breastfeeding, baby wearing SAHM My BFP Chart
I had a natural birth in a hospital with an OB. In my experience, the nursing staff mattered more than my OB. The OB was supportive, but really, she came in at the end to catch because I didn't have complications. I saw her for maybe 20 minutes before I delivered. The nurses, on the other hand, were the ones checking on me, monitoring the baby periodically, suggesting positions, offering a birthing ball or shower, etc. I had much more interaction with them.
I'd suggest touring the hospital and talking to the nursing staff, in addition to your OB. Ask them specifically if they know anything about hypnobabies. I didn't use a specific technique, I just did what worked best in the moment. I would be concerned that since you're using hypnosis, that interruptions by nursing staff even for "routine" hospital stuff might impact the usefulness of that method. So asking them about it might give you a better idea of what to expect.
I had a great natural hospital birth. It was with a midwife as opposed to an OB, but I don't think that made a difference in my situation.
The biggest contributing factor for my med-free hospital birth was that I labored at home until the last possible second. I showed up to the hospital fully dilated and pushing...so obviously an epidural wasn't even discussed. DD was born less than 90 minutes after I checked in. It wouldn't have mattered whether or not my care provider was on board with my birth plan. I ended up having an IV and continuous fetal monitoring (which was the opposite of my birth plan), but I was crazy dehydrated due to the fast labor and really needed the IV, and in the moment I did not care what kind of fetal monitoring was used - I just wanted labor to be over.
I had a NB in the hosptial with an OB. My OB was fully on board with my decision to go natural and never once pressured me to do something I didn't want to do. My LO was starting to have some distress after I had been pushing for 3+ hours and my dr mentioned that if I didn't deliver soon we'd have to look into maybe needing the vacuum to help. I asked if I could try using the bathroom or anything else before we got to that point. I tried to pee but because of LO's position I couldn't go. I asked to be cathed and once my bladder was emptied LO was born w/in 30 minutes w/out the need of the vacuum.
The hospital I delviered at has about a 90% epi rate (per one of the nurses). When I checked in they asked if I was still wanting to go natural per my birth plan. I said yes and the matter was never brought up again.
A NB in the hospital is totally doable. I suggest knowing what hospital policies are ahead of time so you're not surprised when in labor and have a person (spouse, mom, firend) who can advocate for you if you're unable to speak for yourself (during labor I didn't want to talk unless I absolutely had to).
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I've had two great NB hospital experiences...but I would say that the nurses and hospital "culture" was supportive of that (they also support BFing, cloth diapers, delayed clamping, etc). My OB's were also on board with my birth plans, etc. (I didn't use doulas or midwives) which helped.
Hi there. Thanks for the advice. Yes, I am 20 weeks pregnant. I just keep forgetting to update my siggy and my computer at work doesn't allow me to do so. Sorry for the confusion
Re: Fearing choosing a Hospital will trump NB...
I don't mean this to be snarky in any way at all- are you pregnant right now? I can't tell from your tickers. Anyways, what you should do is first speak with your OB and also research the hospital, or go there and ask questions. My OB practice and hospital are extremely pro-natural birth and have tons and tons of resources available for laboring mom's to use that support NB. You'll never know until you research and get out there and find out; just because you use a hospital/OB doesn't mean you're automatically setting yourself up for an epidural.
Talk to your doctor about it. See how they react to your choice of using hypnobabies. If you don't feel comfortable with their answers, then you know to give it more thought.
A great way to meet half way with your husband is to hire a doula. Most OB are willing to work with them, and encourage it, because doula supported Moms are less stressful Moms. They are amazing. They not only help you through the process, but they help your husband know how to help you. They are there the ENTIRE time you progress. You create a relationship with them beforehand, discuss your bp desires, and some even do postpartum care to answer any questions or concerns with not only baby, but YOU and DAD.
Your OB will only be in the room a few minutes every couple of hours. They are a surgeon, still seeing patients while you labor away, still doing paperwork, still meeting hospital requirements for their job. Same with nurses. They have rounds to make, files to update, etc.
I had 2 wonderful natural births in a hospital that is not very natural birth friendly. My doctors were very much on board with natural birth and supportive of my wishes. With my older daughter I was assigned a nurse that was also pro-natural birth, who (with DH) helped me through transition and convinced me I didn't really want an epidural even though I asked for one. With my second, my nurse was not supportive and it was very important for me to have DH advocating for me. I probably would have requested a different nurse, but my labor progressed so quickly there wasn't time.
If you go with an OB and hospital, make sure your doctors are on board with your birth plan and also that you have a good support team in place (your partner and/or doula) to support you in the hospital.
med-free birth x2, breastfeeding, baby wearing SAHM
My BFP Chart
I had a natural birth in a hospital with an OB. In my experience, the nursing staff mattered more than my OB. The OB was supportive, but really, she came in at the end to catch because I didn't have complications. I saw her for maybe 20 minutes before I delivered. The nurses, on the other hand, were the ones checking on me, monitoring the baby periodically, suggesting positions, offering a birthing ball or shower, etc. I had much more interaction with them.
I'd suggest touring the hospital and talking to the nursing staff, in addition to your OB. Ask them specifically if they know anything about hypnobabies. I didn't use a specific technique, I just did what worked best in the moment. I would be concerned that since you're using hypnosis, that interruptions by nursing staff even for "routine" hospital stuff might impact the usefulness of that method. So asking them about it might give you a better idea of what to expect.
I had a great natural hospital birth. It was with a midwife as opposed to an OB, but I don't think that made a difference in my situation.
The biggest contributing factor for my med-free hospital birth was that I labored at home until the last possible second. I showed up to the hospital fully dilated and pushing...so obviously an epidural wasn't even discussed. DD was born less than 90 minutes after I checked in. It wouldn't have mattered whether or not my care provider was on board with my birth plan. I ended up having an IV and continuous fetal monitoring (which was the opposite of my birth plan), but I was crazy dehydrated due to the fast labor and really needed the IV, and in the moment I did not care what kind of fetal monitoring was used - I just wanted labor to be over.
I had a NB in the hosptial with an OB. My OB was fully on board with my decision to go natural and never once pressured me to do something I didn't want to do. My LO was starting to have some distress after I had been pushing for 3+ hours and my dr mentioned that if I didn't deliver soon we'd have to look into maybe needing the vacuum to help. I asked if I could try using the bathroom or anything else before we got to that point. I tried to pee but because of LO's position I couldn't go. I asked to be cathed and once my bladder was emptied LO was born w/in 30 minutes w/out the need of the vacuum.
The hospital I delviered at has about a 90% epi rate (per one of the nurses). When I checked in they asked if I was still wanting to go natural per my birth plan. I said yes and the matter was never brought up again.
A NB in the hospital is totally doable. I suggest knowing what hospital policies are ahead of time so you're not surprised when in labor and have a person (spouse, mom, firend) who can advocate for you if you're unable to speak for yourself (during labor I didn't want to talk unless I absolutely had to).
I've had two great NB hospital experiences...but I would say that the nurses and hospital "culture" was supportive of that (they also support BFing, cloth diapers, delayed clamping, etc). My OB's were also on board with my birth plans, etc. (I didn't use doulas or midwives) which helped.