Possible for natural in hospital?

Karschingham

So just as of lately I've been really researching a natural childbirth, I've been getting care at regular OB/GYN with intentions of echoing birth story of DD1...epidural, possible induction but something is not sitting well with me on that plan anymore. I want to try natural and feel the differences and the epidural scares the crap out of me and didn't really work all that well the first time...

However, I feel like all the research I do on natural is not necessarily supportive in a hospital setting. So, school me on how to avoid medical intervention in a hospital, is it possible? will my nurses/OB be supportive? do I have to be automatically hooked up to IV's etc...and when do you go to the hospital? Last time I just hopped up and went when contractions started and it was a 15 hour affair....no thank you.

HELPPPP!! TIA!!

vintagejjane

It depends on the hospital and your OB. I would start by talking to your OB about what you want you labor and delivery like. Then, I would research, research, research. Some opt for the heplock rather than an IV. I have a friend who waited until the last possible minute to head to the hospital. I have no had a hospital birth, because in my area hospital births are not natural birth friendly, but I have had several friend had successful natural births themselves!

Squirrel29

I just had an all natural VBAC waterbirth at a hospital with an ob so, yes, it can be done.  However, I did a ton of research and traveled 40 minutes to another state to be with a doctor who was very experienced with natural birth.  I talked with him a ton about interventions and under what circumstances he would be okay with me refusing things and, ultimately, I refused the hep lock and was able to go without any interventions.  Other things that helped me achieve this goal were to wait as long as possible to get to the hospital (I showed up dilated to 7 and was in transition within an hour) and to have a doula.  Laboring in the water helped me get through transition without asking for meds.  The hospital I delivered at was also very natural birth friendly and we told my nurses up front that I wanted as few interventions as possible and they had enough experience to help me through labor without pushing any drugs. 

sbevmc09

I think natural birth in a hospital setting is totally attainable, but the important thing is to have a care provider who is going to be very supportive of your natural birth intentions.

ETA:  To answer your questions specifically:

will my nurses/OB be supportive?  It's going to depend on the individual nurses who are involved and there's really no way to control that.  You CAN control who your care provider is so my advice to you would be to start with your current OB and ask the right questions to see if they're going to be supportive.  If not, find someone else who is.  

do I have to be automatically hooked up to IV's etc...  No, you can decline things like standard IV (a lot of hospitals will request that you have a Hep-lock JIC they need easy access), continuous fetal monitoring, Pitocin, artificial rupture of membranes, all of which tend to be standard procedures, but don't need to be done.  This is where a supportive provider is going to come in as helpful.

and when do you go to the hospital? Last time I just hopped up and went when contractions started and it was a 15 hour affair....no thank you.  This is going to look different for every person.  As long as you don't have any complications the standard school of thought is the longer you can stay home the better.  You can discuss this with your care provider to see what their opinion is. 

mrsodonnell12

sbevmc09:

I think natural birth in a hospital setting is totally attainable, but the important thing is to have a care provider who is going to be very supportive of your natural birth intentions.

ETA:  To answer your questions specifically:

will my nurses/OB be supportive?  It's going to depend on the individual nurses who are involved and there's really no way to control that.  You CAN control who your care provider is so my advice to you would be to start with your current OB and ask the right questions to see if they're going to be supportive.  If not, find someone else who is.  

do I have to be automatically hooked up to IV's etc...  No, you can decline things like standard IV (a lot of hospitals will request that you have a Hep-lock JIC they need easy access), continuous fetal monitoring, Pitocin, artificial rupture of membranes, all of which tend to be standard procedures, but don't need to be done.  This is where a supportive provider is going to come in as helpful.

and when do you go to the hospital? Last time I just hopped up and went when contractions started and it was a 15 hour affair....no thank you.  This is going to look different for every person.  As long as you don't have any complications the standard school of thought is the longer you can stay home the better.  You can discuss this with your care provider to see what their opinion is. 

I agree with all of this.

Karschingham

THANK YOU! This was all really helpful! (special thanks to my BMB gals! )

ahhh I just feel like last time I didn't really prepare for anything just popped in and said yes to everything....This natural birth thing feels like a big loving secret club, that you need to be VERY prepared for hahaha I guess I need to start with my OB and discuss what I want. I just feel like I'm a little late in the game to decide this and I may have screwed up somehow...I'm pretty sure my OB/Hospital are very drug friendly and it makes me a tad nervous...

Stephorse

I think it just depends. I just had a natural birth last week and the nurses were really supportive. They suggested I get in the shower and move around and walk. They did not force any meds on me and only asked if I was feeling ok or if I wanted any. It actually went really well. I think it just depends on the OB and the delivery nurses.

sbevmc09

Karschingham:

I just feel like I'm a little late in the game to decide this and I may have screwed up somehow...

You have plenty of time, just be proactive about it! 

I had a lot of opinions last time, but unfortunately I wasn't with a very supportive provider.  I thought I'd have more control of the situation than I ended up having.  I think a lot of people just don't realize how vulnerable you are when you're in labor!  It's hard to advocate for yourself or question what a trained medical professional is recommending, KWIM?  That's why I feel like the most important thing is to have a supportive provider! 

As far as preparing, I really think you can't be too prepared.  Just start educating yourself about the natural process of birth, what's normal, obviously you already have some first hand experience with labor and delivery, so that's helpful!  Just read everything you can (from reputable sources of course) and look in to your options for natural childbirth tools to help you through the process of labor and delivery.  It's totally doable!

robyn2201

I had a natural birth in a hospital setting. It's totally doable. The main thing like previously mentioned is finding a supportive provider. And when I say that, I mean really ask them some detailed questions. You can tell your provider that you want a natural birth and that you want go without the epi and they can sound supportive but when it really comes down to it and when you get further along, it turns out they weren't as natural birth friendly as you thought. I see this happen a lot! A friend of mine, her OB was this way and then at 38 weeks, he started pressuring her to induce early because her baby was measuring "really big". Her baby turned out to be around 7lbs, so not big at all!

If your provider turns out to not be supportive, consider switching. You have more than enough time to do so. I am in the process of doing this and I will be 30 weeks when I have my first appointment with my new OB  Also, consider hiring a doula!

nosoup4u

This is written for first-time moms, but I think the questions are good to ask if you're looking for a low-intervention provider: https://birthsen.tmdhosting930.com/?p=769

Does Iowa have CNMs? Would you be comfortable switching to midwifery care (it'd be in a hospital setting)? If you're a low-risk pregnancy, a MW might be a really good option for you. Also thinking of hiring a doula might be a good plan, too.

For me, I did prenatal yoga during my first pregnancy and the breathing and relaxation exercises were very handy to have during labor. hth

Karschingham

nosoup4u:

This is written for first-time moms, but I think the questions are good to ask if you're looking for a low-intervention provider: https://birthsen.tmdhosting930.com/?p=769

Does Iowa have CNMs? Would you be comfortable switching to midwifery care (it'd be in a hospital setting)? If you're a low-risk pregnancy, a MW might be a really good option for you. Also thinking of hiring a doula might be a good plan, too.

For me, I did prenatal yoga during my first pregnancy and the breathing and relaxation exercises were very handy to have during labor. hth

I'm actually going to meet with a MW today the only hangup I have is she is affiliated with a different hospital then what I would like to deliver at...I'm getting frustrated looking for CNMs; through my insurance's website there is only like 8 and 6 of them are all affiliated with the hospital I do not prefer and the other 2 are wrong numbers. awesome. So I guess we'll see how today goes! and also, your link doesnt work

thanks to everyone who answered my questions on here I know they are kind of specific but I appreciate all of the feedback and I really appreciate this board and the support!