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Natural Birth
drpayne
member
First pregnancy @ a birthing center...nervous
drpayne
member
I've always been interested in midwives and in using a birthing center. Since I'm now pregnant and do not have maternity coverage, that is looking like a very real possibility. I've heard great things about them, overall. I have heard women who delivered first children at a hospital and subsequent children at a birthing center say they would not go back to a hospital setting for anything. I know that midwives are well prepared for just about any situation. There is just still some nagging thought in that back of my mind that should something go wrong, I'd be safer in a hospital. Maybe if I'd already given birth without any complications I'd be more comfortable. Any advice? I'd love to know how/why some of you made to decisions you did, what you'd do differently, etc... I just want to make a decision I'm comfortable with (and hopefully can afford financially).
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Re: First pregnancy @ a birthing center...nervous
If you're nervous, I would recommend looking for a birthing center that is either attached to or in very close proximity to a hospital. You would still be under a midwife's care, but maybe being in or close to a hospital would reassure you. When you talk to midwives, ask what their relationship is like with the nearby hospital- can she call and have them ready for you as soon as you get there? Does she have a group of OBs she works with? What are they like (epi rate, c/section rate, feeling toward natural birth, etc)?
Good luck, I hope you find something you're comfortable with!
Here was my process:
Pregnancy Weeks 1-6: Plan - Natural Birth in the Hospital! Yay! My mom had 4 natural births in a hospital, so I thought that it was routinely done.
Pregnancy Week 6-12: Read Ina May's Guide to Childbirth & A Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth... Looked into my hospital's stats - uh, scary! 36% c-section rate, 80% epidural rate. Still, pretty natural friendly, but not as much as I would have liked... Decided to choose a Birth Center.
Pregnancy Week 12-20: Chose a Birth Center. Really loved everyone there. The birth center was not attached to a hospital, so I started to think, "Why am I going to drive into San Francisco to have a home birth in someone else's home?"
Pregnancy Week 20-22: Chose home birth. Interviewed midwives. Decided upon midwives.
Pregnancy Week 22 - present: Plan home birth! Practice relaxation techniques, etc.
The birth center and the home birth cost about the same - $4,500 out of pocket, so we decided to do the home birth. If you don't have insurance, bc or hb will probably be cheaper than the hospital. Also, it seems that $4,500, while the going rate around here, is not the rate in the rest of the country. I believe that it is cheaper elsewhere.
As far as safety goes, the more you read, the more you may realize that you may be safer at home or in a birth center, if you have an uncomplicated pregnancy. In my case, since I live only 10 minutes from the hospital, I feel very safe staying home. Also, my midwives only have a 2% c-section rate. I can't say that for my hospital!
We don't have birth centres where I live but, like dsquared, my plan changed during my pregnancy the more I read about natural child birth. Initially I assumed it would be at a hospital and then I read up about the benefits of natural child birth and also of home birth.
It was about two months before I had DS I decided I really wanted to have the baby at home. It took a while longer to convince DH and for him to be comfortable with it.
It's a very personal choice and your comfort and confidence in your birth/labor setting is the top priority. I would suggest reading/viewing birth stories and videos with women laboring and delivering in different settings (hosptial/birth center/home). For me it was reading and seeing a lot of stories that made me realize I would be most comfortable at home.
We did our first birth in a stand-alone birthing center (and are now planning a home birth for #2). I had some of those same concerns (especially since everyone LOVES to tell you their horror stories about why they're so thankful they were in a hospital), but by the time I was ready to give birth, the midwives had me feeling completely confident in their abilities and mine. I was NOT comfortable with the ob that I started with, or the hospital near us that I would have delivered with, and unfortunately, they're average for my area (30% c-section rate, 90%+ epidural rate).
Ultimately, you need to have trust in yourself, your body and your midwives. Particularly in your midwives' ability to spot a problem. Ours have a less than 1% emergency transfer rate and a 10% transfer rate overall, which means that in less than 1% of the births is there a true emergency.
Stick around this board and we'll help you be more comfortable, too!