Natural Birth at Hospital

woollypetals · August 2010

Hi ladies,

I am planning on a Natural birth at a Hospital. The Hospital I am delivering at is very natural birth friendly and a couple good friends have delivered naturally there.

I am asking for help with preparation. I can't really afford a midwife or doula, and my husband travels to much for work to make the bradley method classes.

So are there any specific workouts exercises that helped any of you. yoga, squats? Or any books that I should be reading.

We watched the business of being born and I read the corresponding book, and my MIL gave birth at home naturally 5 times so she has had some insight, but that was 14+ years ago.

Thanks a bunch!

Temp965378937506476 · August 2010

I had two natural births in a hospital with no one there aside from the nurse and my dh. (no midwife or doula) My dr was there of course, but as far as labor and everything it was just me and dh. My hospital was very on board with not having any meds, so it was nice to not have that "pressure" to get the epidural. It was never even offered since they knew my wishes.

I found Sheila Kitzinger's book "The Complete Book to Pregnancy and Childbirth" to be the most helpful. Tons of exercises and stretches to do before and during labor.

Good luck! let me know if you have any other questions.

monkeyqueen · August 2010

The most useful thing that I did to help prepare was pilates and I really focused on learning the breathing techniques that go with it. Other than that, read lots and practice other positions and breathing techniques. It's so hard to know what will work for you before hand, so it's a good idea to have a wide variety of tools/techniques at your disposal. The only books I read were the What to expect while expecting book, and The Mother of All Pregnancy books.

btw: I've had two med-free births in hospital.

PlainandTall · August 2010

You could get the Bradley book for your husband... and if he reads it- then that's even better! (lol... my DH did not read it- but I had a doula)

I also didn't do any prenatal yoga- but I think that would be awesome for your body AND mind if you could.

I just had a really positive attitude about birth and that was the #1 thing for me- just going into it strong.

I've done 3 VBACs in a hospital - 2 with no drugs at all and the last one with a little pitocin. Don't get yourself too psyched out- the woman you need to birth this baby- is within you- she's not like a costume from "out there" who you have to put on to "get through this". You don't need to fabricate her- you just need to express her- she's been waiting for this!

EMOmamma · August 2010

You could try Hypnobirthing. It's very independent compared to Bradley. I would recommend checking out the book at the library (HypnoBirthing, The Mongan Method) and seeing it its for you, that's what I did. You can also download 2 trial tracks on the website. I haven't used it yet but all I've heard are good things!

You could check with some doulas - I know a lot of them work on a sliding pay scale based on what you can pay... (my MIL is a midwife & doula and has been paid with baked goods and yardwork before!)

BeautifulBirth · August 2010

I highly recommend Ina May's Guide to Childbirth.

NewzieMom · August 2010

Lisa&Eddie:
I had two natural births in a hospital with no one there aside from the nurse and my dh. (no midwife or doula) My dr was there of course, but as far as labor and everything it was just me and dh. My hospital was very on board with not having any meds, so it was nice to not have that "pressure" to get the epidural. It was never even offered since they knew my wishes.

I pretty much could have wrote this word for word.

MamiJam · August 2010

PlainandTall:

I just had a really positive attitude about birth and that was the #1 thing for me- just going into it strong.... Don't get yourself too psyched out- the woman you need to birth this baby- is within you- she's not like a costume from "out there" who you have to put on to "get through this". You don't need to fabricate her- you just need to express her- she's been waiting for this!

I love the way you put this! It's amazing what the right attitude can do. I found that educating myself as much as possible about what to expect during the labor/deliver process really helped to eliminate any fear. I took a childbirth class sponsored by the hospital and the RN that taught it had all her kids naturally. Learning breathing techniques, alternative pain management techniques, believing my body was created to do this is what was most important o me.

woollypetals · August 2010

Thanks ladies, this is all super helpful. I will be hitting up the library this week and buying what books I think I need.

I am totally in agreement that it is all about having the attitude that I CAN do this. After all how many women gave birth without meds before modern medicine.

KateLouise · August 2010

I did an antenatal class which whilst useful it didn't contain anything that you couldn't find online or in a library.

For me the most useful things werre

a) knowing the words for various interventions and drugs. Knowing the words helped me feel relaxed. i didn't want to have to learn new words in the middle of labour if anything got suggested to me.

b) A chart on useful birthing/labour positions, which i found useful because on the day I just moved around and did what felt comfortable, but in the back of my mind I also remembered how what I was doing instinctively to ease the pain was also good for positioning the baby well and assisting it down the birth canal.

I also found a yoga/birth book in the library. I didn't do the exercises religiously but I found the exercises nice to do for relaxation.

Good luck.

pinksweetpea2 · August 2010

You should see if there are any student doulas in your area. They are required to attend a certain number of births before becoming certified and will usually do those births for free.

GL

AutumnBride929 · August 2010

If you can't afford a midwife then do you not have an OB? Can't you just find a midwifery practice? It comes out of your insurance, lol.

You could always try the Hypnobabies home study kit. I've heard great things about it. Squatting is really important since it helps stretch the perineum. Plus, it's the optimal pushing position so the practice might come in handy if that's the position you end up pushing in.

The two books I really like are Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way and Hypnobirthing.

lindsayll · August 2010

Hopefully your husband will have time to do some reading, even if he can't make classes.

"The Birth Partner" by Penny Simkin is a great resource for DHs. We didn't read Bradley or do a class, but we both found that book helpful. Great advice for positions and things DH can do to help you labor more comfortably and effectively.

nosoup4u · August 2010

Prenatal yoga was the biggest help for me the first time - if you have Netflix, there's a show that you can get streaming, but I took classes at a studio once a week. Basically, figuring out what you can do to totally relax and stay calm during contractions is the biggest thing...having a yoga/exercise ball is nice, and you can take it to the hospital also.

Maybe look up doula match (https://doulamatch.net/), I used it when looking for a doula, but it lists doulas available by zip code, how much they charge, how much experience they have - there are student/new doulas on there that you might be able to negotiate a rate with.

Arielle27 · August 2010

I just read the book, 'Hypnobirthing' (not hypnobabies). I found it - along with the relaxation CDs that accompany it - to be really helpful in looking forward to the birth in a positive and calm way and to help my body physically relax.

I'm usually not into these kinds of things at all, so it is really amazing that it is working so well for me!

I would highly recommend the whole method...

analla · August 2010

Not all areas have a ton of midwives, AND not all areas have midwives with hospital priviledges. There is a lot of differences depending on where you live. I sure wish things were different though!!

lindsayll · August 2010

analla:
Not all areas have a ton of midwives, AND not all areas have midwives with hospital priviledges. There is a lot of differences depending on where you live. I sure wish things were different though!!

That may be true, but OP lives in a major metro area (Chicago), so I don't think that's really at issue here.

woollypetals · August 2010

I do have a wonderful OB that is totally covered with insurance. But it is extremely hard to get midwifes claims paid with my insurance so I am not willing to risk and $3,000+ bill for one just incase. I am thinking I don't need one now to that a couple of you have mentioned you had no problems without one delivering at the hospital.

My OB is very pro natural birth so I know that will help, but I also know she won't be with me much through labor.

I will definitely be looking into student doulas to see what's that about.

My husband is very supportive of a natural birth and attended two of his siblings births ( I know a little weird I think will be a very big help.

It's always good to know my options though.

Thanks again ladies, I really appreciate all the advice you give as it's nice to hear it from real women so to speak.

JLW10 · August 2010

DH and I read Husband Coached Childbirth and didn't go to the bradley classes. We took one relaxation/breathing course. That was all. He was my rock though, he kept me focused and really helped by telling me when contractions were going to start, peak, end. What helped me the most was taking it one contraction at a time. GL!

SarahWaggy · August 2010

I'm having a home-birth myself. Congrats on your Natural choice!

nohalo21 · August 2010

I am delivering at a hospital and would like to have a natural birth. When I made the decision to have a natural birth I wanted to be sure that my OB was on board with it. We are taking Bradley classes and the woman teaching is also a doula. I have decided not to use a doula since she said the hospital I will be delivering at is open minded to natural birth. I suggest picking up the books that other's recommended.

julyjennifer · August 2010

woollypetals:
My husband is very supportive of a natural birth and attended two of his siblings births ( I know a little weird I think will be a very big help.

I don't think that's weird at all! That is great, and I do think that will help --he already knows that birthing is normal.

Another book recommendation is Creating Your Birth Plan by Marsden Wagner. I got it from the library initially and then bought it. It is a great book for informing you about your options and comes from a perspective of being supportive of natural birth. Even if you don't want to write a birth plan it is a great book just for the information.

I had a natural hospital birth with a midwife. There are hospital midwives and there are home-birth midwives. At least in my metro area, the hospital ones are covered by insurance just as an OB would be. Home-birth midwives are where it's not always guaranteed to get reimbursed (at least in my metro area). Maybe you can call around and find out if your local hospitals have midwife practices.

lindsayll · August 2010

If it's an insurance issue, you may be able to find a MW. I birthed in a hospital with a MW, and their MW group billed through their back up OBs practice so they could accept a wide variety of insurance and people could get covered without a problem.

Mjmksb04 · August 2010

I don't think you *need* to have a midwife to have a good med free birthing experience in a hospital. I had an OB and not a midwife and my experience was perfect. I practiced a lot of breathing and positioning techniques in the weeks leading up to my DS's birth. I also read a Bradley book and a few other books on pain management. I am not really keen on the Ina May book just because one of the themes is how evil hospitals are (and I think the book's hospital experiences are a bit outdated) and it may be a little frustrating to read it if you are birthing in a hospital.

nosoup4u · August 2010

woollypetals:
I do have a wonderful OB that is totally covered with insurance. But it is extremely hard to get midwifes claims paid with my insurance so I am not willing to risk and $3,000+ bill for one just incase. I am thinking I don't need one now to that a couple of you have mentioned you had no problems without one delivering at the hospital.

There are a lot of midwives in the Chicago area who work in conjunction with OBs, so insurance will cover it. West Suburban Midwives are a really small practice, so chances are you'd know who ever's with you during labor.

MSC03 · August 2010

PlainandTall:

You could get the Bradley book for your husband... and if he reads it- then that's even better! (lol... my DH did not read it- but I had a doula)

I also didn't do any prenatal yoga- but I think that would be awesome for your body AND mind if you could.

I just had a really positive attitude about birth and that was the #1 thing for me- just going into it strong.

I've done 3 VBACs in a hospital - 2 with no drugs at all and the last one with a little pitocin. Don't get yourself too psyched out- the woman you need to birth this baby- is within you- she's not like a costume from "out there" who you have to put on to "get through this". You don't need to fabricate her- you just need to express her- she's been waiting for this!

Thank you for posting this. This is precisely what I needed to hear today.

rnin02 · August 2010

Mjmksb04:
I don't think you *need* to have a midwife to have a good med free birthing experience in a hospital. I had an OB and not a midwife and my experience was perfect. I practiced a lot of breathing and positioning techniques in the weeks leading up to my DS's birth. I also read a Bradley book and a few other books on pain management. I am not really keen on the Ina May book just because one of the themes is how evil hospitals are (and I think the book's hospital experiences are a bit outdated) and it may be a little frustrating to read it if you are birthing in a hospital.

I felt the same way about the Ina May book, although there were a few good stories in it, and I really felt reading everything I could helped. I didn't take any classes, just read a bunch of books and discussion forums, and DH didn't even do that much, he just did what I told him to do at the hospital;) In addition to Ina May's guide to childbirth, I read Hypnobirthing: The Mongan Method (felt so-so about this one), The Birth Book by Dr. Sears (kind of out dated, but still helpful) and Childbirth Without Fear by Grantly ***-Read...rather old, but very logical and it helped me the most. The writing style/language made it a little difficult to read at times, but it really was the best book for me.

flowerchild77 · August 2010

I had a natural hospital birth with my daughter.

To be honest, I didnt have an incredible support team. Sure, I had several people there- my MIL, my stepmom, my friend Alia, and my hubby. However most of the women kept pushing me to get teh epidural! I mean getting in my face telling me to get it. Finally my nurse, my wonderful nurse, kicked them out when she saw they were upsetting me.

This time around Im planning a homebrth and am being EXTREMELY picky over who I invite to attend my birth. Im actually having my nurse who was there with my daughter, be my doula this time around. I still havent concreted the list but its definitely not going to be open to all like my daughters birth was! :P

A book that really helped me out was "Natural Childbirth th Bradely way". VERY informative. My husband wouldnt read it, but even so, you can apply the techniques to doing it on your own. The book in itself is a vault of information, with pictures, diagrams, info on episiotomy, cesareans, etc. i highly recommend it.

kpage · August 2010

I have really enjoyed the Active Birth: The New Approach to Giving Birth Naturally by Janet Balaskas. It has some really pictures and descriptions of positions.

I also found a pregnancy yoga book at the library that had positions for all trimesters along with birth and post-birth - sorry forget the name though.

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