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Attachment Parenting
someflower6
member
where did you give birth?
someflower6
member
where did you give birth? hospital? home? birthing center? the car on the way to the hospital (or birthing center or home)? what was your experience like? would you do it again, or would you want to try something different next time?
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Re: where did you give birth?
i had an induction due to HBP so it was in the hospital. it really sucked. i was hooked up to a monitor and had an IV in me and it was just not fun. plus the induction was long... i came in on a monday night and didn't deliver until thursday morning.
there were some things i appreciated. they didn't cut me, they didn't encourage a c-section, they didn't break my water until they thought i was more or less ready to deliver. the nurses were really sweet and took excellent care of me. as soon as lilly was born they put her right to me for some skin to skin time and breastfeeding.
i really hope if i ever get pregnant again i wont need an induction. i wouldn't mind doing the birthing thing at the hospital if i wans't straped to all those machines-- they had birthing balls, plenty of space for walking around, and a shower/bath area. i just couldn't use much of it.
Hospital.
At first, I thought that it sucked. Then I was guilty. Now, I am happy with how it ended up because even if I went to a birthing center I would have ended up at a hospital with the way my labor went.
DS's cord was tied in a knot - a pretty substantial one - and no one knew about it. I went into L&D for PROM and was eventually given Pitocin because labor wouldn't start and there were infection concerns. The on-call OB never made me feel like I was wrong for not wanting meds and I was eventually allowed to get up and walk around, use a birth ball, etc.
I chose to have an epidural about 28 hours after my water broke. I had been awake for over 24 hours and worked a full day even after my water broke (I didn't realize that it had broken, it was that small of a trickle). The on-call OB also never really pushed for a c-section. It was mentioned, but she allowed me to labor well beyond the 24 hours that they usually allow for in cases similar to mine. About 36+ hours after my water broke and I still hadn't dilated passed 6 cm, I decided to have a c-section. DS wasn't coming down any further, I wasn't dilating, contractions weren't regular and DS's heart rate was dropping.
Once DS was born, they found the knot in his cord and deemed that the reason why he would not descend properly and for the drop in his heart rate.
I will try for a VBAC in a hospital next time. I do not like the hospital that the local birthing center is affiliated with, so I will go back to the one where DS was born. My current OB is comfortable with me trying for a VBAC, but I am considering transferring to the on-call OB that delivered DS just because I really liked her and I know that she is okay with VBACs as well.
ETA: This is REALLY long. Feel free to read only the bolded text because that is the only writing in this long-winded post that matters.
Nothing went as planned! I went from .5cm to 10cm in about 45 minutes. I was given a late epi because of that fast progression, though I had really wanted to go med free. Her heartrate plummeted every time I had a contraction, which was pretty much all of the time. When she started having a really hard time recovering they gave me an emergency c section.
She was born WAY smaller than expected (5lbs even on her due date) and spent a couple of hours in the NICU where they formula fed her since she wouldn't latch. Her heartrate recovered quickly and she's been perfectly healthy since, thankfully!
I was nowhere near properly informed about how hard breastfeeding is, and when coupling that with a skittish first time mom and a surprisingly tiny baby, I just didn't trust that I was making enough milk for her, ever. After nursing and pumping for the first 2 weeks I started supplementing with formula and the rest is history. I consider that switch the real disappointment for me from our first weeks. I really wish I would have stuck with it.
ETA: While I love the idea of a birthing center or home birth, things may have turned out very, very badly for us if we hadn't been in the hospital. If we have another I'd definitely be trying for VBAC, but it'll be in the hospital in case things go at the same intense speed.
I delivered both my girls in the hospital.
My first was a very long and difficult labor, and her head was caught crooked in the birth canal. I ended up with a muscle relaxer to try to help the swelling in my cervix go down so that I could continue to dilate, but it wasn't successful. I also got an epidural, followed by pitocin when my labor slowed too much. I was told that I was c-section bound, but my doc agreed to let me try pushing after being stuck at 8-9 cm for about 7 hours. Luckily, DD1's heartbeat was strong throughout and I was able to deliver her vaginally. I had a lot of guilt about the way her birth went, but I'm really thankful that all ended well.
With DD2, I labored in a tub (an option that wasn't available for me the first time), and things progressed very quickly. I was only in labor for about 4 hours, had no pain meds, no IV, and DH coached me through the contractions without intervention.
In the hospital, via emergency c-section, while they were trying to stop my pre-term labor. I was 5, almost 6 cm, at my regular OB appointment and they sent me straight to the hospital. Found out DS was breech, I was still having contractions even after they gave me 36 hours of mag, and then in the middle of the night DS heartrate plummeted with one contraction and they woke me up and took him out. I finally got to see him 12 hours later.
I was and am still extremely traumatized and disappointed in what happened and do not want to repeat the experience. But I did learn a few things about my body, such as the fact that I do not feel pain from contractions. And during the c-section they found that I have a bicornuate (split) uterus, shaped like a heart, so any further pregnancies (should we decide to have any more children) will have a high chance of prematurity, be a mandatory c-section and most likely bedrest. We were incredibly fortunate to have been in a hospital where they basically saved C's life.
this is how i felt after my first. i literally cried at my 41 week appointment with #2 when my OB said that i couldn't safely go any longer...it would have been too much strain on my scar. my scheduled c/s for #2 was freakin' MAGICAL!!! i believe very very much in VBACs but for people who have problems that make a vbac unlikely, i strongly recommend a scheduled c/s instead of laboring and ending up with the surgery anyway. a c/s WITHOUT having labored for two days was an entirely different thing than the c/s with the labor.
In a hospital, with an OB. I labored from 2cm to 10cm in about 4 hours w/ no epi , then the doctor practically forced me to get one because I was "a first time mom and pushing will take 2 hours+). He wouldn't let me start pushing until I got the epi, even though I was complete and she was dropping on her own.
I pushed through 6 contractions and was done. The epi kicked in just in time for the doctor to stitch up my 2nd degree tear.
I'm looking into whether my insurance will cover the local birth center for my next go round as I was not pleased with the epi-pushing at the hospital. Other than that, though, I will say that the staff was great. Also, had my OB been available instead of her partner, the epi probably wouldn't have even been mentioned.
what a poop doctor! but i will say i had an epi (my request) and it kept wearing off so i felt a lot. i especially felt everything in my nether regions, ESPECIALLY when i was getting stitched up. it hurt as bad as--if not worse than-- the tearing itself.
Birth center at a hospital. It's a really small hospital, they only have 8 rooms and don't do high-risk stuff. All suites, queen sized beds, pull-out couches and a kitchen, but they do have an OR if something goes wrong.
I loved it, but I'm still considering a home birth next time around.
My birth story is hanging out in my blog if you're interested.
Hospital with an OB. It went really well until she was born.
I labored at home for a while, then called the OB's office and they had me come in to be checked. Was 5cm at that point, so we went right to the hospital; I was 6cm when we got there.
Things slowed down at that point, but I was allowed to labor with intermittent monitoring and only a saline lock. The nurses and the on-call OB were very supportive of my plan for a med-free birth.
I labored in the shower from 7-9.5cm, then they wanted me to change position to try and get to 10cm. I honestly couldn't stand on my own at that point, so I had to go back to the bed. I pushed for about 50 minutes on my back (I will NEVER do that again - I ended up with a separated pelvis which was amazingly painful and took about two months to recover from), and she was born at 8lbs, 8oz, no meds.
They put her on my chest for a second, but she was having trouble breathing, so they had to take her away. They let me hold her for a minute after they had her stabilized, but then she had to go to the NICU for evaluation.
I was really upset that we didn't get that skin-to-skin and immediate breastfeeding time, but, again, the nurses were really supportive and got me a pump right away. She got the colostrum as soon as I pumped it (the hospital actually has a very cool tube chute system, like they have at the bank, to get BM from moms up to the NICU!). I wasn't able to BF until she was two days old, but we have been very lucky that it went very well for us and she has been EBF since about four days old.
DD ended up being diagnosed with respiratory distress syndrome and pneumonia, so we were in the NICU with her for a week. So even though my pregnancy, labor, and delivery were all textbook with no complications, I was still really glad that we chose a hospital birth and that DD was able to get the care she needed right away. If we have more biological children, I will choose a hospital birth again, no question.
TTC since 11/05...ectopic pg 4/08...early m/c 6/09...BFP 10/5/09!
Nora B...June 15, 2010...8lbs, 8oz...Med-free birth!
TTC #2 since 7/11...cycle #3 of Clomid + IUI = BFP
Malcolm...September 21, 2012...8lbs, 6oz...Another med-free birth!
Hospital. I had to be induced at 41 weeks. I thought that my birth experience was great. The only meds I had were the pit and the PCN. The nurses and my OB were all very supportive of me going natural and being in whatever position I wanted when I pushed.
I hope I have the same experience the next time.
Hey thats me, except my water broke and after 16 hours of labor and 0 dilation (with pitocin at full steam) they told me C-section was the best bet for LO.
I wasn't UNHAPPY with my experince, but I would have loved to have had that instant skin to skin contact with him. It was maybe 20-25 min before I could hold him, and maybe an hour before we tried BF since I was a little loopy.
Big hospital & it was a great experience from start to finish. The nurses and OB were very respectful and supportive of my choices, often echoing the importance of skin-to-skin (kangaroo care). They had birthing balls, private tubs, easily accessible lactation consultants, etc. I would definitely go back next time around.
1ht
Freestanding birth center, just a couple blocks from the hospital. Had a wonderful experience - 7 hours from the start of labor to delivery. DS was born in distress (cord wrapped around his neck, which had to be cut before I could deliver him), and they had all the necessary equipment to stabilize him right there in the birthing suite. After about 45 minutes, he was handed over to me, perfectly healthy and wonderful, and latched on like a champ!
If we're still in the same city for baby #2, we'll definitely go back. If not, we'll 1) look for another freestanding birth center, or 2) plan on a home birth.
With a midwife in the Hospital. The same one that I was born in!
DD was born right betwen the 2 due dates that we had, after about 7 hrs of labour, most of it at home. DD was born less than 2 hrs after we checked in, totally med free. She was put right on my chest and we could have gone home right afterward, but I was too overwhelmed to think of getting in the car for the long 5 minute drive home. We spent the night and headed home the next afternoon.
I think this time we'll go home right after delivery as long as everything is OK.
We're in a small town (less than 10,000) and it's a small hospital, there are 3 delivery rooms with a tub to share between them, 6 postpartum rooms (that are used for everyone, not just pp patients), 1 small OR and an ER...(our town just finished raising 1.5 million to buy at CT scanner!)
When I was a child my dad was a psych nurse there (the psych ward has since closed) and I have many happy memories of visiting him at work. I guess that it's strange that a hospital can be a happy place, but it is for me.
I labored at home for as long as possible with DH and my amazing doula, then we got in a cab when my contractions were 3-5 minutes apart. I gave birth within 30 minutes of arriving at the hospital.
I would love to give birth at a birthing center, but the OB/Gyn I just switched to just decided not to be affiliated with them anymore due to how much more stringent they now are vs. a few years ago. They have a long list of things you have to do as a provider and even more importantly, a long list of things that would disqualify you as a patient. I suspect that because I will be over 35 if I ever have another baby and have a few pre-existing medical issues, that they wouldn't let me give birth there anyway.
A home birth would be awesome, but I haven't been able to figure out how to skirt the insurance issue, although LittleEgypt (on this board) had a good idea the other day.
In a hospital with a mw. I was induced because I was impatient. My l&d happened so quickly and they turn off the pit when my water broke. I went from 5 cm(when my water broke) to pulling ds out in less than an hour. I got 1/2 dose of stadol because I was panicky and I had the urge to push way too soon. Overall I'm really happy with my experience and birth made my love my mw. I can't tell you how much i love that woman.
Next time I won't be induced and I won't have any pain meds.
I had a homebirth with a midwife. Contractions started around 12:30 am and I was able to sleep off and on until around 6:30 when I called our midwife. I told her I was okay for a while and would call when I wanted her to come- that happened about 8:30 am. I pretty much labored on the floor in our bedroom laying under the A/C vent. When I had a contraction I got hot and would lay there in my shorts and tank top, then when the contraction would stop I'd get cold andcover up with a blanket. I did that for about 5- hours.
Around 12-1 pm I got in the birth tub. I was 8-9 cm at this point. Labored until I was comlete in the tub. The warm water felt soooooo good. My water broke when I was complete and pushing. I ended up with some bleeding and had to get out of the tub so the midwife could better tell the blood loss. They also had some trouble tracking DS's heart rate since he was so low and behind my pubic bone. His scalp was nice and pink the whole time. After a few minutes my midwife got concerned that the placenta might be separating early and decided to do an episiotomy to get him out faster (She later told me I was almost definitely going to tear anyway and I kind of knew this going in). As soon as she cut DS shot out and 9/9 Apgars. He was born at 3:23 pm so roughly 15 hours of labor but only 9 were I was awake and having to focus.
I would definitely do a homebirth again, but I loved and trusted my midwife. DS was born 41 wks exactly. Going med free was tough but I think it was worth it.