Natural birth in a hospital setting?

nursebecca79 · January 2011

Have any of you ladies had a natural birth in a hospital? If so, how was your experience? Were the staff supportive? Did you use an OB or midwife?

staryeyes · January 2011

I did. I used a MW in a very natural-friendly hospital. I remember my labor experience as a time of rainbows and ponies...seriously, it was wonderful. I loved the support from my MW and the ambiance in the room was great.

Delivery was stressful because DS's heartrate was dropping and so they brought an OB in. I was given oxygen at my time of transition which was really disorienting, and the OB said "I've read your birth preferences and understand you want to avoid a c/s and I will do everything I can to make that happen for you. You have 15 minutes to push out this baby." SO...it was a very adrenaline-filled delivery with more interventions than I imagined when writing my birth preferences. But I did it...and I'm so grateful for that OB who read and empathized with my preferences. Delivery was very different from what I had expected, but it was still med-free and without surgery.

After delivery was an amazing time too, with so much BFing help from LCs and nice check-ups from the MWs. My MW came back the next day on her day off to talk with me about my feelings on L&D and be there to answer any questions I had. It was a mixed experience, but I still look back on the hospital very fondly and have hope for a wonderful *delivery* as well as labor for this hospital birth.

robyn2201 · January 2011

I had DD in a hospital setting and my labor was a good experience. My nurse basically just left me alone the entire time. My OB on the other hand was not very open to a natural birth when we had discussions with her prior to going into labor. But she only showed up after I had already started pushing and basically just caught DD.

We did the Bradley Method and had a doula. If you decide to go the hospital route, I would really recommend having a doula and also laboring at home as long as possible to avoid interventions.

MaddysMama07 · January 2011

I did. My nurse was awesome. When my midwife mentioned possibly having to start pitocin if my contractions didn't pick up my nurse held her off and had me start doing nipple stimulation first. Luckily, it worked and I avoided the pitocin. My nurse was the one who encouraged me to get in the tub and helped me breathe through contractions since my midwife wasn't there yet. She was also the one who asked me if I had ever thought about a water birth. I had an awesome natural birth in a hospital setting.

BrideNamedMeg · January 2011

We had a natural birth in a hospital with midwives. I had thought about getting a doula, but my midwives said unless they had another birth at the same time whoever was on call would be with me pretty much the entire time...well, they had another birth so the majority of my labor was just MH and me in our room alone. It was actually very nice. I was able to labor in a tub for awhile, the nurse was around for that part. The hospital gave me a birth preference sheet to fill out ahead of time and I wrote that I did not want to be offered pain meds, I think the nurse might have asked once, but never again.

My midwife came in periodically to check on me, I didn't like it when I had to be monitored, but thankfully it wasn't that often.

It's definitely possible to have a great natural hospital birth. We are planning a homebirth this time around, but my birth experience at the hospital was positive overall (it was everything that happened after the birth that I didn't care for).

grover1024 · January 2011

i had a great natural water birth in a hospital. i have midwives & went to the hospital that they regularly deliver at, so the nurses there are really comfortable with them & with the whole natural birth experience. i would recommend using a midwife since they see more natural births on average than an ob/gyn and find out where they usually deliver. if you don't have a MW i would suggest hiring a doula.

mantle · January 2011

We planned to...had a birth ball, birth plan, the nurses had been given a copy of the plan for my file. DD came so fast we had natural birth without getting anything that we had planned to use (ball, music, essential oils, ...). The nurses were awesome. My OB was great too, though he'd have liked to have had time to do an IV 'just in case', but it wasn't needed and he didn't have time. I think more and more staffs are not only accepting natural births again, but encouraging the mommas who go that route, at least that is what I've seen and heard.

utlawgirl · January 2011

I had an awesome experience. We used a midwife, which I think makes all the difference, and our nurse was great (just luck of the draw). I'd encourage you to look into midwives if you decide to go this route... and don't go to the hospital until you NEED to (take classes, like Bradley, to help you know when the right time is).

~adamwife~ · January 2011

With #2 I had a CNM in a hospital with a doula. I checked in and refused all monitors/IVs. The nurse did one internal and then pretty much left me alone for the next four hours. I was able to wander the halls, eat whatever I wanted, and do whatever made me feel good. It was a wonderful experience.

Having a doula there is absolutely necessary in a hospital setting IMO.

klcl8981 · January 2011

I delivered naturally at the hospital with a midwife. My experience was great! I had not wanted to epidural before going to the hospital, and had done a ton of research. I wasn't going to beat myself up if I ultimately DID want the epidural, but I really couldn't even focus on anything other than getting through each contraction. So, the epidural NEVER even crossed my mind even with the incredible pain! I had horrendous back labor, but I guess I didn't even remember that pain relief would be an option. Only very towards the end did my midwife ask me if I wanted it, and I told her no. The conversation ended there.

Also, VERY early on in my labor, one of the midwives on shift wanted to break my water. I didn't let her, and I am glad that I didn't. A few hours later, my water did break on it's own shortly before I began pushing. Everything just went the way it was supposed to, and I wouldn't have wanted it any different.

Except, this time, I am doing a home birth. Although I had a great experience at the hospital, I still felt like I wanted more freedom. I still was mostly confined to my bed needing counter pressure on my lower back, and I HATED having the belly monitor on the entire time. It made it difficult/impossible to do certain positions, and the hospital nurse was being a biitch about it. I'll be happy to be home this time, and labor as I want, move freely, eat/drink freely, etc.

Natural birth at the hospital is very achievable (should no complications occur). Just stick to your guns! Or make sure you have a partner who can do the talking for you to help you strive towards the natural birth you want since all reasoning tends to go out the window when you are in labor.

bralex2007 · January 2011

I am coming out from lurking to say that I did. I had a CNM who was pretty conservative as far as MWs go, and the hospital was pretty conservative as well. But my experience was awesome. The staff didn't really have a choice but to be supportive, I was almost 9cm by the time I got there, and was ready to push by the time my MW arrived. The nurses and MW were really encouraging and kept telling me how great I was doing, which helped a lot. Labor at home is the best because you can do whatever you want, so do that as long as possible. Also take a class, especially one that will teach your DH how to support you during labor (I did hypnobirthing- the mongan method and loved it). I also found it very helpful to learn the hospitals policies and to work out any issues I had ahead of time with my MW. GL with whatever you choose!

abell77 · January 2011

I did and it was a great experience, but I was also at a very pro natural birth hospital and drove 45 minutes to be able to deliver there. All the nurses were very supportive and no one ever even mentioned drugs to me.

astroMom · January 2011

I did with an OB. Luckily, my doula was able to ask around on some board and find out that my hospital and OB were more supportive than average, since I didn't even think about that before I got pregnant!

kbk84 · January 2011

I did with DD. We had a fabulous experience. Our doula was with us and we had created a birth plan (we called it our birthing hopes) that our nurse had read ahead of time. She was so supportive and kind throughout labor. We had a family practice doc with us for the delivery. We'll be doing the same thing this time around and hoping for the same gentle birthing experience.

Sawyerplus1 · January 2011

My 2nd birth was in a hospital with an OB and it was just fine. After having a MW birth in a birth centre I was really nervous about a hospital birth not going the way I wanted. But once the nurses knew I wanted to do it without any drugs and limited other intervention they were very supportive. One of the older nurses came in at one point and tried to force me to use laughing gas, which was annoying, but the other nurses were great. My OB didn't have much to do with it. I was only laboring in the hospital for 4 hours and he just came to catch the baby.

cros8380 · January 2011

I had a natural birth (Bradley Method) in a hospital with a MW (I switched from a non-supportive OB at 25 weeks). The labor nurse and MW were FANTASTIC and my experience at the hospital was amazing. I posted the birth story in my blog if you're interested!

newbaby on the way · January 2011

Yes I had a natural medfree birth at the hospital with and OB. I was in labor for 4 hrs total though. I got to the hospital at 2:30 and had baby at4:26 am. I loved it. They were very supportive.

Mrs.Greeko · January 2011

My first birth was a natural birth in a hospital with an OB. My story is in my bio.

My take away from the whole experience is that I will never give birth in a hospital again barring extreme medical circumstances. DD2 was born at a birth center with a midwife. Had the birth center not been in existence I would have done a home birth.

My OB made it sound like I could do a lot of things and then when I was actually in labor none of it was true, but I was in no position to be arguing policy.

I might consider a hospital birth with a midwife and doula if there was absolutely no other option and I would not leave my house until I was nearly ready to push.

Mrs.Greeko · January 2011

Apparently the changed the bios over here. Here is my story though:

My Birth Story is long, but here it is. . .

My DD was due on July 1, 2006. My due date came and went as did a lot of other days. I was scheduled to be induced on July 14^th and I was dreading the possibility. On July 11^th, I called my doctor and begged to have my membranes stripped. They agreed and set up an appointment for the next day. On the 12^th I woke up with my usual annoying contractions. They were somewhat consistent at about 7 minutes apart, but they weren?t that intense and they weren?t getting any more intense so I figured I?d just go to the doctor?s at 9 as planned and see what they had to say.

On the way to the doctor?s the contractions started to get a little more intense and were about 3 minutes apart. They still didn?t really hurt though. When we got in the office my contractions essentially stopped. They hooked me up to the NST, but she baselined my uterus when I was having a contraction so my contractions weren?t really showing up. I had a nurse adjust it and a few contractions showed up, but then it was over. At some point the doctor came in to ask how I was doing. I told here I thought I might be in labor and she laughed and told me that I needed to be in more pain.

They checked my fluid with the u/s and then the doctor checked me. I was 1-2cm and 80% effaced. She went ahead and stripped my membranes and sent us on our merry way. I started having more contractions the minute we got in the car. DH thought maybe we should go grab some lunch before he went into work. It was about 10:30am at this time. I told him I would go with him, but all I really wanted to eat was some chicken noodle soup. The contractions started to get more intense and I wasn?t able to really do much during them so DH decided it might be better if we skipped lunch and went to the grocery store instead to grab something.

We got back home around 11am. DH made me some chicken noodle soup and I tried my hardest to eat it. I had to stand up and lean over the counter every time I had a contraction. I finished my soup and the contractions were coming pretty often at this point. I told DH I didn?t want him to go to work because I thought this might be it. He thought I was overreacting to cramps caused by the membrane stripping. He was playing video games and I got so mad at him. It got his attention to come downstairs and time my contractions for me. We started timing the contractions at 11:20am. They were about 3 minutes apart and were lasting about 1.5 minutes. The only way I could get through them was to lean over the birthing ball or kneel in front of the couch with my head on the couch. I also needed repetitive words to say, so I made one up, ?AHF.? Opening my eyes also made it much worse.

My doctor?s office?s instructions were to have contractions that were 5 minutes or less apart for 2 hours before calling. So we waited. When it was almost 1pm, I decided that I needed to get to the hospital, but I figured I?d wait until the office got back from lunch. I started calling at 1, but they weren?t answering the phone. Finally at 1:20 I decided to just talk to the on-call service. They told me to come to the office to get checked. Let me tell you the car ride over there was the most miserable experience. I couldn?t sit down so I was kneeling over the center console.

We got to the office at 1:50. When I was getting undressed to get checked I noticed a large blood clot in my underwear. I started freaking out. The midwife came and checked me and told me the blood was normal bloody show (it was dark red and a huge clot, not what I thought bloody show was). Turns out I was 8 cm dilated. They got a wheelchair and rushed me to the hospital next door, while DH pulled the car around. When I got to the labor room, they wanted me to pee in a cup and get undressed. I couldn?t pee for the life of me and can?t believe that they thought I would be able to. They made me get in bed (against my wishes) and put in an IV (also against my wishes). Then they checked me again, 9 cm. They let me start pushing when I felt like it. The contractions felt way different at this point. I had no choice but to push, my body wouldn?t do anything else.

My water still hadn?t broken and by the time the doctor got there they could see that the bag of waters was bulging and holding her inside. They broke my water. What a strange feeling! Then I pushed one more time and her head came out. One more push and the rest of her flew out. DH said it was like a water cannon and the doctor really had to catch her, because she came out so fast. They offered me a mirror, but I couldn?t open my eyes so I said no. I ended up with a third degree tear and some internal tearing. Lucille Isabella was born on July 12^th at 3:16pm. She was 11 days overdue. She was 6 pounds 11 ounces and 20 inches long. I had no epidural and I am so glad that I labored mostly at home, I hated the hospital and all of their policies.

julyjennifer · January 2011

I did. We prepared for a natural birth by taking the Bradley method childbirth classes and reading a lot. We used a midwife (CNM) and hired a doula. I labored at home for most (10hours) of the labor and got to the hospital fully dilated. Pushed for 3.5 hours, DD was sunny side up so it was a lot of work. The midwife on call wanted to give me Pitocin and do an episiotomy but we declined. The birth itself was great, and I thought the hospital experience was ok, but we're planning a home birth this time around. I'd rather have "wonderful" than ok.

cherhop1 · January 2011

I had a natural (med free with no interventions) birth at a hospital with a midwife. The midwives have their own birthing center at the hospital so all the nurses and staff were on board with the natural thing. It was an awesome experience. I am happy and lucky to have such a hospital so close to me.

My friend in Ohio is a nurse and delivered in her own hospital. All the doctors and nurses there gave her a lot of slack and had bets against her going naturally. I felt horrible for her. She hired a doula to help her so thank God she had someone on her side!

IslamoradaBride09 · January 2011

I posted about my natural hospital birth here. It really depends on your birth team and hospital-- in my case, both have a reputation in my area for being very respectful of birth plans and reducing interventions/meds if possible. I had a great experience with my OB and the nursing staff as well. They all had copies of my birth plan and were supportive of my wishes. My husband and I had taken Bradley Method classes, and they armed us well for what to expect.

Blackvelvet · January 2011

I had an unmedicated birth in the hosiptal. I used a MW who was very supportive. My first assigned nurse quite on me after I though a hissy fit and wouldn't let her put in the IV but the nurse who replaced her was very helpful. They followed everything in my birth plan except the jacuzzi tub they wouldn't let me in it.

lindsayll · January 2011

Did it, and it was totally awesome. Highly recommend it. Just make sure you choose your hospital and provider wisely, consider hiring a doula, and be nice to the nurses.

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