Natural Birth
elizxu
member
Options
Here I am! :-)
elizxu
member
Okay - I think I'm going to do this..
I breezed through "Natural Hospital Birth: The Best of Both Worlds" last night and I think it's the best choice for me. Hospital birth is really the only option where I live/with my insurance. But I really love the idea of little/no intervention from the medical world. I'm scared, excited & looking forward to learning all I can before L&D. Plus, I have to actually read the book now 
I guess I need to talk to my doctor (who's in a rotation) at my next appointment. I'm sure you ladies know all the questions I need to start with....(right??!!)
Thanks!
Warning
No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Here I am! :-)
Sounds like you're in a positive place mentally, which is huge. Congrats on making the choice that's right for you. One book I can recommend is "Creating Your Birth Plan" by Marsden Wagner. It's about a lot more than just what the title suggests.
In the early chapters, it goes through and describes different types of care providers, and includes lists of suggested questions to ask your own care provider to get on the same page for your birth wishes. I was able to check out a copy of the book from my library, though I eventually bought it because I found it so helpful.
I had a great experience giving birth naturally in a hospital setting. I wish all hospital births were as great as mine but unfortunately I know a lot of women who didn't get the experience they wanted.
One thing I didn't think of during my pregnancy but which wound up being sooo important was the L&D nurse. You'll interact more with her than you will any doctor or midwife. Mine was a godsend, but I also had a really lucky situation where the nurse who taught her own natural childbirth classes I'd attended was working during the shift I arrived, so she already knew my goals, anxieties, personality etc.
So I would say in addition to writing a birth plan and becoming as informed as possible about all the medical interventions, know who your OB's backup is, and ask which of the nurses are most experienced with/amenable to natural childbirth. Also find out when the shift change is.