Natural birth in a hospital
I am pregnant with my first child and planning on having a natural birth. Due to where I live I'm only close to one hospital. My 3 SILs have all given natural births (combined they have 7 children), but at a birthing center which is about an hour away from where I live. When I told them I was pregnant they were all excited, and obviously the first thing they asked is if I would have baby naturally, and where at. When I said at the local hospital the first reply I received was, "Oh, well then you won't be giving birth naturally. Hospitals won't let you have natural births." I sort of took it with a grain of salt, because I actually know a couple of other ladies who also plan on giving birth naturally at the same hospital. After their reactions I talked to my OB about my decision and he said they would work with me to have the birth experience that I chose as long as complications do not arise. Well MIL and SILs all seem to go up in arms anytime the subject is brought up, which I will add is not brought up by me because I get frustrated hearing them complain. Also, none of them have given birth in a hospital, they just repeat 'horror' stories they have heard.
Is it honesly hard to have doctors go along with a natural birth in a hospital or are my ILs just solely biased to their experiences?
Re: Natural birth in a hospital
It can be more challenging, depending on the hospital. I had a wonderful med-free birth in a hospital. But with that being said I delivered with MWs in a hospital that is known for being low-intervention.
Have you asked your OB specific questions regarding the birth you are hoping for? For example I would want to know the c/s rate, will they encourage mobility by doing intermittent monitoring, what kinds of natural pain relief options are there (birthing ball, tubs, etc), will you be encouraged to push in a position that feels comfortable, policy on IV and eating/drinking, policy on inductions/augmentations, etc. I think these questions among others will give you a great insight into where your OB stands on med-free births. Even if you aren't planning to switch providers at least you will know what you are up against. Either way it is always better to educate yourself as best you can (take a class, read books, etc), labor at home as long as possible and consider hiring a doula.
I think the most important thing is the provider you choose, not necessarily where you deliver. Yes, of course a home birth or birthing center will be no question natural birth friendly (obviously), but if you have a provider who is truly on board with your natural birth plans then you can be just as successful in a hospital. Hospitals may have certain policies that aren't natural birth friendly per se (like continuous fetal monitoring, for example), but there are ways to work around that and having a provider who is supportive of your wishes is going to be key.
If you have access to a MW in your area who will deliver in the hospital that's probably your best bet. Not to say you can't find a supportive OB, but some OBs will say they're supportive of natural birth, but really aren't when it comes down to it. You definitely want to be sure that your provider is 100% on board.
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I'm a FTM so no previous experience, but I agree with pps who said it's your provider who matters more than where you deliver in a lot of ways. Ask your provider specific questions--like his stance on whether patients get IV fluids, whether you can eat or drink during labor, what positions you may labor and push in. You should be able to tell a lot from his answers--and if you get a lot of "we'll try, but..." kinds of answers, I might look for a midwife or other ob who's more *truly* supportive of natural birth. Regardless, going natural in a hospital may be harder because it isn't their "norm"--their standard of care is based around another model, so you may find yourself having to say "no" a lot. This doesn't mean you *can't* have a natural birth, just that you have to be more proactive about it.
On a sidenote, I appreciate that MIL and SIL are trying to help you, but if your only option is this hospital and you don't want a home birth, they need to respect that and back off. What do they really expect you to do in this situation? Yes, hospitals are often not great at natural birth and many practitioners are high-intervention--but many women *choose* those interventions (epidural, non-medically-necessary induction) and it's at a hospital that those choices are available. I would tell them if they really get rolling that the horror stories make you uncomfortable, and then ask what books on natural labor they'd recommend, or something else to steer them away from the ranting.
I think your care provider (OB, MW, whatever) will make all the difference. My OB was the only one in my city (with one hospital) that would allow a water birth. Technically, it was "against hospital policy" to do anything more than labor in the tub but she gave me a *wink, wink* with that (and I'd spoken to other moms that had water births with her). If I'd have gotten any other care provider, it wouldn't have been allowed. The nursing staff was a little difficult (because they don't have many natural birth patients) until my OB showed up, but my doula really helped with that.
It's entirely possible to have a natural birth in a hospital! GL!
PS There are lots of birth stories on YouTube (including mine
) from women who have had natural hospital births.
I think the #1 most important part of having a successful NB in a hospital is to have confidence in yourself and your ability to birth w/minimal intervention. I know a lot of PP here are recommending that you choose a NB friendly OB, but the thing is, most OBs are in a group practice now, and you have no idea which OB is going to be on call when you go into labor. Even if the doc you see your entire pregnancy is pro-NB, the doc who happens to deliver your baby may not be so inclined to let nature take its course, KWIM? That said, if you find a NB friendly OB in a practice and work on a birth plan with him/her, I'm sure that saying "Well, Dr. SoAndSo and I already discussed this, and here's what we were planning..." will carry some significant weight. The OBs are probably less likely to disagree with a decision that you and another OB made together versus one that you made on your own.
I was *this close* to going 100% pain med free with my first labor-- and this was in a very strict, not at all NB friendly hospital with an OB I had never met before. I didn't even have a regular OB, as I saw a different person from this very large group each and every appt! (FTR, I had one dose of IV Stadol but was able to labor and deliver w/o the epidural. The goal this time is to be 100% completely pain med free, and I'm very confident I can do it!) This hospital insisted on continuous fetal monitoring, an IV line, IV fluids throughout labor, required me to push on my back, and said they would use forceps if I didn't push DS out quickly! Not at all ideal, but I made it (more or less) work. I'm quite proud of my accomplishment, actually. :-) I also know one other mom who was able to have a natural birth in the same hospital. And my mom had 4 natural hospital births back in the 80s, when I'm sure that hospitals were even less NB friendly than many are now.
Given the choice, I would not deliver in a less than NB friendly hospital again. In fact, I'm choosing to deliver with a midwife group (CNMs) in a very NB friendly hospital this time around. However, you absolutely can have a NB in just about any hospital. Just be ready to advocate for yourself and make sure to do your research so that you can question whether a given intervention is truly necessary. GL!!
All of this! I like the questions in this post, too: https://birthsen.tmdhosting930.com/?p=769
DS2 - Oct 2010 (my VBAC baby!)
I had a natural hospital birth. It was fine. I had a supportive doctor. I laboured at home and was only at the hospital for 2 hours before delivering (pretty much pushing the whole time).
Some hospitals are better than others; you can't really make a blanket statement about ALL hospitals. Talk to local people, talk to your doctor, get a feel for what is reality where YOU are.
I understand having few options - my choice was home or the hospital that does all the births here. That was it. I went to the hospital.
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It is a combination of your hospital's policy regarding certain interventions as well as your practitioner's philosophy that will really have the greatest impact as to the success of whether or not you will be supported in a med free birth.
I am delivering in a hospital with a nearly 50% c-section rate. The state I live in matches that rate closely as well I think. The practice that I receive medical care from though is more supportive of natural birthing. I am also hiring a doula who has worked with my medical practice as well as with the hospital staff to ensure med free births. I think left to my own devices to deliver this baby I may not be as successful as having a support team including a doula.