have to have a hospital birth, cant do classes: what to do..

lovin life23 · November 2012

Hi Ladies! If I could ask for your input/advice on this that would be fantastic....so with our insurance (and the cost of doula's and midwives in my area) I have to have a hospital birth. I have also been really, really busy with working FT, school FT online, photography PT all weekend and other stuff.........I either called too late for dec/jan birthing classes or others are just too expensive.

That being said, I am still committed to a natural birth and am trying to get things and learn on my own. I have a former doula that we know who has offered to meet with us and teach us some labor techniques...I have ordered books from amazon on natural hospital births (how to have one) and the bradley method and a friend of mine is giving me Supernatural Birth.

Anything I should add, look into, know, ask? help! thank you so much!!

sbevmc09 · November 2012

I think you're doing everything you can. Just educate yourself as much as possible and be careful with the provider you choose. Just because you have to have an OB doesn't mean that they're all created equal. Ask a lot of questions and find one who is a good fit for you that's going to be a good partner in this process.

MitoRachel · November 2012

I did what you're doing for my first birth and it went quite well. I guess I also did a little bit of prenatal yoga at home. The only thing I'm doing differently this time is listening to a youtube track of birth affirmations that I like. With DS I thought I would recite scripture as birth affirmations, but at the most intense part of labor trying to remember full passages just wasn't going to happen!

HappyIAm · November 2012

Make sure you have discussed all this with your OBGYN. The earlier you are on the same page the better. We found the Laugh and Learn about Childirth videos very helpful as well as the book " Natural Birth in Hospital". Our doula has me drinking lots of water, doing squats and lunges as well as perineal massage twice a day.

RMama2012 · November 2012

Ditto

RMama2012 · November 2012

Ditto

on

RMama2012 · November 2012

Ditto

on Laugh

lovin life23 · November 2012

HappyIAm:
Make sure you have discussed all this with your OBGYN. The earlier you are on the same page the better. We found the Laugh and Learn about Childirth videos very helpful as well as the book " Natural Birth in Hospital". Our doula has me drinking lots of water, doing squats and lunges as well as perineal massage twice a day.

That is the crappy part...with my insurance the offices have OB's and the hospitals have their own set of OB's in L&D so my obgyn I see for my appointments is only an office ob, she doesnt deliver at all..SO...when I get to L&D and its time...I will have met that ob for the first time...they also only hve 8 hr shifts/rotations so if that doctors shift is up, I get a different one...same goes for the nurses....I get to bring in a birth plan but its really up to me and my husband to make sure we stick to it as best we can and inform the nurses as we go along..I cant afford a doula...I would LOVE one..to be my advocate and informed source but...cant swing it financially..

evelyntaylor · November 2012

I agree that what you're already doing is great preparation. I would also suggest looking for blogs that promote natural childbirth as there may be great resources there as well. I have a blog as I am in school to become a midwife with some resources. Regardless, always remember that you know your body and your body knows how to give birth. Good luck!

RMama2012 · November 2012

Ditto on Laugh & Learn video. My Dr actually reccomended the video over classes. I did what you are doing and it was fine. I did get some pushback at the hospital but not about getting the epi. They were just annoyed that I wouldnt lay down in the bed and I was messing up the HR monitor. The cords and whatnot were annoying too so I would push for heplock. I didn't write a birth plan. If possible, I would go to the DR office to get checked if you must, and not go straight to the hospital. That way if you are only at 4cm (I was), you can go back home or somewhere. I left my house at 9am dying for some relief after spending all night (from 10pm or so) in pain and laboring on my own, on a ball, and in the shower. At 9:30am I was checked by the OB in his office and was 4cm. Due to a very busy hospital I was told to wait a few hours and go back to his office at 12:30am. I went to the park. It was a gorgeous day (5/11) and walking around gave me a second wind. I went back at 12:15 where contractions were consistently every 4 minutes and occasionally 3 mins apart. Then I was "over 6cm." That's when I went to the hospital. At six cm I wanted to wait a while more before considering pain meds again. Once I was checked at 8cm, I knew I would do it. 8cm to me is a no turning back point. I'm sharing this story because I think getting out and in the park completely changed the direction of my labor. not to mention it provides a funny story with the park rangers and people asking if I was OK! Good luck! You can definately do it.

RMama2012 · November 2012

Sorry! I created paragraphs but I don't know what happened!

Also, the OB told me to go back at 12:30pm*** I had the baby at 5:36pm

sbevmc09 · November 2012

lovin life23:
HappyIAm:
Make sure you have discussed all this with your OBGYN. The earlier you are on the same page the better. We found the Laugh and Learn about Childirth videos very helpful as well as the book " Natural Birth in Hospital". Our doula has me drinking lots of water, doing squats and lunges as well as perineal massage twice a day.

That is the crappy part...with my insurance the offices have OB's and the hospitals have their own set of OB's in L&D so my obgyn I see for my appointments is only an office ob, she doesnt deliver at all..SO...when I get to L&D and its time...I will have met that ob for the first time...they also only hve 8 hr shifts/rotations so if that doctors shift is up, I get a different one...same goes for the nurses....I get to bring in a birth plan but its really up to me and my husband to make sure we stick to it as best we can and inform the nurses as we go along..I cant afford a doula...I would LOVE one..to be my advocate and informed source but...cant swing it financially..

Wow... that's crazy. I'm sorry

I would make sure to have a very detailed birth plan and make sure that your support person is 100% on board and willing to advocate on your behalf.

katiep337 · November 2012

Have you looked for a student doula? When they are trying to get enough births to qualify for certification, they often have very reduced rates. I am using a doula-in-training, and she only charges $150. Ask around, internet search your area doulas.

Dman85 · November 2012

I had a natural birth in a hospital without taking classes as well. I just read A LOT about it. I bought the bradley natural childbirth book which was a huge help. YOu'll do great!

Amanda&EricB · November 2012

I'd say ask a lot of questions here, and read as much as you can.

I was a birth-class dropout and I had a natural birth.

PansyPants · November 2012

It sounds like you're on the right track.

I'm not clear on whether or not you will be having a doula or not. If you're not having one because of cost, check around for new doula's or ones that are currently in training. They'll often offer services at a discounted rate in order to get experience and to build up reviews. If you'd like to have a doula during labor that might be a way to do it.

b2b999 · November 2012

Also check with the hospital where you plan to deliver. My hospital offered an "intensive lamaze course" which was basically 1 day of lamaze on a Saturday from 8 am - 4 pm, it was fantastic actually. The course only cost $90, and though our insurance reimbursed us for the cost of the class, even if they didn't, that cost was nothing in comparison to a lot of natural birthing classes.