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On the clock...

francined01francined01 member
in Natural Birth
I had a conversation with my neighbor today who is an OB/GYN (but not mine) about how long most hospitals will let you labor before intervening. Basically they can put pressure on you but cannot insist on induction or c-section. If you are firm then you can labor as long as you want or ask to go back home. I am probably  Group Strep B positive ( I was with my last 3 births) so I fully intend on being in hospital on time to get IV of antibiotics but will labor as long as I need.
Just thought the ladies out there aiming for a natural birth might find this helpful

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Re: On the clock...

  • marriedinaugustmarriedinaugust member
    Also, (per my Bradley instructor) they will put you "on the clock" after your water breaks due to fear of infection. But infection would be caused by their internal exams. So you have every right to deny their exams as well.
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  • GPeterson24GPeterson24 member

    I wish more women would realize this.  It's your body and your baby, ask questions, get advice from your HCP but at the end of the day all decisions are our own.

    This is a great blog about use of language surrounding birth.

    https://birthmonopoly.com/allowed/

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  • nursecramernursecramer member
    It's easy to say "just decline the procedure", but when you are in the midst of contractions, and have two or three doctors surrounding you telling you that this is THE ONLY WAY, it's really really tough. We (well, it was all on my H to be stubborn because I was in no shape to argue) were able to "decline" pitocin for about 12 hours after my water broke. I had also declined all cervical checks up to that point, which does reduce the chance of infection, but when they checked me at that time and said I was only 5cm, I had no way to argue that I was still progressing or that laboring on my own was effective. I wish I had been checked when I was admitted so that I had some base-line to compare it to. Theoretically, yes, I could have just gone home, but physically, there was no way I was going to be able to leave the hospital at that point.

    The one thing that mattered the most in my labor was the staff. The OBs who were on shift at the hospital were the ones who kept pushing for pitocin, c-section, epidural, etc. My OB didn't arrive until I was close to complete, but my H was able to call him a couple of times and get him to help delay administration of pitocin. He also shut down the talk of c-section by some of the other OBs as I passed the 4 hour mark of pushing. The nurses knew I wanted to go pain-med free, and they were a tremendous source of support. If it wasn't for their support, there is on way H and I could have continued declining interventions on our own. 
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  • jenn43jenn43 member
    It's definitely easier if you are at home, or of you have a practitioner that supports fewer interventions. My water broke at home, and my midwife was okay letting me go for a full 18 hours before inducing me. We limited internal exams, and baby was doing fine the whole time. We did have to do some extra lab work on the baby though, because of the prolonged rupture if membranes,
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  • MrsZ0811MrsZ0811 member
    I was induced and labored for 44 hours. My water broke at 8:45 am naturally, 27 hours in. They never "put me on the clock" but did do temp/vitals checks more often after my water broke.
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