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July 2016 Moms
owens0410
member
what it's like to labor naturally in a hospital?
owens0410
member
I posted this on the natural birth board but also wanted to ask you girls for your experience/knowledge.
My first birth was with two failed epidurals, this go around I've decided to go epidural-free. I remember hating the fact that while in so much pain I had an IV in, a blood pressure cuff on, and was bound to the hospital bed after they started the pitocin. I took 21 hours so it was a long time to be bound down too. Here is my question...if I am not induced and do not get an epidural, will I still have to be hooked up to stuff?? I hope that isn't a dumb question. Will I be allowed to get up and move and bring a birthing ball if I want? I plan on asking my doctor these questions too but would love to hear from you ladies. TIA.
Re: what it's like to labor naturally in a hospital?
It honestly depends on your nurse. My first nurse was mean, kept pushing the epidural, didn't really explain how to unhook the cords, I had to ask for the birthing ball etc. The second shift was AWESOME. They encouraged me to walk around, got me water, coached me, did everything I could have hoped for. I only ended up getting the epidural because I wasn't progressing and felt really defeated, no one made me do it.
Hospitals have changed a lot (due to competition, the way they get paid based on customer satisfaction etc) so they are now much more responsive to patients. But every person is different, so you could always wind up with an "old-fashioned" nurse or doctor. Is your OB at the hospital?
I did med free in hospital and I was not hooked up to anything for the entire time. They did put in a hep lock, which means you have the needle in place if you need an IV, but it is capped off. I also had a cordless monitor around my belly most of the time. I definitely didn't have a BP cuff. I was given a birth ball and was encouraged to spend time in the bath/shower.
Good luck!
My second birth was a successful hospital VBAC. I wasn't comfortable attempting VBAC anywhere but a hospital. Thankfully, I had a fabulous team. My OB is fantastic and was very supportive of VBAC. Very hands off. I had a doula with me as well. I didn't show up at the hospital until I was past 9cm and in transition, so that was helpful. I brought a birthing ball and spent a lot of time on it in my hospital room. Eventually, the nurse (who also just happened to be super supportive and all about med-free birth), put an IV line in my hand, but it was just for emergencies, I wasn't hooked up to anything. I actually felt better having it, because I knew I could need to be knocked out fast if the VBAC went wrong. I didn't have a blood pressure cuff. I did have the belly monitor on for the baby, but that was another thing I was comfortable with, because I wanted her monitored. It wasn't wireless, but the wire stretched 20 feet, so I could've paced if I wanted to.
I didn't want to. I labored on the ball for a while, then moved to the bed. I couldn't stand up through my contractions, let alone walk. Baby wouldn't drop and I was stuck in transition hell for a couple hours, but I eventually moved around a bit and got her to drop and had my VBAC.
Definitely stay home as long as possible and make sure you have a team (birth partner, doula, OB or midwife) who are all on board with a low-intervention birth. Make sure you have your team prepared to advocate for you during labor. If you don't want to be connected to an IV, don't let them connect you to an IV. Find out your hospital's policies ahead of time, also, so you know what you can and can't turn down.
With DS2, I didn't actually have much pain until my water spontaneously broke after being on pitocin for about 1-2 hours. I made it about 30 minutes after that before asking for the epidural. In the time before asking, I labored on the toilet for a while and then on the birthing ball. The nurse walked out of the room to put in the order for the epi and I suddenly felt I had to push. They moved me back on the bed and checked me and I had the baby 15 minutes later. Interestingly, it didn't hurt as much pushing without the epi as I thought it would. Pushing felt like a relief almost, like the pain finally had a purpose.
Point being, pitocin doesn't mean you are chained to the bed. An epidural does. And it is possible to have pitocin and not get an epidural. I will also say that I had a midwife instead of a doctor (though the doctor was in the room for the delivery to supervise) and I loved the amount of time she spent with me during labor and how flexible she was with the guidelines. I also had my sister stand in as my doula to advocate for DH and I from a less emotional state and to help assist with pain management techniques.