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February 2017 Moms
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Dilemma on where to birth

MrsDrKirkpatrickMrsDrKirkpatrick member
in February 2017 Moms
Back when we were all newly pregnant and we're all discussing on here where we were delivering, I was set on a birth center. We are low risk, want to do unmedicated, immediate skin to skin without separation etc. I had poured over books, watched the documentaries about home birth, birth centers, breastfeeding etc. and we had settled on a birth center. 
Well at seven weeks we saw put midwife at the BC, and she recommended I keep my already pre-planned appt with my OB at nine weeks. So we saw my OB at nine and eleven weeks, and it's got me second guessing my birth plan. 
LOGICALLY I know to just deliver wherever I want, but I still feel illogically torn. I ADORE my doctor, she's so wonderful, and willing to bend and give a little with our requests which is awesome. She makes me feel safe, and heard, and she's just overall wonderful. But in the back of my brain I keep hearing all the documentaries saying I'm better off at a birth center, being low risk. 
So I guess I don't even have a question, other than what do you guys think? Has anyone else changed where they wanted to birth? Like I said I'm trying to be logical, but I still feel like I have two "voices" talking to me. 
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Re: Dilemma on where to birth

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  • LaurenAshley04LaurenAshley04 member
    I would visit both places and get a good feel for them. Trusting your doctor is important too! I would also ask what levels of intervention can the birth center accommodate before you would need to go elsewhere. I had a midwife in a hospital when she was concerned about something she was also able to consult an OB from the same office. It was a really nice mix.
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  • runnermom04runnermom04 member
    Personally I'd stay with the OB you've been seeing. You click with her and she's on board with your birth plan, if you choose a new midwife you have to go through the process of finding a personality that matches yours. Also, the nurse in me always worries about the worst and would prefer to birth in a hospital(or at least a birthing center that's attached to one)
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  • rmpiszczekrmpiszczek member
    With my first, I had the perfect drug free delivery in a hospital. My plan was to go with a birth center for the next as long as there were no complications in the delivery of the first. I went to a birth center with the pregnancy I lost, I only went to one a appointment, and it was wonderful! But with this pregnancy, I changed my mind. I personally just like that there is a NICU and OR in the building and I wouldn't have to worry about an ambulance trip if something went wrong.  Being a nurse, I hear all the horror stories of birth center births. I'm sure there are plenty more perfect birth center birth stories. I'm not saying that you shouldn't go with a birth center, I just know I feel more comfortable with my provider, and the staff at our hospital. If you visit with your midwife again and feel like she will provide you the most competent, safest care that you and your family needs, go for it! But if you feel like your doctor will do better, go with the OB. It's perfectly fine to change your mind. Even at the end of pregnancy! A friend of mine saw a midwife at the BC until she was 36 weeks and ended up switching to hospital birth. 
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  • blush64blush64 member
    I agree with PP who have said to stay with your doctor. You are happy with your doctor and they sound like exactly the type of person you want attending a birth. Don't leave because of a documentary, especially if it is anything as biased as the Business of Being Born. 
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  • leprechaunladyleprechaunlady member
    Im in a similar situation in that i have the choice of 2 hospitals, one being a midwife led unit & the other being a consultant led unit. In the midwife led unit i wont have the option of an epidural if i decide thats what i want (still undecided on that yet) & if anything goes wrong it an ambulance ride to the other hospital. At my 12 week scan they kind of push you towards the midwife led unit telling you how its much more personal & relaxed & the other hospital is big, impersonal etc but both me & my husband are uncomfortable with the lack of medical back up & the timescales if anything was to go wrong. I have decided to go with the larger, consultant led hospital on the basis that bar 1 of my cousins, all of the women in my family (both my mum & dads sides) have ended up having to have emergency sections & if this was to be the case for me too id rather not have an ambulance ride & dash through the hospital but simply be taken to theatre as soon as required.
    that said, if there was medical back up in the midwife led unit the i would def want to try there.

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  • jckh912jckh912 member
    I would definitely stick with your Dr. I attend a lot of deliveries (high risk and "bad" ones) and I couldn't imagine being anywhere other then a place that appropriate interventions were available. Especially since most MDs are on board with the patients wishes (no meds, skin to skin, etc.) 
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  • Xstatic3333Xstatic3333 member
    Have you learned more about the hospital? I'll be at a birth center connected to a gigantic hospital some refer to as a factory, but other than unmedicated, everything you're hoping for is standard there, too. Also, have you learned more about the other doctors in the practice? Will they also support the kind of things you're looking for if your OB isn't on call when you deliver? If so, I'd stay with the OB. 

    I also want want many of the things you do for my birth, but I do think that the "natural birth" (using the wrong term on purpose there) community is putting a lot of scare tactics out there about hospitals when they are great environments 99.9% of the time, and save many lives. I would not let the documentaries sway your decision. Trust your gut. 
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  • grapeskittles4lyfegrapeskittles4lyfe member
    The hospital I'm going to has a midwife-only room, which is booked like months in advance. I don't really care which room I'm going to labor in, because all rooms (see ex below) let you walk around, bounce on balls, lay on the ground, pull on ropes, lay in the bath (unless GBS+, I think).  And with DD the Dr only came in towards the end when it was clear DD wasn't coming out anytime soon and we needed to go the CS route. 

    So I would not automatically discount the non-birth center option. Take a tour or where your Dr delivers. Maybe you'll be surprised.


    The original: Aug2013
    The remix: Feb2017
    The encore: coming Oct2019

     
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  • thehappyphotogthehappyphotog member
    I think you have to follow your instincts.  I've birthed in hospitals and at home and I would never choose a hospital again after having a safe home birth.  If there was a need for us to have a hospital birth, of course we would, I'd follow my instincts.  I had a wonderful doctor for my last hospital birth, I still see her through my work (I'm a birth photog) and she's wonderful, caring, kind.  But my midwife provides a very different level of care that I've never had with any doctor and it's the right fit for our family.  As your pregnancy progresses, listen to that little voice on the inside, it's there to guide you and so important in motherhood.
    Expecting #5
    Rainbow baby after 3 losses
    Due February, 2017


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  • MrsDrKirkpatrickMrsDrKirkpatrick member
    Thanks for your input ladies! I think I'm leaning more towards going with my doctor because of how much I love her, and how safe I feel with her. I'll ask her more specific questions about our birth "plan", but I have no doubt she will help us to have the birth we want. Thanks for all your input!
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  • AliceAliceAliceAlice member
    Just curious, what's so superior about a birthing center over a hospital? Go tour both places before you pick a place.

    I birthed at a hospital, vaginal birth. Epidural came when I asked for it, there was no pushiness with drugs or c section. As soon as the baby was born, the OB asked me to reach down and grab him myself so I could be the first person to hold him. I didn't know what I was supposed to do with a newborn, so she put him on my chest and we started skin to skin immediately. The lactation consultant walked in to teach me about breastfeeding when I was still getting stitched up. I stayed in the same room from the moment I walked in to leaving. I guess what I wanted to say is not all hospital is horrible, I had a really good experience.
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  • cphsiungcphsiung member
    edited August 2016
    My two cents is that there are risks no matter what you do so you really need to decide what makes you feel best and what you consider to be a risk you are willing to take.  I'm your polar opposite (high risk so I wouldn't consider anything other than a hospital with a NICU).  But I can put myself in your shoes, and although after having hemorrhaged with my son, I fear a bit for you going to a BC, I think you just need to decide what's best for you. 

    I would agree that I would tour your doctor's hospital choices.  And I would come with a list of questions and any concerns.  I cannot speak for your hospital choices, but the hospital we chose encouraged skin to skin contact and having the baby in your room.  They also had excellent help with breastfeeding.  The hospital we chose was very accommodating with my birth plan (as was all the doctors in my OB's practice - I ended up seeing 4 different doctors during my stay).  I recommend keeping a copy of any birth plan you create with you when you reach 36 weeks or so.  I just pulled it out and handed it to them, and we went through each line item.  There was no judgement, and they appeared eager to accommodate.  Although we didn't use them, I know they would allow doulas and alternative births (for example, water).  Personally, I think they were willing to let you do almost anything you want, but the number of options they gave were so great, I have forgotten a lot of them.  Plus, if you wanted to do say a public cord donation, I'm thinking that you would be less likely to be able to do that (if at all) at a BC. 

    I also had the option to preregister without committing to the hospital.  If you decide on a birth center, you can decide on a back up hospital and likely preregister without commitment also.  If you were later rushed to the hospital from the BC, that might also come in handy.  An uncomplicated pregnancy may change later on down the road anyway.  I will tell you that, especially if you have a long labor, you might change your mind on the medication-free stance, but neither my doctor nor the hospital pushed medication.
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