Can I really deliver my baby WITHOUT drugs in a hospital?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, read this blog from the beginning. It is written by a woman who wanted a natural home birth, unmedicated in a birthing tub with her midwife. She went two weeks past her due date, went into labor and ended up in the hospital needing a c-section. Her birth was planned to a T. She could not control the fact she needed a c-section, nor could she help the fact that she had to deliver via c-section with an OB she had never met. Just some food for thought about what happens when things go wrong.

http://blueberrybaby.wordpress.com/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, read this blog from the beginning. It is written by a woman who wanted a natural home birth, unmedicated in a birthing tub with her midwife. She went two weeks past her due date, went into labor and ended up in the hospital needing a c-section. Her birth was planned to a T. She could not control the fact she needed a c-section, nor could she help the fact that she had to deliver via c-section with an OB she had never met. Just some food for thought about what happens when things go wrong.

http://blueberrybaby.wordpress.com/

I don't really understand the relevance of this. Yes, a very small percentage of people who plan homebirths wind up with c/sections. Meanwhile, a vast number of women who plan "typical" hospital births wind up with c/sections -- in DC it is somewhere around 1 in 3. When I hear of women who are planning a homebirth winding up with a c/section, all that does is reassure me that the midwife is competent and knows when to call it quits and get the woman some much-needed medical assistance. Most homebirth midwives in this area have a 2-3% c/section rate, which is absolutely phenomenal in my opinion. There are many OB's in DC who have a 50% c/section rate, which is also phenomenal but in an entirely different way. Planning your birth and choosing your care provider wisely certainly can help reduce your chances of winding up with unnecessary interventions.

[Anonymous]

1. I agree wholeheartedly with PP
2. I delivered my baby WITHOUT drugs in a hospital
3. I read blueberrybaby.wordpress.com and never did see the birth story posted. Is it there somewhere?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I don't really understand the relevance of this. Yes, a very small percentage of people who plan homebirths wind up with c/sections. Meanwhile, a vast number of women who plan "typical" hospital births wind up with c/sections -- in DC it is somewhere around 1 in 3. When I hear of women who are planning a homebirth winding up with a c/section, all that does is reassure me that the midwife is competent and knows when to call it quits and get the woman some much-needed medical assistance. Most homebirth midwives in this area have a 2-3% c/section rate, which is absolutely phenomenal in my opinion. There are many OB's in DC who have a 50% c/section rate, which is also phenomenal but in an entirely different way. Planning your birth and choosing your care provider wisely certainly can help reduce your chances of winding up with unnecessary interventions.

Perfectly said. Thank you for pointing this out so well, 16:13.

[Anonymous]

I had a vag. delivery at the hospital and no drugs. I was asked twice (two different nurses between shifts) and both times I declined.

My advocate was my DH, but like I said, when I declined the drugs the nurses complied and didn't continue to ask.

I'm a little surprised to read about the pressure women feel about feeling obligated to take drugs. I guess my personal experience is unusual as opposed to routine.

Good luck OP. I suppose this post is no longer applicable to you since you've probably already had your baby - How did it go?

Congrats!

[Anonymous]

OP here - thanks to everyone for the informative posts. And, no, haven't had the baby yet.
Have a looooooong way to go as I'm just 15 weeks! Not surprisingly, DH advises me to chill out
about all this until we get a lot closer to the actual date. But, I like having all this information.
I know that there are some very good medical reasons why I may not get the natural birth I would like,
but I just want to go into this with my eyes open and as much information as possible.

[Anonymous]

OP, have you watched The Business of Being Born? Although it's very pro-homebirth, there's a lot of good information in there for any woman about to give birth. I highly recommend it.

[Anonymous]

from OP: yes, I did watch the "Business of Being Born." I thought it was fascinating. And I'm about to start reading several of the books recommended by posters in this thread, and I do intend to take a Bradley class and hopefully hire a doula, if we can afford one.

The only thing that is still unsettling for me is whether I should try to switch to a midwife practice instead of sticking with the OBGYN. Since it's so early on, I've only met the OBGYN once. I mentioned I would like to have a drug-free birth if possible and she said was open to that but said, "most women don't do that." Unfortunately, I don't live close to the few midwifery groups in this area (I've heard of the ones in Bethesda and Alexandria) and don't have a car at my disposal, so getting to one of those locations for appointments would be complicated.

I'm hopeful that a combination of my own knowledge and preparation, along with a doula and supportive husband, will make it possible to have natural birth in a hospital setting (barring any complications, of course). That was the impetus for the original post: to get others' views and experiences on this. I was concerned that a hospital setting would be designed and focused on getting me away from a natural birth, since "most women don't do that." I fear it won't be the most supportive environment, but I've been very heartened to read about other posters' experiences. It can definitely be done!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, read this blog from the beginning. It is written by a woman who wanted a natural home birth, unmedicated in a birthing tub with her midwife. She went two weeks past her due date, went into labor and ended up in the hospital needing a c-section. Her birth was planned to a T. She could not control the fact she needed a c-section, nor could she help the fact that she had to deliver via c-section with an OB she had never met. Just some food for thought about what happens when things go wrong.

http://blueberrybaby.wordpress.com/

I don't really understand the relevance of this. Yes, a very small percentage of people who plan homebirths wind up with c/sections. Meanwhile, a vast number of women who plan "typical" hospital births wind up with c/sections -- in DC it is somewhere around 1 in 3. When I hear of women who are planning a homebirth winding up with a c/section, all that does is reassure me that the midwife is competent and knows when to call it quits and get the woman some much-needed medical assistance. Most homebirth midwives in this area have a 2-3% c/section rate, which is absolutely phenomenal in my opinion. There are many OB's in DC who have a 50% c/section rate, which is also phenomenal but in an entirely different way. Planning your birth and choosing your care provider wisely certainly can help reduce your chances of winding up with unnecessary interventions.

I think it was just an interesting birth story. Why does it have to have a point? This woman wanted one thing and got another, that is the relevance.

[Anonymous]

To the OP -- best of luck! I highly recommend the Bradley class like you are planning on taking.

RE: pitocin -- I've labored with and without pitocin. I would not say that the contractions are worse on pitocin.

RE: Midwives who do homebirths with extremely low c-section rates. All of the women and friends I know who had homebirths did so on their 2nd or subsequent child. Once you've successfully delivered vaginally, your chances for a c-section with the following births decreases. For their first child these women did a whole range of things -- some were in the hospital with drugs, some in the hospital without drugs, and some at birth centers without drugs.

[Anonymous]

To the OP --

The midwives at BirthCare in Alexandria are very Metro accessible. They're just a few blocks from the King Street Metro.
http://www.birthcare.org/

You might want also to consider the midwives at the Family Health & Birth Center (aka DC Birth Center). While the center's focus is on low-income women, it takes most forms of insurance and all types of patients. I'm really enjoying my prenatal care there and plan to birth at the birth center. I switched from my OBGYN practice at 16 weeks, in part because i want a drug-free birth and decided it would be easier to achieve with a care provider who wholeheartedly supported that. The midwives also deliver at Washington Hospital Center. Although I drive to most appointments, you can get there fairly easily by Metrobus. I've done it. And the buses run frequently.
http://www.developingfamilies.org/dcbc.html

[Anonymous]

To Op:
My OB had the same reaction when I said I wanted to have a natural childbirth and I did it in a hospital with the help of a doula. If you prepare and you have an uncomplicated birth you CAN do it. Dot let anyone tell you otherwise!

[Anonymous]

mindbodybirths wrote:OP: The answer to your subject question is "Yes!".

The answer to whether or not it will be a shoving match in the hospital is: depends on the hospital. I am a doula and I have recently attended needle-free births (no IV, no drugs, no Pit) at INOVA-Alexandria, INOVA-Loudon, and INOVA-Fairfax (although I would not recommend Fairfax at all.) My colleagues also recommend Fair Oaks and Bethesda Naval as being friendly to natural birth.

The answer to how to make sure you get the birth you want: Hire a doula and get some good education far, far away from the hospital. (Bradley, HypnoBirthing, Birthing from Within are most worth your time and money.)

Why wouldn't you recommend Fairfax? What do you think about Virginia Hospital Center?

[Anonymous]

OP, I did not have a medication-free birth at Holy Cross, but I think I could have at least gone without the epi had I felt strongly about it. I was asked twice by nurses whether I wanted one and agreed the second time, but I didn't feel any pressure to get it. I didn't like the epi experience, so if we have a 2nd child, I plan to explain to my OB why I want to "go natural" and possibly get a doula. [As you probably know, HC has a doula program, so I can't imagine that they would be "anti-doula" there.] I love my OB's practice or I might consider going with a midwife. My OB is not into "birth plans" and we weren't either, but I have a pretty informed opinion now and could I think say to the L&D nurses with authority that "I don't want an epi and please don't offer it; I know it's available and can ask if necessary." My husband would certainly be my advocate, and I think a doula would help. One thing that may or may not be unique to HC: At triage, the nurse asked me something along the lines of "how do you want this to go?" and I said that I didn't want any narcotics but that I would wait and see about the epi. With a birth plan or without, this could be the opportunity to state your preferences and hope they would be respected.

My experience: I labored at home overnight (my water had broken ~9:30 p.m.) and went into the hospital at around 7 a.m. They did start the pitocin, and though I don't have anything to compare it with, I didn't find the contractions totally unbearable. As it turned out, I was at 8 cm. by the time I got the epi, but didn't know that (my doc was doing a C-section on someone else and had given the OK for me to get an epi if and when I wanted it; she checked me afterwards). In hindsight, of course, it's easy to say that had I known that I might have persevered. Good luck with your pregnancy and here's hoping for a healthy birth outcome, regardless of how the process goes!

[Anonymous]

mindbodybirths wrote:OP: The answer to your subject question is "Yes!".

The answer to whether or not it will be a shoving match in the hospital is: depends on the hospital. I am a doula and I have recently attended needle-free births (no IV, no drugs, no Pit) at INOVA-Alexandria, INOVA-Loudon, and INOVA-Fairfax (although I would not recommend Fairfax at all.) My colleagues also recommend Fair Oaks and Bethesda Naval as being friendly to natural birth.

The answer to how to make sure you get the birth you want: Hire a doula and get some good education far, far away from the hospital. (Bradley, HypnoBirthing, Birthing from Within are most worth your time and money.)

You don't need to hire a doula - save the money.

My DH and I were just fine together asking the nurses (and reminding my doc.) that I wanted a natural birth. Once I made my intentions clear then nobody bothered me about it.

-delivered at Inova