hospital birth after home births

[Vaquitita]

my first two babies were born at home and i am hanging on to the hope that this one will be too. but money is tight, i don't know if we can afford $3600 in midwife fees. if it's between that and our regular insurance, we'll go hb (we have really lousy insurance). but i'm pretty sure i qualify for medi-cal, in which case that may be our cheapest option.

since i've hb's 2x, it seems like i should be more likely to be able to get an intervention free birth. what are my chances that i can birth in the hosipital, but have them just leave me alone to do my thing? even with my hb i wanted the mw to just leave me alone till the very end. i know dh will fight for me, and he's even suggested hiring a doula (though he wants my mw, and i don't know if she'd do that. it would be great if she would) to help us.

anyone btdt?

[Vaquitita]

wanted to add: at this point i have a pretty thick skin, i'm used to being the weird crunchy one. i just don't care. i'm gonna do what i want to do. though i may not flaunt it. BUT dr's/nurses make me nervous. and i don't want to spend my whole time at the hospital fighting them off. who wants to be arguing while you're in labor? obviously dh will buffer me, but i'm not sure to what extent. maybe if i just say 'no thanks' to everything they 'have' to do? they can't force me right?

[Vaquitita]

the hospital i would be at says in they have:

Our labor room bathrooms are equipped with Jacuzzi tubs and showers to help you relax in labor. We also have birthing balls available, and the nursing staff know many comfort measures to assist you with your contractions.

which sounds like you can't actually birth in the tub. i wonder if they'd let me bring my own tub? i loved my waterbirth with dd...

[emnic77]

I really think it depends on the hospital.
With my second baby, I didn't even show up at the hospital until I was 8cm dilated (I checked at home, went in when I felt like I was maybe at a 5 or 6 and could feel the bulging bag of water).
I had a decent enough midwife team at the hospital, and I got there in the middle of the night so I was pretty much left alone (literally...she checked on us, turned the lights down and told us she'd be out in the hall if we needed anything). I think the thing I got the weirdest look for was refusing to put on a hospital gown. I brought my own clothes to labor in, the gowns make me feel all patient-y.

I refused a hep lock, abx (for gbs+), all but two internal checks (which my midwife asked for consent each time) and the nurse on duty was awesome at contorting herself to get fetal heart rates even when I was in the jacuzzi, working around what position *I* was in instead of asking me to accommodate her.

I never had to lay on the bed for 20 minutes hooked up to a monitor or anything like that. I pushed in several different positions, squatting (they had squatting bars), on all fours, you name it...I had no problems doing whatever the heck I wanted.

But, this is why I say it depends on the hospital and also probably which nurse you get on duty. I know others that have had polar opposite experiences at the same hospital I'm talking about. Seems like a crap shoot sometimes!

ETA about your pool - check with the hospital, I know the one I'm talking about had a pool there, but they didn't advertise it. Depends on whether or not the midwife practice does waterbirths or not.

[scottishmommy]

after two babies, i think you know what you're doing. you can be assertive, but polite. i'm having a homebirth next time, BUT if i end up in the hospital (you never know) i will have no trouble being very specific about what i want. no i don't want an iv, no i don't want a blood pressure cuff, no i don't want efm, no i will not push on my back, but thank you for all your concern! i think you should be very careful about choosing your care provider, and say "look, i know what i need to do to get this baby out!". don't be scared of doctors, my dad is one, they aren't dieties (of course i think my daddy is pretty close:-)

[mambera]

Will Medi-Cal not pay for midwife care? I think most regular insurances will cover hospital-based (not home-based obviously) MW services just like they would for an OB.

I had an intervention-free hospital birth under midwife care and the midwives were super.

[AutumnW]

I'll be doing the same thing for the same reason this time. My son was a wonderful, normal homebirth with the midwife I had apprenticed with for a year. My hospital has a doula program but no midwives that catch there aswe live on one of the low income sides of town in a big city and all the midwives work at the big fancy hospitals in the wealthier parts of town. I'm preparing by getting in touch with the lady who runs the doula program. She was able to tell me what generally happens at the hospital I'll be at and got me enrolled in the hospitals free birth class that will give me more info on hospital policy and how the nurses work. She also informed me that they have aqua doulas at the hospital that you have to pay extra for but they are there and not advertised. I found a young ob who is open to my way of thinking and has told me that all of his suggestions are just that and I can refuse anything he suggests, so that's exciting.

I would suggest touring the hospital, finding a care provider that will work with you, and hiring a doula even if (like me) you don't want her for labor support but just to be a buffer at the hospital. I'm also not planning on going to the hospital until the last minute.(this is why we're going to the small hospital two blocks away instead of the fancy midwife hospital 30 minutes away, lol)

[Vaquitita]

i feel so overwhelmed with having to find/decide on mw/ob, hospital, doula programs, etc. i feel like a first time mom all over again.