Hospital UC - is it (and was it ever) possible?

[MittensKittens]

Another mama's comment made me think about this. Has anyone has an unassisted birth at a hospital? Is that even possible? I heard that some hospitals had "UC suites" sometime during the 80s, but that seems rather difficult to believe .

If you know more about this, had a hospital UC, or are planning one, please tell me about the logistics of it all. I'm just curious .

I've had a UC, and I can see why a hospital UC would appeal to some people - kind of like UC-ing at a hotel near the hospital (as I know some people on this board have done), but then closer.

[harli]

I guess you could call the hospital birth of my daughter and almost, unintentional UC hospital birth. For both of my in-hospital births the nurses were barely with me. My previous birth I was telling the nurse I had to push and she didn't pay any attention to me. 10 min's later or so I told my husband baby was coming, her head was actually crowning. He ran screaming for nurses (lol) and by the time they got there baby's head and shoulders were out. The doc made it just in time to catch the baby. But seriously if we hadn't said anything they never would have known. And looking back in hindsight they didn't help at all they only caused harm to both me and the baby.

So I guess the moral of my story is that if you want a hospital UC it would probably be pretty easy in some hospitals. I know that isn't quite the information you were looking for but it may be helpful to someone.

[SoCaliMommy]

Seems like it would defeat the point of having a UC if you go to a hospital.

I don't think it's possible to achieve really.

[candycat]

For me, the biggest part that made sense to me was that I was in my own space and I had privacy. That's really it. I knew I wouldn't be disturbed. My baby was born in about 1.5 hours from start to finish of "real" labor.

I can even think of having a hotel room count as a private space. It's not as familiar as my own bedroom was, but we were literally two blocks from the hospital so I had a high comfort level. If I was two HOURS from a hospital, I think I'd want to be closer, but still private. A hotel would serve that purpose (but that's knowing that I'm a quiet birther - I go silent. If I was a screamer that wouldn't be safe for me, knowing someone might overhear and call 911). So. Really, for me, a UC is being able to have your own private headspace. I can't imagine that would happen in a hospital. MAYBE if they gave you a real UC suite, and you KNEW they were OK with that choice - like they weren't going to come rushing in on you - then yeah I would probably do that. Something like an unattended birth center would be AWESOME. But since I don't think one darned BC or hospital DOES actually have a UC suite, I would just stay away from them, personally.

[jljeppson]

I only know of one hospital uc, and that was the birth of one of my brothers. Baby was transverse (not a full, I think his head was off to her hip. Makes you wonder what in the world was going through the staff's heads), doc and nurses left my mom even with my dad telling them he was going to move and deliver very quickly (this was mom's 7th and she and my dad are both medical professionals) and my dad caught. Outside of that unintentional uc, I've never heard of one.

[DBZ]

I had a UC at the hospital! Probably not the type you are looking for though. I had my baby in the car. It was a unplanned, but very welcomed. I couldn't have had a better birth.

[camprunner]

I just lurk and envy in this forum but I wanted to say that part of my hospital birth that bothered me the most was that they made my baby sit in a "warmer" for like 45 minutes screaming. It was a terrible thing to watch and I'm sure that would happen whether the birth was UC or not. I actually just saw pictures on a Facebook page of a baby after birth. The baby was pink as could be and they were giving it oxygen. There were like 5 pictures of this and the parents sitting empty handed on the other side of the room. I know that preventing the hospital from interfering with the birth is itself is why most people UC but what happens to the baby afterwards is just as hands on if not more so in my opinion.

[mama naturale]

Almost happened with my first birth. If only the mw didn't tell me to get out of the shower 13 mins before she was born. I was left with hubby for most of the labour which was fantastic.

[hollytheteacher]

Originally Posted by jljeppson

I only know of one hospital uc, and that was the birth of one of my brothers. Baby was transverse (not a full, I think his head was off to her hip. Makes you wonder what in the world was going through the staff's heads), doc and nurses left my mom even with my dad telling them he was going to move and deliver very quickly (this was mom's 7th and she and my dad are both medical professionals) and my dad caught. Outside of that unintentional uc, I've never heard of one.

Did they still have to pay for the birth?

[jljeppson]

They were still charged, but my parents sued and won.

[MittensKittens]

Thanks for your answers. So nobody here has heard about any "UC suites" - at any point in history?

FWIW, this is not something I am personally interested in for myself. I was having a discussion with a friend who said that she wants the safety of the hospital in case of a sudden placental abruption or hemorrhage, but she would like privacy and no medical intervention if not needed. Then I remembered one woman on here once mentioned the existence of these so-called UC suites in the 80s, and I wanted to know more about it.

For me, UC is also about being at home, where I am most comfortable, and without any form of disturbance. I think any unfamiliar environment would be unwelcome for me during labor. And besides, as mentioned, hospitals can engage in harmful interventions after birth as well as during. But at the same time, I can totally understand how hospital UC could be appealing for some!

Leaving someone with a transverse baby without assistance is just... irresponsible! Wow.

[Youngfrankenstein]

Originally Posted by camprunner

I just lurk and envy in this forum but I wanted to say that part of my hospital birth that bothered me the most was that they made my baby sit in a "warmer" for like 45 minutes screaming. It was a terrible thing to watch and I'm sure that would happen whether the birth was UC or not. I actually just saw pictures on a Facebook page of a baby after birth. The baby was pink as could be and they were giving it oxygen. There were like 5 pictures of this and the parents sitting empty handed on the other side of the room. I know that preventing the hospital from interfering with the birth is itself is why most people UC but what happens to the baby afterwards is just as hands on if not more so in my opinion.

UGH! Glad to have skipped that!

I know 2 people who could have UCed at a hospital (unintentionally) One had an epidural and was resting and looked down and the head was born. She was alone. Another was a mom who was in the peri-natal unit and her baby decided to appear quite early.

I have never heard of UC in a hospital in the US like the "suite" you're talking about. I truly don't believe a hands-off birth (and afterward) is possible in a hospital.

[phathui5]

I was having a discussion with a friend who said that she wants the safety of the hospital in case of a sudden placental abruption or hemorrhage, but she would like privacy and no medical intervention if not needed

I think that the chances of her getting those things (privacy especially) are very low in a hospital setting.

[SilverFish]

i think it could have been possible in my case if i had wanted it. i'm in canada and had a midwife. we were planning a homebirth, but my water broke at 35 weeks and we headed to the hospital since we were anticipating some potential issues from prematurity. my midwife was with me the whole time, but at no other point in the whole process aside from signing in, did i ever see an actual hospital staff member. no nurses, or doctors or anything. we had talked a lot about the role our midwife would play during the birth and i was interested and comfortable with her having a fairly active role, but she was open to the idea of letting us be by ourselves if we had wanted it. i'm sure, with this particular midwife (although not this particular birth) it would have worked out to have her leave the room and only be on stand-by. since i was her patient in the hospital's eyes, no one else would have bothered us at all.

never heard of any official UCing suites though. i imagine that would be a tricky one to get around for insurance purposes.

[Youngfrankenstein]

Originally Posted by SilverFish

my midwife was with me the whole time, but at no other point in the whole process aside from signing in, did i ever see an actual hospital staff member. no nurses, or doctors or anything.

I just can't imagine this in the U.S.

[OurLittleNest]

I remember reading about hospital UC suites on a post on this board. It was in ... maybe Louisiana? and it was back in the '70s or '80s. From what I remember, you checked into the hospital, they showed you the room and you were on your own. That's all I can remember from the post; maybe you can keyword search it?

[MittensKittens]

I can't find anything about it on Google. I did just write a blog post asking for info about it... perhaps I'll get some replies