Could people share their positive hospital birth stories. - Page 2

[Katie T]

I have had 2 hospital births and they were wonderful. I see a midwife. With my first birth she was positioned with her back against my back (I can not think of what that is called lol) and was having horrid back labor. My whole labor with her was 23 1/2hrs with no meds. My midwife did put 4 dots of sterile water just under the skin on the small of my back and while it helped with the back labor (seriously took it completely away, then I felt what a normal contraction was like) It was not pleasant and I opted  not to have it done again. I was up and about the whole time and really enjoyed the jet tub. I layed on my side to push her out because that is what felt right and was never told to push. 45 minutes of pushing and she was out and on my chest. It was a amazing experience. She roomed with me the whole time.

Second was only 15 hours of labor and 9  minutes of pushing, he got his shoulders stuck and with different positioning I felt it "pop" free and out he came.

Third birth was was 3 minutes of pushing and there she was. With all of my births I was up moving around, going to the jet tub (I only found relief through it with my first labor) My midwife did perineal massage to help with tearing. ( I only tore with my first birth but not enough for stitches), was patient and let me run the show. I am very comfortable in the hospital (I now work there, was hired 4 months after my first was born). It is just a relaxed feel to it.

I loved my hospital births. We also brought a radio and cd's and other things like lotion, tennis ball, and the like to use in labor. They provide birth balls, birth stools, stuff like that. I think you can have a great birth in the hospital.

Good luck!

[kythryne]

I was risked out of midwifery care at 39 weeks due to rapidly climbing blood pressure and suspected pre-e. A hospital birth was one of my worst fears while I was pregnant, so I was really upset at losing my birth center birth. My midwives arranged for me to transfer to a very birth-friendly hospital, and I ended up having a wonderful experience there. The OB who oversaw my care was fantastic (she had her babies at home, one with Ina May!) and very sympathetic to the fact that I didn't want to be in the hospital, and she turned me over to a CNM for the actual labor and delivery. I was supposed to be induced because my blood pressure kept going up, but I went into labor on my own before they could start running the pitocin, and I had an intensely painful but straightforward 10 hour labor with no interventions other than those I requested. All my wishes were respected, I got to labor in the tub, the nurses used a doppler for almost all of my monitoring and only hooked me up to monitors twice (and the second time, the nurse got down on the floor with me and held the monitors to my belly because I couldn't stand to be on the bed), they only did internal exams when I asked for them, my partner got to help catch the baby and bring him up to my chest where he stayed until I asked the nurse to weigh and measure him two hours later, they immediately helped me start breastfeeding, they had all the waivers ready and didn't make a big deal about the fact that we declined eye ointment and vitamin k, we went home 12 hours after he was born... it was really above and beyond anything I ever expected from a hospital birth.

[Eyelet]

My first birth was in a hospital, and I had a very positive experience. My doctor was a family practitioner D.O. and a huge natural birth advocate. I went to the hospital in late active labor and was allowed to do just about anything I wanted.... walked around, labored in the tub, ate snacks and I did not feel restricted in the least. Outside of intermittent monitoring, I also avoided any medical interventions. No IV, pitocin, epidural, etc. Nothing was pushed on me. I'm a big walker while in labor, and I was pacing in my room/halls until 10 minutes before the birth. I delivered DS while squatting and my doctor encouraged me to catch him. Baby roomed in with me and we left 6 hours later. I was very happy with my experience.

My second was born at home, and in comparison to my first I can honestly say that the only huge difference was location. 

Edited by Eyelet - 1/23/11 at 4:00pm

[ashleypLC]

I had a great hospital birth with my third!  A CNM delivered and she refused all "routine" monitoring during the labor.  The nurses more or less let me be since I had a doula and my husband.  I think the most important thing is knowledge and a supportive environment.  I have plenty of friends that had great hospital births as well. 

[sunnygir1]

I planned 2 home births and got 2 hospital births.  They were both good experiences.  Both of my births started with premature rupture of membranes, and both babes were too premature to be born at my local hospital with my doctor (who had agreed to do back-up for my births in case of transport).  So, I went to the nearest hospital with a level 2 nursery and had a doctor I'd never met deliver my baby.  I was cared for by the interns at the hospital and by some miracle the same doctor was overseeing the interns both times and he was WONDERFUL!

My midwives and my mother (who is a midwife) went to the hospital with me and supported me, cared for me, and advocated for me throughout.  I do not think I would have had as positive an experience without them.  My mama supported my perineum and caught both my babies.  My midwife coached me through transition in the darkened bathroom while I rested in the bathtub and she poured water over my belly for both labors.  With their support I was able to have 2 unmedicated births, and 2 unmedicated pre-term babies who were allowed to stay in my room with me from birth through discharge.

The only negative thing about my whole hospital experience is that with my ds the doctor (not the wonderful one, but the one on duty the next day) wouldn't let me take my baby home until 48 hours pp simply because I had unknown GBS status.

Oh, and with dd one of the nurses pinched my nipple HARD when I was trying to get dd to latch on.  If I hadn't been a first time mama in the hospital, I would have slapped her -- wish I had!

Anyway, I think the most important thing is to get plenty of support people in there who know what you want.  That might be your dh, if he is educated about birth and capable of standing up to the medical personnel if he has to, but I, personally would want someone who had attended hospital births before -- a midwife, doula, family member, or friend -- whomever that person may be for you.

[mambera]

I had a great, completely intervention-free hospital birth with a wonderful CNM practice. 

http://www.mothering.com/community/forum/thread/1199793/1st-time-mom-hospital-birth-no-interventions

I agree with pp who said it is your HCP and support people who make the difference, not the location.  But personally I feel safest in the hospital.  Also I really liked getting to have everything taken care of by the nurses afterward.  I so would not have wanted to be home those first couple of pp days, having to scrounge up my own food and clean blood off my living room floor.

[justKate]

I had a hospital birth because at the time, there were no HB midwives and no birth center, so my only option would have been a UC, which I wasn't comfortable with.  My hospital birth was attended by my midwife and doula.  The hospital nurse was a mom to quads, and very respectful of me, my Huz, and my decisions througout.  The lights were dimmed, I ate and drank through labor.  The first 24 hours were the best they could have been, given the pain.  Later, my DD sort of crashed, and it ended up a c-section/NICU transfer, but the hospital was awesome throughout.  My midwife took photos during the section.  My Huz never left the baby's side. She roomed in for ~20 hours (before the NICU transfer), and slept with me. No pacis, no bottles, Huz changed every diaper and wiped the meconium off her bottom.   Although I couldn't go with DD when she was transfered by helicopter, I was released from the hospital about 28 hours after my section (at my request) so that I could follow DD.

The hospital itself was awesome, and under the circumstances I would make the same choice again.

I hope your birth is the best it can be.

[MegBoz]

Originally Posted by baby3in2011 

Quote:

Originally Posted by MegBoz 

Originally Posted by baby3in2011 

 he made sure i didn't tear. 

Just curious - how did a doc ensure you didn't tear?

he did a perineum massage and while pushing he would tell me to stop (i guess they just know, same with my mw with my 2nd birth) so i didnt tear, i trusted in them and if they said to stop pushing, i would stop...and i didnt tear either time.

http://www.givingbirthnaturally.com/perineum-massage.html

Sorry, not to derail the thread - but the first line in that link states, "Perineum massage is the gentle stretching and massaging of the perineum (skin between the anus and vagina) during the last few weeks of pregnancy." 

<emphasis added>

The studies referenced at the end also all refer to antenatal perineal massage and perineal massage during pregnancy.

Consistent with those links, I'm pretty sure research on perineal massage states that it DOES help reduce the risk of tears when performed regularly throughout late pregnancy... but it does NOT necessarily help reduce tears when done during 2nd stage labor. Actually, on the contrary, 'fussing around' down there can irritate the tissues, causing swelling - and the swelling in turn can lead to even worse tears as opposed to a 'hands-off' approach (or a more gentle approach consisting of warm compresses & counter-pressure.) Besides, many women also find it uncomfortable, painful, or irritating.

But it is true that coaching you not to push through crowning is something an HCP can do to reduce your risk of tears.

In any case, I personally think you give your doc too much credit when you write, "He made sure I didn't tear." ;) He HELPED reduce your risk of tears, but there's nothing a doc can do to make sure you don't tear. And I'm sure you deserve some of the credit too. :)

[Addie]

Originally Posted by mambera 

I agree with pp who said it is your HCP and support people who make the difference, not the location.  But personally I feel safest in the hospital.  Also I really liked getting to have everything taken care of by the nurses afterward.  I so would not have wanted to be home those first couple of pp days, having to scrounge up my own food and clean blood off my living room floor.

Agreed, 100%.

I had a really great hospital birth, with a midwife. I wouldn't change a thing. I labored in the hospital for about ten hours (checked in at 7 cm), pushed for four hours. No one ever suggested that things weren't progressing satisfactorily. The room was kept dark and quiet, as I requested. We played music. My nurses were great, like a PP said they were psyched to see a natural birth. I didn't have an IV. No other interventions. Baby was placed on my chest immediately following birth, and I didn't give him up until it was time to stitch my tears and my doula suggested it'd be best if I weren't holding him. So, the midwife suggested that DH remove his shirt to hold DS skin-to-skin. We had no problems with rooming in, no one ever mentioned formula or pacifiers, and not circing was a non-issue.

I'd return to the same practice if I got pregnant again. For me, the hospital was the way to go.
 

[mommybaker]

I had a great hospital birth.  It was an emergency c-section at a small town hospital.  The nurses were really great and I knew my surgeon personally!  So great!  In this hospital they bring the baby to you in recover so that you can start breastfeeding right away, and they room in, and really encouraged breast feeding.  It was very positive.

[Magali]

I felt like you during my entire last pregnancy.  My first birth was a hospital birth augmented with pitocin and I had an epidural.  Everything went just fine, but after the birth when I analyzed it, I felt cheated out of a normal birth and sad that I didn't stick up for myself.  So when I got pg again I was dissapointed to find out that my options were a UC 40 mins away from a hospital, or hospital birth.  So I decided to minimalize my contact with Dr.s as much as possible and did 99% of my own prenatal care, and only saw a doc for appointments for ultrasound and blood test, the whole while planning to birth in a hospital.  I ended up being "overdue" and showed up at the hospital at almost 42 weeks for a NST, where all the nurses thought I was cool and the Dr. wasn't impressed with me (I had taken a copy of my chart when I left her care and started keeping my own records on it haha), but didn't do too much to get in the way of my plans.  Anyways, I ended up consenting to a membrane sweep and went into labor about half an hour later on the ride home.  I'll post a link to my birth story for you to read if you like, but suffice to say it was a fantastic, empowering hospital experience for me.  The worst part aside from the PAIN was staying in the hospital for 24 hours after the birth...but even that wasn't too bad.  I am all for natural birth at home, but the reality is that many of us, for whatever reason, just don't have that option and I think it is really important to talk about hospital birth and what we can do to make it positive.  My feelings have changed towards hospital birth.  I'm not scared of it anymore.  Sure there are horror stories out there, and my birth didn't go 100% as I wanted it (I had to compromise a few times), but I'd imagine that happens with homebirth too.  I think my first birth would have gone a lot better if I had been more informed and not just along for the ride.  If I ever get pg again, I would seriously consider hospital birth even if homebirth was an option.  When I think back to my dd's hospital birth I have this really great feeling in my heart about it, and the nurses to took care of me while I was laboring.  The Dr. was a PITA, but I knew that from the 2 prenatal visits I had with her, and was just hoping she wouldn't be on call when I went into labor, but even with her around (the few minutes she was around during my labor/delivery) I still had a good hospital experience.http://www.mothering.com/community/forum/thread/1277605/my-up-planned-hospital-birth

[mckittre]

Two births with the same nurse-midwife in the same small town hospital, and I was happy with both of them.  My second didn't show up until 42+1, and while they expressed concern, they were on board with my decision to wait for natural labor.  I was group B strep +, and did opt to get the antibiotics, but they wouldn't have given me any hassle if I'd chosen not to (I agonized over that one a lot).  I could get in the tub when I wanted to, and wander around where I liked, and be in whatever position I felt like.  Outside of emergency situations, everything they brought up was phrased as a recommendation rather than an order, and the midwife spelled out the pluses and minuses of the proposed intervention.  Didn't have any pain meds with either child.  With my second I had about 10 min of pitocin when I was almost 10cm, but then it was turned off. 

The only things I didn't have control over happened right at birth with both kids.  First one was purple/blue when he came out, and got his cord quickly cut and was whisked away (just a few feet away) for a little oxygen.  He was fine.  Second one got her shoulders stuck (shoulder dystocia) on the way out, and midwife had to manipulate her and yell at me to push.  She was fine too.  I don't know if this was the only way to handle things, but they seemed like real enough emergencies that it didn't bug me. 

After birth, I got to nurse baby right away for as long as I wanted, nothing was pushed on us, and baby stayed in the room for everything except the hearing test (I went with her then).  They didn't mind me leaving <12 hrs later.

[dejagerw]

My last hospital birth went great.  I was only in labor in the hospital for 4 hours.  I had a doula that called ahead and got me out of having to visit triage.  (My contractions were < 5 min apart for over a couple hours before I got there).  I labored naturally.  They did periodic monitoring on me, but the monitor kept sliding off me but no one was too concerned.  I labored in the shower for awhile too.  One of the nurses actually checked me while I was in the shower so I didn't have to come out.  (My doula was concerned I was almost fully dialated, she didn't want me to give birth in the shower).  No one ever asked me about pain meds, or suggested my water be broken.  It actually didn't break until I started pushing.  I actually didn't even have monitors on me while I was pushing.  Everyone just waited for me to tell them when I had a contraction.  I actually remember everyone waiting for what seemed like forever.  (apparently I had a long rest period between contractions prior to my pushing).

First birth was ok, but not ideal. (I won't go into the details since you're looking for positive stories).  However, I attribute it to getting to the hospital way too early.  (I think subconsciencely I thought, the sooner I get to the hospital, the sooner my baby will be here.  Not true.)  

Anyway, you can definitely have a positive experience in a hospital.  But my advice would be to wait as long as possible before going to it. :) 

[GuildJenn]

I just posted mine!

http://www.mothering.com/community/forum/thread/1295270/liam-s-hospital-respectful-birth-but-ow

[kltroy]

I had a fabulous hospital VBAC.  Was 41+2 when I had my daughter.  It was a completely natural birth -everyone was great about leaving me alone to let my body do its thing.  They followed my birth plan to the letter -- delayed cord clamping, let me *catch my own baby* (awesome!!!), did all routine tests with my daughter laying on my chest skin to skin, etc.  I couldn't have been more thrilled.   This birth was actually with a family practice doctor, who is now both my and my daughter's doctor.  The blow-by-blow birth story is here: 

[llevine17]

I had two great hospital births. First birth with midwives was 19 hours of back labor and 2 1/2 hours of pushing -- the nurse and midwife were completely supportive the whole time and were completely respectful of my birth preferences. The nurse was so wonderful when she needed to get the fetal heartbeat she would come find me where ever I was so I never had to wear the belt -- she was wonderful in so many ways. The second labor started with a water-break and the midwife suggested pit since I wasn't in labor. Again, she was completely respectful when I declined. I went into labor on my own and had the baby within a few hours with no interventions -- not even a cervical check. I had several hours of skin to skin contact before the nurse did the newborn procedures and bath in the my room with my husband helping out. My baby never left my side during the hospital stay. Both births were wonderful. I had no IV, no continuous monitoring, had access to a shower (which I used during my first labor), had a quiet, dimly lit room with only my nurse and my midwife attending -- and the best part is I never had to fight for a thing. I have thought about homebirth if I have a 3rd, but honestly my hospital experiences have been so great that I'm not totally sold on it.

[SGVaughn]

Ive had three hospital births...the first I wont get into because it was actually not very good...BUT the second was very good with pit even (they slowly turned it up so it doesn't hit like a train and I actually preferred the progression to my first go around with my oldest). My water broke and labor never started..I went 36 hours IN the hospital before they discussed induction with me..by that time I was so swollen from constant leaking pit was a welcome idea. I went with an epidural but on hindsight was just hitting transition so it probably really wasn't necc.

by the third time I learned to stay calm and be assertive w/o being challening, my water broke again with nothing happening aside from 12 hours of uncoordinated contractions that did nothing to dialate me..this go around I asked for pit about 14 hrs in...I also asked for a walking epidural and you know what?? I could actually walk! I even felt her body go through my pelvis and felt pushy all without anything that could be described as pain.

same as someone else mentioned about the nurses some sucked some were really awesome...the first dr that delivered my oldest was a real jerk (female even) the next two drs(male)  were very nice...

no one asked me not to squat with the epis even...and with the third I was allowed out of bed

I wasn't catheterized...no one restricted my movement...no one was patronizing...and no tearing or episiotomies with the last two...when i was aksed to pause in pushing with the third the dr actually voiced "hold ona sec, try not to push, I dont want you to tear"

delayed cord cutting with both the last two and I would say breast feeding was downright pushed on me with my last

you really just have to state what you want without being confrontational...more flies with honey kind of a thing...you dont need to explain any decisions youve made you simply have to state them

don't be terrified of the hospital...I promise theyre not there to intentionally make you miserable then eat your baby...ok?

all patients have rights...assert them!

[SGVaughn]

oh...I also wanted to add...all three of my girls were very pink and alert at birth...matter of fact my first "my all natural birth" daughter was the most tired after birth

[Juliacat]

I had a great hospital birth. The staff was kind to me, did no interventions on either me or the baby without my permission, gave me pain medication whenever I asked for it, and was just generally lovely. I found it a very restful, peaceful time, and if I could do it over again I would have stayed another day!

[tea_time]

I had a positive hospital birth as well, and am going to have my next baby in the hospital too.  I came in with a birth plan and the nurses completely honored it.  They never offered pain meds and respected my way of birthing.  In fact they left my husband and me alone a lot and were very encouraging when they came in to check on me.  I didn't have to have a IV or hep-loc and was able to move about freely.  My doctor was great as well, and had been encouraging of my birth preferences from the start.

After the labor the staff kept coming by to congratulate us and to say they wanted to meet the momma who did it naturally. :)  This was a hospital where over 85% of the women have epidurals btw!