Hi y'all! My DH and our menagerie live in Dallas. This is our first pregnancy, and I'm at 16 weeks right now. We're due on July 25.
I want to know if there is anyone out there attempting a natural childbirth in the hospital. We're talking about hiring a doula, but not sure yet. We'll definitely do a Bradley class though.
Anyway, hope I meet some cool mamas here!
Hi! I live in Fort Worth and am due July 19 with my second. I've been lurking but had to respond to a fellow north Texan.
I delivered my son naturally in the hospital and actually had a pretty good experience. My doctor was very supportive and understood how important it was to me. Ultimately though, I was very fortunate and had a fantastic nurse who suggested different laboring positions and talked me through active labor and the delivery. Had I not had her it may not have been such a positive experience. If you did hire a doula, you would have a fantastic support person no matter what type of nurse happened to be on duty. I found the nurses to be far more important than the doctor for most of the process.
We have chosen to use a midwife this time around and I am really looking forward to the experience but it is possible to have a natural delivery in the hospital. Best of luck to you!
Welcome to MDC!
I had a natural waterbirth for my first in a hospital. Care provider and hospital environment played a tremendous role in that, without a midwife with a good track record and a hospital that supported no and low intervention births I don't think I would have been able to have the experience I did.
Hi there!
I'm from TX too.. Austin! I am 17 weeks, due July 15th with our first. We're really excited! Yes, we are going to be delivering naturally using a hospital-based midwifery. I couldn't be happier! The only variable is the nurse... the nurse can make it or break it. But I've had a lot of friends give birth in this hospital, all with positive, natural birth stories thanks to the nurses!
If you are planning an unmedicated, hospital birth, definitely hire a doula! Support from an experienced woman who is only there for you and your partner is one of the most important things you can do.
Taking independent prenatal education classes (as opposed to hospital-based, which are not recommended) is a really good idea too. Look for prenatal education that educates you on the physiological process of birth (how your hormones, baby, and body work), natural methods for coping with pain (practicing different positions, massage, visualization etc.), and provides you with solid evidence-based information on procedures and treatments you may encounter in the hospital so that you can make an informed decision. You may also want to practice advocating for yourself (do role plays) and thinking about how you will get the information you need in the moment at the hospital to make an informed decision about an intervention your doctor or nurse is recommending (breaking your water for you, augmenting your labour with pitocin, offering you morphine or an epidural, telling you you have to get an epidural now if you want one b/c the anesthesiologist won't be available later, directed pushing if you are assessed at 10 cm dilation, asking you to lie down to deliver, immediate cord clamping and amputation, etc. etc. there's lots that can happen!)
If you have a choice of hospitals, choose the one with the lowest epidural and Cesarean rate, and choose a doctor with a less than 40% epidural rate and 10% or less Cesarean rate (these two things are actually correlated). Each hospital is different, and these numbers alert you to whether you are birthing in a more natural birth friendly environment or not.
Thanks for all of the info, ladies! It's nice to know that it's possible to have a natural birth in a hospital. I haven't talked to my OB about her views on anesthesia or natural childbirth, but I will definitely on our next visit (Feb. 25).
On the other hand, I'm already reading Husband-Coached Childbirth by Robert Bradley, and my husband and I are going to take a Bradley class. I am just wondering that, if we do the Bradley classes and my husband is trained to do it all, should we still hire a doula?
It all seems like a bit much!
Thanks for all of the info, ladies! It's nice to know that it's possible to have a natural birth in a hospital. I haven't talked to my OB about her views on anesthesia or natural childbirth, but I will definitely on our next visit (Feb. 25).
On the other hand, I'm already reading Husband-Coached Childbirth by Robert Bradley, and my husband and I are going to take a Bradley class. I am just wondering that, if we do the Bradley classes and my husband is trained to do it all, should we still hire a doula?
It all seems like a bit much!
Do you like this book? Does your hubby like it? I've been trying to find a book that my husband will actually read. He is a PhD science-y guy and says that all the books just repeat themselves and he's not going to read them anymore!
Thanks for all of the info, ladies! It's nice to know that it's possible to have a natural birth in a hospital. I haven't talked to my OB about her views on anesthesia or natural childbirth, but I will definitely on our next visit (Feb. 25).
On the other hand, I'm already reading Husband-Coached Childbirth by Robert Bradley, and my husband and I are going to take a Bradley class. I am just wondering that, if we do the Bradley classes and my husband is trained to do it all, should we still hire a doula?
It all seems like a bit much!
Do you like this book? Does your hubby like it? I've been trying to find a book that my husband will actually read. He is a PhD science-y guy and says that all the books just repeat themselves and he's not going to read them anymore!
I'm just reading it right now, and then it's hubby's turn. I do like it, and I'm a journalist with a background in biomedical science. I think, though, that you should read it first and highlight the important passages you want your husband to read, and then hand it off. That's what I'm doing. We're going to take a Bradley class, too, which will be doubly helpful!
Hope that answered your question!
Thanks for all of the info, ladies! It's nice to know that it's possible to have a natural birth in a hospital. I haven't talked to my OB about her views on anesthesia or natural childbirth, but I will definitely on our next visit (Feb. 25).
On the other hand, I'm already reading Husband-Coached Childbirth by Robert Bradley, and my husband and I are going to take a Bradley class. I am just wondering that, if we do the Bradley classes and my husband is trained to do it all, should we still hire a doula?
It all seems like a bit much!
Do you like this book? Does your hubby like it? I've been trying to find a book that my husband will actually read. He is a PhD science-y guy and says that all the books just repeat themselves and he's not going to read them anymore!
I'm just reading it right now, and then it's hubby's turn. I do like it, and I'm a journalist with a background in biomedical science. I think, though, that you should read it first and highlight the important passages you want your husband to read, and then hand it off. That's what I'm doing. We're going to take a Bradley class, too, which will be doubly helpful!
Hope that answered your question!
That's a great idea! I ordered it. Thanks!
I want to know if there is anyone out there attempting a natural childbirth in the hospital.
I am! And I'm in Dallas! 
I have a great midwife and an awesome birth doula. Feel free to PM me for details.
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