The Appeal of Homebirth - Page 2

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by the_lissa

I had an attempted home birth- hospital transfer with my first, and my experience was very different, so do you mind if I ask some questions?

What is a test strip?


I didn't have to wear a gown. I never saw a nurse or anybody from the hospital until after the birth and that is only because I had a hemmorage. My midwives were still my primary care providers. My midwife discharged me, but the nurses tried to talk me into staying longer. I was 6 cms dilated and never had to go on a gurney or wheelchair. I walked. I didn't lay on my back. The baby wasn't taken away to be warmed or measured. I had also preregistered in case of a transfer, so I was lucky to not have to do paperwork. I never even saw stirrups there. I didn't think anyone still used those.

So I guess I had a "good" hospital birth, but it sucked to me.

I'm sorry your birth didn't go as planned. "Good" has more to do with how you felt about the experience than any particular policies a particular hospital has. It also probably depends on your expectations. When ds1 was born, I didn't have any homebirth visions in my head, and although I made a few compromises, overall it was the type of birth I wanted at the time. But I'll still answer your questions.

By test strip, I just meant the initial 20 minute time in triage when they hook you up to an EFM and monitor contractions and baby's heart beat. I probably didn't "have" to wear a gown, either, but didn't think to bring something different. I don't know why they did the gurney thing. My doula's been to many births at that hospital, and hadn't seen it done like that before, either. Once my IV was in, I was able to get up and walk and move around. They only lay me on my back to try to slow labor at the very end so I could get the rest of the antibiotics and the dr could get there. It wasn't very long. Then they raised me up into lithotomy for pushing. I didn't have to push like that. My dr even asked me if I wanted to move. But, by that time I just wanted it over and it felt like too much effort to move. That was a choice I should have made differently.... but my point was that in my homebirth I never had to get into a bed in the first place so some dr could verify whether I was "ready" to push or not. We were preregistered, too, but there were still a lot of consent forms to sign, etc.

The baby was in my sight at all times, and only got taken care of by the nurse for 2 minutes before he was back in my arms, but my dr had signed my birth plan saying he wouldn't be removed from me at all. The stupid nurse got me to agree to that when I was in transition, vulnerable, and just wanted to get her out of my face.

[rad]

There are a few reasons I chose not to go to the hospital for any of my births.
1. I'm comfortable in my house and feel I will always labor better in a comfortable environment.
2. The hospital policies make for a difficult natural birth IMO. I think the nurses, machines, IVs, etc are way too invasive for me. The more labor is "controlled" the more problems arise and the more intervention is required.
3. Germs. Yuck. Hosptials are not the sterile places they'd like you to think. It's where sick people go to get better. I'm not sick, I'm going through a very natural process, so I'm not going to a hospital. Your home is full of YOUR germs. There is no need to worry about those germs.
4. I like being spoiled. I like having just me, my midwife and my dr and their undivided attention if I need it. In a hospital I may have to share a few nurses with several other patients.
5. Postpartum is just me and my family. I can rest. I don't have to worry about being checked on every hour.
6. Lastly, at this point I seriously doubt I would even make it to the hospital of my choice. I don't care for the hospitals closer to me. And my labors have been fast enough, I would most likely be delivering a baby in the car. So why not just stay home and deliver my baby in the comfort of my home?

[honeybee]

[QUOTE=rad]
6. Lastly, at this point I seriously doubt I would even make it to the hospital of my choice. I don't care for the hospitals closer to me. And my labors have been fast enough, I would most likely be delivering a baby in the car. So why not just stay home and deliver my baby in the comfort of my home?[/QUOTE

Oh, yeah, I can't believe I forgot that one. IF we had left as soon as I woke dh up once I realized contractions were regular, I MIGHT have ended up giving birth in the hospital ER (no way we would've gotten up to OB). But, then we still would've had to wake up ds, get everything in the car, drop ds off at my mom's, etc. Hmmm, nope. I'd have delivered on the side of the road. Yuck.