hospital policies sound bad

[Mounikhia]

I'm 29 weeks today. I just had a doctor's appointment this morning and won't go back for another month. At the appointment, I asked a nurse about birth in the hospital and was told that what the childbirth instructors were going to tell me would not correspond to reality.

There will be continuous fetal monitoring and monitoring of contractions.

I will be lying in a bed and will not have freedom of movement.

They will not give me an IV if I request not to have one. But they will have me connected to something (I forget what she called this) so they can start an IV at any time.

She also said that there would be "up to four (?) hours of pushing without an epidural, and up to three (?) hours with an epidural." I may have gotten the numbers reversed there. Does that mean that they will intervene after that amount of time? Maybe with a C-section? I didn't ask because I didn't think to till later.

I'm not a high risk pregnancy. Everything is progressing normally so far.

I'm wondering if I should try to fight for what I want at this hospital or look to transfer my care to a hospital or birth center that gives better options? Or maybe a homebirth?

Thank you very much for any advice!

[rmzbm]

First of all - you can REFUSE anything! No matter what the "rules" are, it's YOUR body! You can say "no" at ANY time! Beyond that, please look into homebirth. Interventions fail women, I am a walking example. (4 sections.) Stick around, read, & learn. Thankfully you still have time. Do NOT give away your birth! Welcome to MDC!

[alegna]

Dump them and have a homebirth. No question IMO.

-Angela

[~MoonGypsy~]

Wow. After a bedside manner like that -- I'd complain to whoever you need to complain to at the hospital, transfer to a birth center and do lots and lots of research and soul searching about a homebirth.


mama. That was harsh and you don't need to deal with that kind of stress. What a horrible nurse!


Personally, I agree with Angela, but a homebirth is something you have to want -- not something you were scared into because the other alternative seemed so horrible.

[gentlebirthmothr]

Originally Posted by ~MoonGypsy~

Wow. After a bedside manner like that -- I'd complain to whoever you need to complain to at the hospital, transfer to a birth center and do lots and lots of research and soul searching about a homebirth.


mama. That was harsh and you don't need to deal with that kind of stress. What a horrible nurse!

mounikhia,

on this, :, , to what Katie said to you on this.

Thats why again I will definetly will give birth in an free standing birth center, but in walking disatice of a hospital just in an case if something goes wrong and not the midwifes or their staff making lies up to make me go the hospital.

Wondering why most women think modern medicine or formula or parenting then what we got since beginning of time? Plus, my family, close friends, and friends are in the same boat as on here. In Canada, think all of Europe, New Zealand as well, but not sure if they do. Are pretty much not for what USA is, but not for breastfeeding or parenting, as I know of.

All of the questions I answer so far on this topic are warning you against what will happen if you follow the other posters on modern medicine or formula or parenting and they think of me I'm milant or a lunatic which I'm not. I feel that getting pregnant or pregnant or birth or feeding your baby or parenting your baby should be done the way it always has before modern times. Pretty much been for this.
Don't even read the other posters or doctors or nurses or any others in healthcare field as well above or below here and their answers because they are definetly wrong for sure. The reason why is because medical birth hasn't been around since the beginning of time and has been here for since medival, spl times as I think. Personally, I'm not for this kind of birth, but when it is truly a medical necessary and not made up to medical necessary and scaring you and your family, friends, and etc. I know I haven't been pregnant or give birth yet, but that will happen in the future. Since ever subscribing to Mothering Magazines and like how I see things now from the past. Also, I volunteer in Maternity Department at the local hospital by me, so I see, and etc there as well. I recommed you don't show up for your the rest of doctor's appointments or don't consult the doctor or its office or the hospital either pre regisation or admission test or the section, and so on. Definetly don't listen to your dh or any of your family or friends or doctor or others . Definetly get a midwife that's isn't mainstream or stuff like that. Also, please try to breastfeed afterwards because it's it much more better then formula. Breastfeeding as around since the beginning of time and formula was introducted last half century so breastfeeding is way better then formula again. Also, do attactment parenting more then mainstream parenting because again it has been around since beginning of time and not like mainstream parenting when it has been around for at least a century now. Think thats it and good luck with it.

Source(s):

Baby Center (You need to register in able to get into the site, but it is worth it at the end), Books, Compleat Mother Magazine, Dr. Sarah J Buckley, Joyous Birth, KellyMom, Medscape (You need to register in order to view the site, don't worry to have consumer part of it as well), Midwifery Today Magazine, Mothering Magazine, Our Bodies, Ourselves, The Mother Magazine, WebMD (Recommed register, its not necessary, but still its good, it as well to view to the other stuff on there), Me as well

[AllisonR]

Trying to fight for your rights during labor is often overwhelmingly impossible. You and your brain are deep in contractions. And DH may be as emotional as you are and will have his own issues.

The smartest thing would be to find a different care provider, be that birth clinic, homebirth, a midwife.... Look into hiring a doula. If you are in the right setting, you can spend your energy on your labor, instead of fighting for basic rights.

[St. Margaret]

I specifically changed my Primary Care Provider so I could see an OB that works at the very natural-friendly hospital in my neighborhood. Before, I was going to have to drive way down the freeway (harder to stay home longer b/c of traffic uncertainties and not wanting to be in the car while more uncomfy) to a high-tech high-risk hospital. It was a HUGE pain in the butt (had to GO to the hospital, talk to two desks before getting behind the doors to talk to a nurse at the birthing wing desk who listed all the docs and midwives (none on my insurance, sadly) and then I went home and searched for hours online to find the ones my insurance does cover. BUT I feel it was no biggie really b/c I got what I wanted and it will make for a MUCH better birth for me.

So, my point: search around. What are your options? Where else might you birth? What might you need to make it happen? That sounds like a BAD place, and if you read Goer's Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth, I think you'll se how the bad hospital context CAN and DOES have a negative impact on the birth experience. And if you're stuck with this place due to insurance, no other options, etc, STAY HOME as long as possible. I have a good hospital (birth balls provided, showers--some tubs I think--, rooming in for the baby and daddy, one suite you stay in the whole time, etc etc) and I'm still staying home with my doua until we think I'm really getting ready for it to be caught

Good for you questioning what they're telling you and proactively working for what's really best for you and baby! (You've found a great resource!)

[laohaire]

Sounds like that nurse did you a wonderful favor by coming clean to you.

[phoebemommy]

That is really a rude awakening, but thankfully you got it now rather than in labor! The other poster is right, you have the right to decline anything at the hospital even if it's "policy", but IMO it isn't worth fighting if you have other options. When you're in labor you need to be focused on you, not on guard against your care providers. You can stall your labor if you're worried too much about protecting yourself -- it's a physiological fight or flight thing.

I went to an OB for one visit when I was first pregnant, and I had a similar gut feeling that something wasn't right. I only saw his nurse practitioner, and all she wanted to talk about was all the things they'd be testing for that might go wrong. She was particularly gung ho about genetic testing, which creeped me out. I asked about nutrition because I was a vegetarian, and her advise was "stay away from McDonalds and Taco Bell and you'll be fine." Duh.

Anyway I switched to a homebirth midwife and never looked back. Go with your gut, whereever it takes you. If you do switch, by the way, be prepared for that doctor's office to call you and ask what's up. IMO you don't owe them an explanation if you don't feel like giving one.

[yequanamama]

I would look for another birthing location right away, be that a hospital, birth center or home. Even if you were to "fight for your rights" (which, as the pp's said, is NOT a good idea in labor), the nursing staff would not like you, and it couldn't be a good experience.

Try to get ahold of some independent childbirth instructors in your area - Bradley, Hypnobirthing, Birthing from Within, etc. A good CBE can point you in the direction of natural-friendly hospital and midwives/doctors. And if you haven't done it yet, read "The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth." It will affirm the importance of avoiding those interventions (continuous monitoring, being on your back, IVs and such), and of choosing a supportive birth place. Good luck!

[boobjuice]

rule #1 - always, always be comfortable with who and where you will be giving birth, if it's not, find one that is.

hospitals and their protocols set women up to fail because it's not really in their best interest anymore.

nature designed to women to seek safety and refuge for birth, stick to your instincts. good luck.

i terribly fear hospitals for birth, i had a homebirth, check it out.

pick your download speed and enjoy:

http://wahmdigitalscrapbooks.com/birth1

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Uggh *shudder* that sounds like the hospital from : I wonder what there c-section rate is with the no moving around policy :

I would definatly look into a different place to birth. Birth centers are great if you are not comfy with homebirth. Mine was a free standing one but close enough to the hospital should something happen I could be there in less than 5min. They only had a avg. transfer rate of 1 patient per year and that was for post partum hemorage not during birth (I think she said they have transfered in the past for failure to progress but it was really low) Good luck to you and I hope you get the birth you want.

Remember you only get one shot at it so make it count

[RockStarMom]

Be grateful for the warning and give birth somewhere else! If homebirth is an option, definitely go for it- that's the one place where you won't have to worry about anyone's "policies." If not, find another hospital.
Good luck!

[Mounikhia]

Thanks so much everyone for the advice and support! I will see what my insurance lets me do at this point and look into a nearby birthing center whose website I found last night.

My husband is uneasy with homebirth, so probably not this time. (Someday, maybe. ) He seemed to like what he saw at the birth center website though. It's so important to me that we be united in this decision.

If we do get stuck at the hospital, waiting as long as possible to go in sounds like the best thing to do.

I was very thankful that the nurse told me what she did, even though I obviously disagree with her philosophy of birth. Those are things the doctor never told me; again, I'm just beginning to learn what questions to ask.

Thanks again to all of you! I'm sure you will see me again; this is a great site!

[sapphire_chan]

Don't report the nurse, if she gets reprimanded she won't warn other women. You should go to the Childbirth class and tell everyone there what you heard from that nurse.

[Qalliope]

Just in case the birthing center doesn't work out

I agree that it is very hard to fight while in labor. However, it is also hard to trust a provider that you would be switching to late in pregnancy, and it might take quite a bit of work to find another hospital with better policies and a doc that works at that hospital that would take you on and be covered by insurance, etc. I would talk to the doc first and find out if what the nurse said is accurate. Different docs will leave different instructions for their patients. Try to make sure that your doc will support your decisions. Second, while you may not be able to fight for your choices in labor, you can have a support person who will. A doula might be of great help in this respect, or perhaps just a friend with a strong personality and a good commitment to helping you with a good birth experience. If this does not feel like it would be enough, THEN I would change providers.

They will not give me an IV if I request not to have one. But they will have me connected to something (I forget what she called this) so they can start an IV at any time.

Hep lock - it's just a small device inserted in your hand. It doesn't hinder your movement or anything. I didn't refuse it, because I didn't see any harm in it being there. I had to be on pitocin later though, anyway.

There will be continuous fetal monitoring and monitoring of contractions.

I will be lying in a bed and will not have freedom of movement.

You can definitely get around this. They can't watch you the whole time, and they're not going to strap you to the bed. Just get up every time the nurse leaves. They'll give up pretty quickly... I did this even on pitocin. Towing my IV along with me. I got up to "go to the bathroom" a lot and took a long time getting back to the bed with a stopover at the birth ball. They got used to seeing me off the monitors for 15 minutes or more at a time.

She also said that there would be "up to four (?) hours of pushing without an epidural, and up to three (?) hours with an epidural." I may have gotten the numbers reversed there. Does that mean that they will intervene after that amount of time? Maybe with a C-section? I didn't ask because I didn't think to till later.

That IS pretty standard policy in most hospitals, just don't push on your back and you should be fine. Again, nobody will physically push you down on to the bed. Yes they will push for c/s after this time elapses.


The bottom line is they can SAY whatever they want, but if your committed to a natural birth, you can DO whatever YOU want. It's best for you not to argue or even try to state your position if you run into conflict while in the hospital, just do what feels natural and ignore them, you don't really need their permission. And if you have someone to run interference and do the talking for you, it will help.

Even if you find what you feel is the best provider and the best hospital for the birth you want, the wrong nurse on her shift or the wrong doc on call can make your life miserable if you listen to what they say.


Good luck with the Birth Center, and with your birth, wherever it ends up being.

[InstinctiveMama]

I found it surprisingly easy to switch providers during my pregnancy. I switched from an OB (who sounds similar to your OB's office) to a birth center in my 35th week. I called our insurance company because I thought that would be the big hassle. Turns out they did not care about my switch. They just paid the bills when they came in.

Switching, even at a late date, was the best thing I ever did. I received care from the birth center that far exceeded anything I would have had with the OB.

[Cuau]

Get a Doula, seriously they can do all the battle for you and you won't feel like having to fight your rights in the middle of your contractions.

They told us in the childbirth classes that the mere fact of having a Doula is communicating nurses and doctors wkat kind of labor you want.

[zoebird]

ifyou're low risk, do it at home.

[babsbob]

I switched to a homebirth midwife somewhere around 25 weeks I think. My insurance doesn't cover "homebirth" but I submitted a global bill for "care" after my 6 week post partum check up and they reimbursed me at the "out of network" percentage. It turned out to be way cheaper than the hospital would have been.
I understand if you DH is wary of homebirth though - mine was too and you both need to be comfortable. I hope you like the birth center you found.
BTW, shouldn't you be going to prenatals every two weeks at this point? Maybe it's just my midwife.
good luck!