Why did you have a hospital birth? - Page 7

[RobbyRe]

Originally Posted by momileigh

Just counting down the minutes before an actual red-headed stepchild takes offense to this comment...

Ha! My 2nd dd is a red-headed stepchild. Well, she's my biological child, but she is my husband's step daugther.
Of course, she's only 6, so wouldn't know to take offense to the comment as of yet... lol

Robynne

[~Stephanie~]

This is baby #5 for us and she will be born in the hospital as the other four were. I hemorrhage after birth and twice have required blood transfusions.

We actually had planned for a homebirth with baby #4. I loved the idea of homebirth, had done tons of research and I had a midwife who was willing to deliver at home even with my history. She carried pitocin and we discussed eating the placenta to help with bleeding.. It took some convincing for my DH to come around, but he was trying to be very supportive and trust my instincts. At almost 40 weeks, I had a bout of false labor that seemed very real and my midwife and her assistant came. It was extremely uncomfortable. She asked us to turn off all TVs, radios and any lights that weren't necessary because the assistant she was bringing was Amish. This was not discussed with us beforehand and DH and I both felt extremely uncomfortable in our own house... Then that night I had a terrible dream about hemhorraging at home...there was blood everywhere, on the carpet, on the bed etc.. and it just kept gushing out. After that dream, I decided to go with a hopital birth much to my husband's relief.

Luckily my OB took me back without batting an eye and was very supportive. The nurse that I had was very hands off and let me labor in the jacuzzi tub. I had a great birth and did end up with a bad hemorrhage which required a manual D&C by my doctor (I didn't want to be put under due to breastfeeding.)

So when we found out we were pregnant again, we decided right away that we would stick with my low intervention OB and do another hospital birth. For me, being in the hospital seems more relaxing than being at home. I would be worried about laundry, the kids, making meals etc.. At the hospital I can let someone else worry about all of that and just concentrate on healing and bonding with my LO.

I completely respect moms who choose to have a homebirth and I feel a little envious when I hear their wonderful stories, but for us a hospital birth is the choice we will be making.

Good luck with your decision!

[~sweet pea~]

Originally Posted by Materfamilias

Actually, it would be cool if there was a sticky for women who have to/want to give birth in hospitals for whatever reason. Every other option is up there in the sticky section.
I don't think this necessarily implies that we who must birth in hospital are any less crunchily-inclined than others here. Even though I want a HB I can't have one, for reasons I've set out earlier, but I don't think I should have to feel like a red-haired stepchild because of it, you know?
I'm sure this has come up before, and I understand there may be reasons for this that I'm not seeing, but could we maybe get a hospital birth sticky, pretty please?

:

[Arwyn]

Originally Posted by Materfamilias

I'm sure this has come up before, and I understand there may be reasons for this that I'm not seeing, but could we maybe get a hospital birth sticky, pretty please?

We usually sticky threads that have proven to be particularly helpful and requested, although we sometimes set out to create a stickied thread based on perceived need. Please PM me or courtenay_e if you have a thread or idea for what you would like in a sticky about natural hospital birth, or send us a link to an existing thread you found informative and supportive.

Now back to the topic.

[Materfamilias]

Originally Posted by RobbyRe

Ha! My 2nd dd is a red-headed stepchild. Well, she's my biological child, but she is my husband's step daugther.
Of course, she's only 6, so wouldn't know to take offense to the comment as of yet... lol

Yeah, sorry about that.... I use things like this all the time-- like "heavens to Betsy" -- dunno where these things come from. No offense to any red-haired stepchildren meant!

[georgia]

Here are a few links (having a difficult time due to search issues):

http://www.mothering.com/articles/pr.../hospital.html

http://www.mothering.com/articles/pr...-hospital.html

https://www.mothering.com/articles/p...m-welcome.html

Hope these are helpful!

[~sweet pea~]

Originally Posted by Arwyn

We usually sticky threads that have proven to be particularly helpful and requested, although we sometimes set out to create a stickied thread based on perceived need. Please PM me or courtenay_e if you have a thread or idea for what you would like in a sticky about natural hospital birth, or send us a link to an existing thread you found informative and supportive.

Now back to the topic.

Not so much a sticky as a sub-forum for mamas who need to post a question about hospitals/birth centers. There's one for homebirth, one for unassisted birth, one for VBACs, etc. but none for hospital/birth center births.

Currently hospital/birth center questions can only be posed in the general birth forum, which is for all births. The result is that many mamas seem to feel the need to say things like "don't flame me" or otherwise "explain" their decision to go to a hospital. In the homebirth sub-forums, mamas can post their questions without having to "explain" their homebirth choice. Maybe it's intentional and maybe it's not, but the current set-up is a little discriminatory against hospital/birth center choices. I can see where hosp/BC might be considered "less" natural to some MDC'rs, but there are a lot of mamas that try to achieve a NCB in those settings and it's kind of sad to make them feel inferior.

This current thread is a perfect example of a thread that would belong in that sub-forum.

I would have pm'd this to you Arwyn, but that would have been read only by you and I was curious to see if there was any other support out there for this idea.

[EarthsSpiral]

I chose hosp over hb because of the cost. I have great insurance and it cost us $0 to have a hosp birth. I purchased an Aquadoula and took it with me!! My OB was totally on board 100%!

[merry-mary]

These are really interesting!

I had hospital births with both of my children: DS born 2 years ago and DD born 6 weeks ago. Both births were extremely rewarding, wonderful experiences, and I was able to birth them naturally (no drugs, no interventions) in a hospital with a 95% epidural rate. I had the support of an incredible husband and wonderful doula. I credit them along with my OB practice's support for my births being as great as they were.

I chose to birth in a hospital because I was not comfortable birthing at home. I wanted to birth in a birthing center. DH was terrified of birthing anywhere but a hospital. We discussed this at length. I was torn: yes, this was my body, but it was our baby. I did not feel right birthing in a place where my DH would be completely anxious and uncomfortable. So, we compromised: work with a doula, labor at home for as long as possible, and have a natural birth in a hospital where DH would really need to step up and protect our birth choices and philosophies. It ended up working out beautifully: DH did have to intervene a few times to protect my wishes.

Especially with my first baby, I really enjoyed being in the hospital for those two days post-partum. Our nurses were wonderful and I had daily visits from an LC. Plus, the nurses themselves were great with breastfeeding - they actually knew what they were talking about! It was nice having someone take care of me, as I learned how to take care of my baby. I was *clueless* about newborns - really. So, I appreciated the nurses' help with how to bathe, diaper, swaddle and otherwise care for the baby. (However, this time, I just wanted to be home! I missed DS incredibly, I already knew what I was doing with the baby adn just wanted my own bed!!).

If I were to have another baby (and that is very unlikely), I'd birth in the exact same place, the exact same way. My births have left me so fulfilled - I can't imagine doing it any other way.

[Larrysgirl]

I'm too afraid of complications. I've had so many friends who have had them and my first birth was not without drama or intervention.

[earthie_mama]

Because I didn;t know it would be as bad as it was, and I didn't know there was another option. If I could go back I would have done all my babies UC.

[box_of_rain]

My first birth - I was 19 and totally unaware I could birth at home. I probably wouldn't have opted for that anyway, though, at the time. It was a midwife attended hospital birth. 28 hours of unmedicated pitocin labor and 5.5 hours of pushing. My midwife was horrible. It was traumatic.

My second - 7 years after the 1st. I couldn't find a midwife taking clients so I was kind of stuck with an OB. She was alright, but I was induced again. Luckily this time it was only 4 hours of unmedicated pitocin labor. I chose the hospital because of the trauma I sustained the last time (and no birth centers nearby). Although looking back, I'm sure it wouldn't have been that traumatic outside of a hospital.

I'm currently pregnant with my 3rd. It will be a midwife attended home birth this time.

[happyblessedmama]

I've had 4 hospital births.

#1 was a hard delivery.
#2 was sooooooo easy, hosp delivery so we decided to try a birth center for #3.
#3 was a train wreck. baby born not breathing, 2 weeks in NICU.
for #4 we happily delivered her in a hospital. Planning same for #5. I would rather the immediate medical assistance and technology (including capability for a c/s) is present vs. not, even a 5 minute drive away (which is what we faced with #3's birth).