Homebirth vs. Hospital birth natural way?

[Vicky P]

What is the difference between homebirth and hospital birth in natural way? I heard one thing that if we choose hospital birth even though we already planned to have natural childbirth, nurses or even midwives wouldn't be so patient. they want us to progress as soon as possible, otherwise we would end up c-section? Does this happen a lot? If so, I would rather just plan to have a natural homebirth. Please let me know your thought. Thanks

[alegna]

Whole different world.

Both of my births were at home. Both would have likely been sections in the hospital.

Both would have *definitely*, without a doubt, been huge ugly battles in the hospital.

-Angela

[augustacherri]

I've had both--a "natural" birth at a hospital and two UCs. I have to say that there was very little that was "natural" about my drug-free birth in the hospital. Unless you think forced directed pushing, people yelling and carrying on for you to PUUUUSSSSSHHHHHH, a huge episiotomy, panic, fetal monitor leads all over you, IVs shoved in your veins, lying flat on your back, having bright lights trained on your most intimate spots and a grumpy doctor cutting your baby's cord and immediately slapping your baby's foot repeatedly after birth are normal. And I was only in the hospital for the last 40 minutes of my labor!!

I would definitely prefer to have a homebirth, especially a UC. It is a totally different experience. Most care providers are not able to be patient with your labor and birth choices because hospital policies are often inflexible. They have to live by their rules, but at a home birth you don't have that issue.

[milkybean]

Originally Posted by Vicky P

they want us to progress as soon as possible, otherwise we would end up c-section? Does this happen a lot?

Yes it does happen a lot.

Originally Posted by alegna

Both of my births were at home. Both would have likely been sections in the hospital.

Do you have your birth stories anywhere? In a former MDC incarnation I was on the ancient judgment thread, and loved reading your words (still do, though I forgot log in, email, and password for my old life).

[onelilguysmommy]

well you may have to fight for a natural birth at a hospital. they like to give you an iv "just to stay hydrated" and put things in it. my friend said NO pit and they gave her that and tried to say the neon sticker on it that i pointed out didnt say pitocin. yeah.
then didnt tell her, nor was it on the consent form that being paralyzed was a possibility from an epidural. wth? and no, im not lying, or going on hearsay, i was there and read it. along with the brochure for circ being bunch of lies, but thats not really about birthing there, more about lies of hospitals..oh and though she was a former narcotic user, loaded her up on morphine for no reason as well..another neon sticker they said didnt say what it did after they turned it around hoping neither of us would notice. more "youre dehydrated and its going to get worse, this is just electrolytes to help you out. you know, like pedialyte" for the pit and then said nothing for the morphine. just attached it and left.

i was repeatedly hounded to get an epi. i said no and they set it up while i was in the bathroom, kept laughing at me, saying hold on a sec theyd get my moms consent and go find the anesthesiologist back (he laughed at me and said i was lying when i said my pain was a 2 maybe when i was 8 hours into a pit induction) (this was 2 days after i turned 18. apparently she couldnt see my bday had past cause that nurse said i was a minor and she had to consent. i was like "BUT I DIDNT CONSENT so i dont care if she says i can. youre still not getting it, im not knocked out and its not life saving something or other that the next of kin needs to be asked about!" sheesh..!!)

she broke my water when i said no.

i was screamed at, the door was beat on and i was dragged out of the bathroom and put back on the bed because i had locked myself in the bathroom. apparently the doctor saying i was taking too long and then taking too long to push ( this was after two but i had SEVEN pushed total. thats too long? wth? ) shoving the vacuum cup enclosed in her hand inside of me to threaten me was more important than my comfort, or not wanting to be stuck on my back and having nothing to push against, no people or stirrups or anything and i had to lay semi (very semi) reclined, almost flat. ugh.

they turned the pit back up after he was born. i said my body would take care of that nursing and i got looked at like a nut and they did it anyway.

was i SURE i wanted to nurse?

when i was trying to sleep, i had him snuggled up nursing with me. this one nurse kept coming in and waking us up and pinching my nipple and boob and scratching me to take him and put him in the stupid bassinet thing and i "had better feel lucky she didnt take him to the nursery"

in this rather large university hospital, everyone who worked there who came by was SHOCKED i refused an epidural. a few extra people came by just to ask because they didnt believe the story.
i got absolute shocked faces when i confirmed it, and wow, you must be crazy as well.

theres a lot more, believe me.

any one of these would be enough for me to never birth in a hospital if at all possible, imo. why would you want bright lights, strange people looking at and shoving whatever they want inside of you and touching all over and poking and prodding your kid and strangers being the first people who hold the baby and the baby sees if its not needed?

[Joezmom]

Please, please do your research, far more than reading random stories on the internet. Besides looking into the local homebirth community and interviewing midwives and women who have had homebirths, choose your care provider carefully, research the hospital(s) you might use, and talk to mothers who have had natural births in the hospital. Hopefully, you will make an educated decision based on facts and what you decide is right for you and your family. Good luck to you whatever you decide!

[amberskyfire]

I agree with the above posters. In a hospital, you have to fight tooth and nail for your natural birth and that means dealing with a lot of fear and anger - two emotions that you should never have to feel during childbirth and which can keep you from being able to have your baby naturally at all. Fear is one of the worst "birth complications" in my opinion. No laboring creature, human or otherwise, should have to fight during childbirth. It's a time when you really need to allow yourself to relax to the fullest and allow your body to work while your mind goes to a very very far away place.

Trying to have a baby naturally in a hospital is (in my opinion) like trying to stay aroused during sex while lying naked in the middle of a New York street during rush hour traffic.

If you are going for a natural hospital birth, it's very important to talk at length with many care providers and find out what they think about your choices and whether or not they will work with you.

Like many women, I found that I reached a point during transition where if I was in a hospital, I would have asked for drugs. I was out of my mind. Being at home was peaceful, quiet, and dark. I was able to focus on the birth, not beeping machines, a tube in my arm, and what a million strangers were doing going in and out of my room and ordering me around, threatening me, or asking me questions.

Having a home birth was, for me, pure bliss. No one told me what to do. I did what I wanted and went where I liked. I was able to move around to help with the pain. There were no needles stuck in me and no drugs put into my body through my IV without my consent. It was dark and quiet. I caught my own baby! : I've never felt power like that in my life!

No one took my baby away. No one poked her or put medicine in her eyes. No one hurt her or lay her on a cold metal table or dried her vigorously off with a rough towel (I always cry when I see them do that in hospital birth videos). There were no bright lights. No one suctioned her. All she knew when she came into this world was that it was soft and warm and gentle and smelled like Momma's sweet warm milk.

[applejuice]

I chose home four times and I am glad.

A woman is the queen in her home; she has the home court advantage.

At the hospital, a woman is on an assembly line. On one of these many threads, a mother was reminded by a doctor that "you are not the only person having a baby today, you know!"

[MsBlack]

I so agree with these other posters.

I add that there is nothing the least bit natural about going to a hospital for childbirth: hospitals are where sick and injured people go to be 'fixed'. Bit birth is a *normal process* (in reasonably healthy people, anyway). So, the minute you start planning a hospital birth, you have already lost some measure of your 'natural' birth. And the minute you step foot into the hospital when you go into labor, you have lost quite another and larger measure of a natural birth...even if you ultimately have an unmedicated birth.

Women 'should' give birth where they feel safest--that is your best aid to a normal birth, feeling safe. Due to lifelong brainwashing that misleads our understanding of birth (and of hospitals/doctors), some women do feel safer in the hospital--so, these women may well have 'better' or 'more normal' births in the hospital than at home. But there is simply very very extremely little chance of having a truly natural, normal, unhindered birth in the hospital.

And that is because birth was designed to be something that women DO, not something that 'happens to them'. And the minute you invite medical 'help', you have shifted the focus from birth being a normal process that you were born able to DO, into something that happens to you apart from natural design and apart from your own actions/control--something that requires at least 'med supervision' and often, 'med help'.

[EmmaWoodhouse]

Originally Posted by MsBlack

I so agree with these other posters.

I add that there is nothing the least bit natural about going to a hospital for childbirth: hospitals are where sick and injured people go to be 'fixed'. Bit birth is a *normal process* (in reasonably healthy people, anyway). So, the minute you start planning a hospital birth, you have already lost some measure of your 'natural' birth. And the minute you step foot into the hospital when you go into labor, you have lost quite another and larger measure of a natural birth...even if you ultimately have an unmedicated birth.

Women 'should' give birth where they feel safest--that is your best aid to a normal birth, feeling safe. Due to lifelong brainwashing that misleads our understanding of birth (and of hospitals/doctors), some women do feel safer in the hospital--so, these women may well have 'better' or 'more normal' births in the hospital than at home. But there is simply very very extremely little chance of having a truly natural, normal, unhindered birth in the hospital.

And that is because birth was designed to be something that women DO, not something that 'happens to them'. And the minute you invite medical 'help', you have shifted the focus from birth being a normal process that you were born able to DO, into something that happens to you apart from natural design and apart from your own actions/control--something that requires at least 'med supervision' and often, 'med help'.

:

Originally Posted by amberskyfire

Trying to have a baby naturally in a hospital is (in my opinion) like trying to stay aroused during sex while lying naked in the middle of a New York street during rush hour traffic.

I found this to be very applicable in all of my births except my UC. I felt like everyone was watching me like it was some kind of show and I had to perform for them. My UC was completely different.

But if you don't mind this factor, than my 'natural' births at the hospital were fine and everyone was nice and accomadating as far as hospital policy would allow them. My personal opinion is that it is so much nicer to not have to take a car ride in the middle of labor and then get up and go home afterwards. I like to stay in one place and avoid all of those discomforts if I can.

[LotusBirthMama]

The important thing is choosing your HCP (if doing assisted birth in or out of the home) wisely. I hired homebirth midwives for 2 pregnancies and the experiances left me feeling less than impressed. In hindset, I employed people that were not a good fit at all.

With my youngest child, I used a traditional OB who I neither liked or disliked. The birth was awesome, though.

Now, with this pregnancy I am using a new OB practice that I adore. I am not comfortable having an unassisted pregnancy for a lot of reasons, and this group has made my pregnancy loss stress and peaceful. Our plan is to birth at home but its noce to know I have someone I trust if the need to transfer arises.

My point it, whatever you decide to do, make sure you are as informed as you can be.

[thixle]

The worst decision I have ever made was to go against my instinct and go to the hospital when I was in labor. Everything in my body screamed "LEAVE" when I got there, but I was too... afraid to go home. The nurse said if I didn't do what they said, I would be kicked out, and if I signed out against medical advice, even the ER wouldn't treat me... So I stayed.
That was 3 years ago, and not a day goes by without me thinking about it. And I was "lucky" because I didn't get a c-section. It was absolutely horrific.

[imagine21]

I agree with everything that has been said. That being said, I also had 2 respectful, peaceful, wonderful natural births at hospitals, two different hospitals, same family practice doctor (who I love and trust). He protected me from all sorts of interventions the first time and let me labor for 58 hours, 19 in the hospital, drug free, no episiotomy, no AROM, no pit and even suggested nipple stim when the contractions slowed down. 10 years later, new hospital, same doc. Supportive of my hypnobabies practice, had a great nurse who wanted to experience a natural hypnobabies birth. Had an absolutely beautiful birth, no yelling, no "coaching", birthed with a squat bar, but an absolutely horrific tear which required muscle repair and over an hour of stitching. I was happy to be with my trusted doctor as he stitched me up. I never had an IV and I nursed the baby right away and while they stitched me up. Our nurse was so impressed with me that she brought all the nurses in to meet me over the next two days. They treated me like a queen, NEVER took the baby away from me and didn't argue when I refused all medical tests and procedures for DS (except the hearing test)

At the same time, I did everything I could to make sure that I would have a good experience. I didn't do the hospital classes or tours and asked for a private tour instead saying I was a bit social phobic. I asked that the tour be with a nurse that was NCB friendly and I "stopped by" labor and delivery several times and at different times of day in my last month of pregnancy to say hello, introduce myself, crack some jokes and express my desire for NCB. I also wrote a detailed birth plan and didn't show up at the hospital until I was 6 cm dilated.

Even given the good experiences that I had, I still feel bad that I gave into DH and had hospital births. I would have preferred to UC and since I am not having any more children, I missed my chance.

[Materfamilias]

I had an excellent, drug-free natural childbirth in the hospital, but if I could've done what I wanted I would have stayed home. DH was not comfortable with it, so we went to the hospital very late (in transition). I'm too chicken to UC, but I would've stayed home. I didn't have ppl breathing down my neck like some pp's have, but if you really want to avoid intervention, do a homebirth.
I would read Henci Goer's Thinking Woman's Guide to Childbirth. It will answer a lot of your questions.

[Cuddlebaby]

Haven't read other's responses yet.....it totally depends on your care provider! 100%. I had two home births, then two AMAZING and pretty perfect (other than that stinking DRIVE) hospital births (yes there are a FEW great CNM's left), and one UC. my hospital births were pretty good! actually great. other than you are WAY too focused on if you are clicking or not with whomever the nurse is (are) and 'what are they going to do to me next' 'when's shift change?' birthing is mental more than physical. when you are most comfy and with the people that you love, then your body will perform more efficiently. you must focus on the job at hand.

not to even bring up the fact that if you don't progress @ X speed, then Y happens to you.....I didn't have that cuz my CNM was my advocate and she wouldn't let an OB near me. Awesome as she is there is still protocol she is required to follow. in order to avoid that, just wait until late labor (transition UGH!) and go to hospital....NOT! then why not just stay home. laboring women were not meant to be moving quickly upon the earth.

[mzfern]

Welcome to MDC! I recommend reading Jennifer Block's book Pushed. Congratulations on your pregnancy!

[Serenyd]

It's hard to find a care provider with hospital privledges who will support you through a natural birth. Some will say they do, but are not being honest with you. Be wary. I stayed home because I didn't want to fight to have a natural birth in the hospital. You shouldn't have to worry about refusing drugs and interventions or a c-section during your birth experience.

[SublimeBirthGirl]

It'd be easier to tell you what's the same about hospital v. homebirth. It's entirely different in almost every way. A baby comes out in the end, and that's about all they have in common IMO.

[KD's Momma]

THere are alot of differences between home and hosp. But ALOT depends on your care provider AND the hospital. My first delivery was in a hospital that had several mw that delivered there and they were VERY mother baby friendly. I had absolutely NO interventions, but I did walk into the hosp ready to push. I was never hassled about the baby having no shots or wanting to give the baby a bath myself and the baby staying with us always, plus I went home about 6 hours after delivery with no problems.

My second delivery was at a different hosp, but I had called and talked with everyone I could. Nursey director, L&D director, Director of Women and Childrens services - everyone said no problem. And once again it wasn't. Besides having to sign me and LO out AMA, which wasn't a big deal to anyone, there were no issues what so ever.

Fast forward 2 years, delivery number 3 in same hosp, same mw but different management people - what a nightmare!! I walked in again ready to push and basically UCed in the hospital because no one would listen to me and call my mw. DH and I fought with everyone from the minute I walked in to the minute I walked out. I will NEVER deliver in a hosp again. I have wanted to have a homebirth from the beginning but DH was never completely comfy with the idea and we had had great experience with mw at the hosp so it was no big deal. But not this time! Even DH said (after he and I delivered DS#3 in the hosp) "we could have done this at home" I wanted to say "No s**t!" but I just smiled and said "from now on we will" So, from where I am now, I would say HOMEBIRTH!!! But if you or DP feels the need for hosp birth, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE call everyone you can before hand and make sure they know you are coming, what you want, and if they can't provide that for you tell them you will find another place to birth!!!

[nurnur]

have you seen the business of being born? it's a great movie to show the differences and "politics" of hospital birth vs. homebirth. You can get it on netflix....http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/