X-posted in homebirth
Anyone else in this boat?
I'd planned a hb ever since I started getting into doula-ing and midwifery, so about a decade ago. My hb did not go as planned because I discovered thick meconium after the first day of early labor (my water had ruptured already). So, dd was born in the hospital, healthy and pink. We didn't end up *needing* to be there when all was said and done. I'm happy I had a healthy baby and would consider my birth experience pretty good overall, but there were a lot of things I had to compromise on and I have mixed feelings about it. My dd is 9 months and I'm just starting to work on processing the whole experience, good and not so good.
I'm happy that I was able to push my dd out after 40 hours of very tiring, excruciating back labor, that she was healthy, that my midwives and dh were there supporting me, and that she bf minutes after birth and was with us the entire time we were in the hospital. I'm saddened that: I had to get Pitocin for being stalled at 8cm (so basically in transition) for 4 hours, the OB did not do delayed cord clamping and cutting, there was no birth ball, stool, bar, or water tub to help me with contractions, I was distracted and "in my head" because I wasn't in a familiar environment, I tore badly (the OB had her fingers inside of me while dd was crowning--not sure if this is why or not), and overall, the birth wasn't blissful or empowering. It was intense and I felt strong afterwards, but the process itself wasn't what I imagined it would be at all. (Not sure how much this has to do with being in the hospital and not at home). I also hated everyone bothering me after I gave birth--pediatricians, nurses, LC, and all of the paperwork and nonsense they make you go through before you're discharged.
Anyhow, I wanted to start this thread to give those of us that did end up having hospital births the chance to do any processing or sharing we wanted to do. How was your transfer experience? And, if you've had prior or subsequent homebirths, how have they compared?
I'd planned a hb ever since I started getting into doula-ing and midwifery, so about a decade ago. My hb did not go as planned because I discovered thick meconium after the first day of early labor (my water had ruptured already). So, dd was born in the hospital, healthy and pink. We didn't end up *needing* to be there when all was said and done. I'm happy I had a healthy baby and would consider my birth experience pretty good overall, but there were a lot of things I had to compromise on and I have mixed feelings about it. My dd is 9 months and I'm just starting to work on processing the whole experience, good and not so good.
I'm happy that I was able to push my dd out after 40 hours of very tiring, excruciating back labor, that she was healthy, that my midwives and dh were there supporting me, and that she bf minutes after birth and was with us the entire time we were in the hospital. I'm saddened that: I had to get Pitocin for being stalled at 8cm (so basically in transition) for 4 hours, the OB did not do delayed cord clamping and cutting, there was no birth ball, stool, bar, or water tub to help me with contractions, I was distracted and "in my head" because I wasn't in a familiar environment, I tore badly (the OB had her fingers inside of me while dd was crowning--not sure if this is why or not), and overall, the birth wasn't blissful or empowering. It was intense and I felt strong afterwards, but the process itself wasn't what I imagined it would be at all. (Not sure how much this has to do with being in the hospital and not at home). I also hated everyone bothering me after I gave birth--pediatricians, nurses, LC, and all of the paperwork and nonsense they make you go through before you're discharged.
Anyhow, I wanted to start this thread to give those of us that did end up having hospital births the chance to do any processing or sharing we wanted to do. How was your transfer experience? And, if you've had prior or subsequent homebirths, how have they compared?