What does a hospital birth mean to you?

[WishboneDawn]

My kids were born in/will be born in a hospital. The two outside the womb were born in a maternity hospital and TBA will be born in a local general hospital.

 

My experience has been big birthing rooms with cable TV, a recliner, rocking chair and private bath. Kind nurses who encouraged me to get up and walk around. Lots of help with nursing when I needed it. My babies sleeping in hospital bassinets right beside me from the get-go. They never left the room I was in if I wasn't right with them. When my son was born the anesthesiologist even bought the kids stuffed toys because my son was going to have the same name as him! There was no cold, sterile, stress-filled experience.

 

It's probably why I never understood some of the opposition to hospital births or appeal of midwives and home births here until I just read a thread were it was mentioned babies were still being sent to the nursery. In 2011?? Wow.

 

So I just wonder now if my experience was rare, some special Canuckistan privilege or those of us with good hospital birth stories just tend to be quieter about it.

[Momof3littles]

Breastfeeding support at hospitals in the US:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/02/us-usa-breastfeeding-idUSTRE7715CH20110802

 

From the above:

 

Less than 4 percent of the country's hospitals fully support breast-feeding, said a report issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In nearly 80 percent of hospitals, healthy babies who are being breast-fed are given formula even when there is no medical need for it, making it more difficult to continue breast-feeding at home, the report says.

Only a third of hospitals have "rooming in" policies that allow babies to stay in the hospital room with their mothers 24 hours a day, which can increase breast-feeding opportunities.

 

My first birth was at a hospital with a CNM, but I drove 45 mins instead of 15 mins as the hospital closest to me mandated hep locks, no laboring in the water, ice chips only (no food or drink), and didn't encourage rooming in. Thankfully I looked into hiring a doula early on and she clued me in, gently, kindly, and in a PC-way that I would not be likely to get the type of birth I was looking for at the closest hospital.

 

The hospital 45 mins away did not allow waterbirth but did "allow" women to labor in the water (shower or single deep tub). They didn't mandate a hep lock. I had to have EFM every 15 mins (doula persuaded the nurse to hook me up so I could labor in alternative positions, not just in bed). Rooming in was encouraged. My son was on the list of babies to be circ'd, even though every single piece of paperwork said no circ. Hopefully they would have had me sign off one more time before doing the procedure and it would have been caught, but it still made me nervous. They had LCs on staff, but only 8-5 M-F and DS1 was born on a weekend (caught the LC before we were d/c from the hospital). I had friends who delivered there, and their babies were given formula without consent, despite having the sign on their bassinet saying no pacifiers, bottles, etc.

 

SIL had a baby a year after I did at a less progressive hospital. They told her they were going to section her because she was "taking too long" even though baby was not in distress and this was SIL's 5th baby. That got her moving and she pushed my niece right out though LOL. Baby was automatically given sugar water because she was over 9 lbs (which isn't consistent with AAP policies. They didn't allow her to try to nurse first). They gave the baby formula/glucose without consent a few more times after that. The baby developed typical newborn jaundice and they told her she "had to supplement" or the baby "would develop brain damage." The baby was nursing okay and hydrated, peeing and pooping plenty. Again, this went against AAP's recommendations for newborn jaundice. Thankfully SIL was an experienced mom and made the decision to ignore them and my niece was totally fine.

 

There are progressive hospitals out there but unfortunately, they aren't as plentiful as many of us would like. It is unfortunate that women have to fight so hard against policies that lack good evidence, etc. While I used a CNM in a hospital for the birth of my oldest child, her hands were somewhat tied by having to follow hospital policy (even if it totally lacked evidence) on any number of points. That's frustrating :(

Edited September 3, 2011 by Momof3littles
typo

[tearose]

My experience has been big birthing rooms with cable TV, a recliner, rocking chair and private bath. Kind nurses who encouraged me to get up and walk around. Lots of help with nursing when I needed it. My babies sleeping in hospital bassinets right beside me from the get-go. They never left the room I was in if I wasn't right with them. When my son was born the anesthesiologist even bought the kids stuffed toys because my son was going to have the same name as him! There was no cold, sterile, stress-filled experience.

 

This was my hospital experience two years ago, too--well, except for the walking around part because my contractions were already two minutes apart, and I had DS in less than two hours. I had a lot of trouble with breastfeeding, and I got a lot of help and encouragement, both during my stay and afterwards. Both DH and I had a very positive experience and are happy that we'll be returning soon for DS #2. My hospital is a small-town hospital that serves the surrounding rural area as well (we live half an hour away).

 

ETA: I was given the choice to have the baby room with me or be in the nursery--it was totally up to me with no pressure either way. Also, I don't know if this is standard in other places, but my hospital provided dads with a bed and meals during mom/baby's entire stay. My DH is 6'7" so the rollaway bed was a little uncomfortable for him, but we appreciated that the hospital was very welcoming of fathers.

Edited September 3, 2011 by tearose

[Ria]

I had fantastic hospital births. One c-section (twins), 3 epidurals (at my request...er...demand), and the last without drugs. All were great births. Breastfeeding support was good at both hospitals. Except for the c-section, I labored and birthed in the same room and was encouraged to do whatever felt ok for me throughout.

 

As for the nursery - yes. Absolutely. In both hospitals, all six of my children were in a nursery at night. It's easier to have a single nurse watch over 10 babies than have 10 nurses watch over 10 babies while the moms sleep. That said, all my babies were brought to me, per my request, upon waking so that I could change and nurse them.

[*Lulu*]

All of mine have been hospital births; I've used two different hospitals in the same city.

 

All the births have been in rooms much like you describe, but the quality of care has varied a bit between deliveries. My first delivery I had a really bad nurse; it was only because my doctor and I had communicated a great deal about my birth expectations and because my family members were very vocal advocates that things went well. (I ended up with 6 nurses observing my delivery because they had never attended a natural birth before!)

 

With each child I have had an improvement in my experience. I attribute this to my ability to advocate more strongly from a position of experience and my increased understanding in what I needed from my OB.

 

We had a traumatic second birth so even if I had wanted a home birth DH would never have agreed. Poor man was scared out of his wits during that second birth. But he almost "caught" our last baby and would have had to assist the nurse if the OB hadn't shown up when he did!

 

Nursing went well for all, but I did receive some bad info with the first. My mom was my best resource though, she had nursed all of us and was/is a staunch supporter of BF.

Edited September 3, 2011 by BLA5

[linguistmama]

In my area it means increased risk of having serious interventions like csections when they are not truly needed for medical reasons. DD1 was born in the hospital. I got off lucky because the doctor decided to do a vacuum extraction instead of a csection. I had issues with dd1 latching incorrectly and finally one of the nurses was helpful right before I went home. I hope that in the future hospitals in our area will start to be more evidence based and supportive of natural birth. DD2 was born at home and we are planning another homebirth with this baby. It costs us more to have a homebirth, but I would have to fight for nurses to quit offering me an epidural just because everyone gets one etc. It's not worth it since I'm low risk.

[dangermom]

I also had very good experiences--well, as good as it gets with 24 hours of labor followed by a life-saving c-section. Everyone was wonderful.

[Momof3littles]

http://www.nationalpartnership.org/site/News2?abbr=daily2_&page=NewsArticle&id=29820

 

from the above:

About 93% of hospitals provide breastfeeding education to mothers, but fewer than half follow recommended practices to encourage breastfeeding, CDC found. About 14% of hospitals have written policies about breastfeeding (National Journal, 8/2). The report found that about one-half of hospitals help women initiate breastfeeding within one hour after birth, while one-fourth provide breastfeeding support, such as a phone call or referral to a lactation consultant (MedPage Today, 8/3).

[Mimm]

I have a very good experience in the hospital. No drugs either time, which was my goal. I was quite young. I got married at nineteen and got pregnant right away. I was rather shocked at how some doctors treat young moms-to-be like they're idiots or something. My doctor was super laid back. I think that makes a huge difference. I found him because he was a backup doctor for a midwife when she needed to do a transfer from her birthing center. If I got pregnant again (don't intend to, knock on wood), I wouldn't hesitate to have a hospital birth, even though I live in a different state. Who knows, maybe the hospitals here are awful, I wouldn't know. :)

 

I have heard heartbreaking birth stories. They do happen and all too often. :(

[Moniksca]

I had a wonderful birth with my 2nd ds and will deliver the third at the same hospital. My first wasn't horrendous, I was in a room with 2 other mothers and the hallways had no ceilings --> renovations, my nurse was b*tchy when I got there but it was the end of her shift and she was replaced with a nice woman.

[Mommy22alyns]

Both of my girls were born at the best place to have a baby in our area. When Rebecca was born, the hospital had North Tower, with whirlpool tubs, etc. I had a fantastic experience. For my youngest, I was on hospital bedrest for 4 weeks and she was born by medically necessary C-section. The nurses took amazing care of us. I did get good breastfeeding support, though they were very watchful with Sylvia because she was a preemie and jaundiced, so very sleepy. We did have to supplement her.

 

But no, I had nowhere near the nightmarish experiences I've read about online.

[butterflymommy]

Both hospitals I have near me are nursery-heavy and there is only one private room that you have to pay $300 cash for each night. And you only get it if it's available! This is the maternity/ recovery floor-- the delivery floor is all private rooms (except for triage, you're in a room with four beds and curtains, one bathroom for everyone). On the recovery floor, baby is in the nursery at night and they bring the baby to you to nurse (unless you've paid for the private room, then you can room in). Baby can room in during the day but only if you request it.

 

I feel kind of sad when I see these gorgeous delivery units on TV-- definitely not what I have available to me.

 

And zero breastfeeding help/ support/ knowledge at either hospital, though they don't discourage it.

[Kertie]

I have long thought that there must a big difference between my own experience and what those who are so anti-hospital. I had all 3 of mine at the same hospital in a huge room with a private bath, once with a hot tub (although I didn't use it--that's a whole other story about personal preferences!), and nurses who would not veer from my birth plan no matter how much I begged;). I had nurses I liked more than others because of their personality, but it had nothing to do with them pushing unwanted procedures on me. Baby was always in room with me. I could walk my heart out. In fact, with #3, when I finally went down on my knees, the nurses started prepping the FLOOR for delivery. *I* was the one that asked to get into the bed.

 

So, yeah...not all hospitals and medical personnel are intent on screwing up birth experiences:).

 

Oh, and I had a huge private room with my own bath and once even a whirlpool tub!

Edited September 3, 2011 by Kertie
more info:)

[ChristusG]

I had two great hospital births! Great doctors and nurses that seem to really care. I used a midwife to deliver both times. I had a nice, private birthing room with nicely painted walls....not your normal boring hospital looking room. There was a TV, places for family to sit, a private bathroom.

 

After I had the baby, they moved me to a private room with a private bathroom. There was a couch in there for people to sit on, and a chair that reclined for someone to sleep on. Not the most comfy chair ever, but it worked.

[Momof3littles]

http://www.ajog.org/article/S0002-9378%2806%2900300-0/abstract

 

In 2006 there was a study looking at how evidence-based ACOG guidelines were. They looked at practice bulletins from 1998-2004. The conclusion? Only 29% of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommendations are level A, based on good and consistent scientific evidence.

 

Level A defined by ACOG as: Based on good and consistent scientific evidence

 

An updated version of this study is out in the Sept issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and the findings haven't changed much.

 

The update apparently found:

Among the obstetrics recommendations, level A evidence was noted for 24.6% of the diagnostic recommendations, 46.7% of the counseling recommendations, 20.9% of the guidelines for evaluation, 27.4% of the treatment recommendations, and 4.2% of the guidelines concerning mode of delivery.

Edited September 3, 2011 by Momof3littles

[Robyn]

I have had three hospital births in two different hospitals and they were all very different experiences. My first was a breech c-section. My second and third were VBACs that I had to fight for-there is only one hospital left in South Shore/South Coast MA that will allow VBACs and as it was I ended up driving an hour away to deliver.

 

I had some great nurses, and some great midwives, but there were quite a few nurses that were just awful. I was pressured into continual monitoring and an IV with my second and pretty much ended up stuck in bed with a very slowly progressing labor. My water was broken even though I wanted to wait for it to break on its own and they were trying to push pitocin on me.

 

I had problems with a couple of the nurses pushing pacifiers, telling me that my baby was using me as a pacifier :001_huh:, and chiding me for curling up with my baby in my bed.

 

I had a wonderful birth experience with my third (horrible experience after he was born- a month in NICU), but I think it was partly because I arrived in transition. They really didn't get a chance to interfere, in fact, dh barely had time to fill out the paperwork.

 

I will be exploring my options with my next baby. I will most likely risk out of a birth center at this point because I had some clotting issues with my last pregnancy. Otherwise, I would be going to a birth center or planning a homebirth.

[happypamama]

The hospitals around the area where we had our DD (who was born in a freestanding birth center) had really high c-section rates, even in 2002, around 25% or so. Their episiotomy rates were high as well. The hospital that the birth center uses as their backup is good in case of emergency, but the BC's nurse/lactation consultant did not care for their breastfeeding support at all. That didn't thrill me. I've heard of too many people whose breastfeeding relationships were undermined by the hospital (though to be fair, I've heard very good stories as well).

 

My births have all been wonderful, one birth center and three home. Not having to travel was one huge plus in favor of home, plus being in my own bed, not having people come in to check on us in the middle of the night, etc. Plus, knowing who would be taking care of us, and limiting my newborn's exposure to outside germs were important to us. I also wanted support for drug-free birth, so I only chose people to be around me who could actively support that; it seems hit or miss in a lot of hospitals, depending on the nurse you get and such. I think the biggest reason we wanted to avoid the hospital, though, is because we wanted to treat birth as normal and not a medical occasion, unless something showed otherwise. I wanted things like keeping the baby with me at all times, free access for DH and siblings, no eye ointment, no vitamin K shot, no bath, no c*rcumcision, no offer of labor drugs, no directed pushing, etc. to be standard and not things we'd even have to think about fighting for. I didn't even write a birth plan for my second birth, because everything I wanted was a given.

 

Would a hospital have been successful for me? I don't know. My first was posterior, an 11.5 hour labor, with 1.5 hours of pushing, but no episiotomy or tearing in the end. I did well and didn't realize it had been that long, but whether a hospital would allow that length or not might depend on the hospital. My second -- I think a hospital would have been a bad idea, especially a very interventionist hospital. He was born very grey and fluidy, not breathing at all. I'm afraid that the backup hospital (not known for being natural-friendly) would have cut his cord and whisked him away from me, as I've heard has happened to people. At home, however, he never left my arms until he was cleared out and breathing well (MW gave him some oxygen while I held him), a good hour after birth, and he was fine. Also, I've had two babies well over 9 pounds, and in some states, that means automatic blood sugar testing. None of mine have had their blood sugars tested; we've just nursed and observed them, and they've been fine.

 

I'm not saying that hospital experiences can't be good. I just think that planning for home gives me a better shot, personally, at getting the things that are most important to me. I guess it's like public school vs. homeschool -- I call the shots for *my* body and *our* baby (and with my third and fourth babies, I chose a MW who was happy to be my support, not my director -- she worked for me, rather than me following her rules), and I'm not quick to yield control unless there's a truly valid reason.

[WishboneDawn]

My second and third were VBACs that I had to fight for-there is only one hospital left in South Shore/South Coast MA that will allow VBACs and as it was I ended up driving an hour away to deliver.

 

 

They don't allow them period? That's bizarre.

[Tarreymere]

As a former OB travel nurse, I have to say that the kind of hospital birth you might have really depends on the culture at a particular hospital, the doctor on call for your OB practice, and even on the nurse or nurses assigned to you. Even the most restrictive and 'old fashioned' birth practices are usually done with the best of intentions if not the best or latest information. And yes, there are still places that do still have separate labor, delivery, and post-partum rooms and the post-partum rooms are not always private. Sometimes the labor rooms are not private. There still exist places that keep the baby in the nursery most of the time and give sugar water and pacifiers to the breastfeeding babies, not to subvert breastfeeding but because they either don't know better or haven't bothered to look up the research. Some places have no breastfeeding support, and some are still shocked at the odd baby that isn't automatically circ'ed. Sometimes the roadblock is a doctor who practices exactly the same way she was trained by the dinosaurs who taught her in her residency, sometimes the roadblock is the 'dinosaur' himself. Sometimes the roadblock is a nurse who has practiced the same way for thirty years and thinks she knows better than the doctors......even though nurses are supposed to follow the orders they are given. And occasionally the real problem is burn-out, either the doctor or the nurse you are assigned. There do exist 'Standards of Practice' put out by the various professional organizations involved (ACOG, AWHONN, ect) but these are not required to be followed. And most disturbingly, it is the guidelines and standards of practice published by the OB doctors professional association (ACOG) that were the least likely to be based in science and research.

Edited September 3, 2011 by Rainefox

[LibraryLover]

Both of my sisters had awesome hospital births with a midwife. My youngest sister had an amazing experience especially. They let the baby sleep in her bed all night to nurse. All my kids were born at home, but I had surgery last year and I was in love with my nurses and the food was great (which shocked me!). Good drugs and a comfy bed in a private room is a wonderful thing. ;) Too bad you have to limit sleep aids and pain meds when you have a baby. ;)

[Heather in Neverland]

I had fantastic hospital births. One c-section (twins), 3 epidurals (at my request...er...demand), and the last without drugs. All were great births. Breastfeeding support was good at both hospitals. Except for the c-section, I labored and birthed in the same room and was encouraged to do whatever felt ok for me throughout.

 

As for the nursery - yes. Absolutely. In both hospitals, all six of my children were in a nursery at night. It's easier to have a single nurse watch over 10 babies than have 10 nurses watch over 10 babies while the moms sleep. That said, all my babies were brought to me, per my request, upon waking so that I could change and nurse them.

 

This describes my experience to a T although I only did it one time. :D

 

I had a wonderful experience at my hospital!

[Carrie12345]

I've had horrible experiences and great experiences, including a mix in the same hospital. And with the same midwife. It's always depended on the nursing staff on duty.

 

With number five, I actually had one nurse who pitched a fit, insisting I be hooked up to the monitors and stay in bed. I drove her crazy, trying to compromise. After the shift change, the next nurse let me do whatever I wanted with a smile.

[Robyn]

They don't allow them period? That's bizarre.

 

My only option would have been to schedule a csection and not shown up, then come in in active labor and sign a waiver, all the while being guilted and coerced into the section. :glare:

 

So I chose to drive the hour to the only hospital south of Boston that would "let me" give birth naturally, even though I had already had a successful VBAC. And that hospital also happens to have the highest csection rate in the state.

 

It really is bizarre.

[Crissy]

Hospital birth is all I know.

When I recall the two experiences I think of the wisdom of my doctors (both of whom I LOVED), the kindness of my nurses, the comfortable experience and the fact that they respected my request to go drug-free, etc.

 

I was a single mother the first time around, and the hospital staff was incredibly accommodating to my mom and dad. They were my birthing partners and were treated as such.

 

The second experience was equally wonderful for my husband.

[momma2three]

My only option would have been to schedule a csection and not shown up, then come in in active labor and sign a waiver, all the while being guilted and coerced into the section. :glare:

 

So I chose to drive the hour to the only hospital south of Boston that would "let me" give birth naturally, even though I had already had a successful VBAC. And that hospital also happens to have the highest csection rate in the state.

 

It really is bizarre.

 

I gave birth at that hospital, too! I had a great experience all 3 times, even though I did have C sections. Their lactation specialists were amazingly wonderful and I wanted to bring them all home from the hospital. I refer to it as my 4-day resort stay with all the free babysitting I wanted... :lol:

[linguistmama]

They don't allow them period? That's bizarre.

 

A neighbor had a vbac with her second at the closest hospital only because she stayed home as long as possible and arrived far enough along that the baby was born soon after. Her doctor said that he might allow a vbac, but probably not. It was ridiculous because she was a good candidate for vbac, 1 previous csection, newer incision etc.

[Sevilla]

Here is what I loved at my homebirth that was not an option at my hospital birth:

 

1. No IV or Heplock - my body was totally free of wires/needles

2. Moving around as I wanted to - I was on the toilet, in the shower, on the floor, in the bed, on a birth ball, standing against a wall, etc...

3. Limited vaginal checks, and the ones that I did have were STANDING UP because laying in the bed was far too painful in labor

4. No belts for monitoring the baby - instead I had a doppler held on me in whatever position I happened to be in

5. Being in my own bed post-delivery to relax, using my own shower, not having to clean up at all and just relaxing with my baby at home in peace

6. Not having to drive somewhere in the middle of labor - being able to focus entirely on my labor-zone without interruption from nurses asking questions, etc...

7. No pitocin injection for the placenta to deliver, no pressure to clamp the cord early, no pressure to bathe the newborn.

 

I'm not sure I'll homebirth again with my next baby (mostly due to lack of local providers) and when the time comes to consider a hospital birth I have a far longer list of desires/questions than I did the first time around b/c of my experience of freedom at home.

[brehon]

My kids were born in/will be born in a hospital. The two outside the womb were born in a maternity hospital and TBA will be born in a local general hospital.

 

My experience has been big birthing rooms with cable TV, a recliner, rocking chair and private bath. Kind nurses who encouraged me to get up and walk around. Lots of help with nursing when I needed it. My babies sleeping in hospital bassinets right beside me from the get-go. They never left the room I was in if I wasn't right with them. When my son was born the anesthesiologist even bought the kids stuffed toys because my son was going to have the same name as him! There was no cold, sterile, stress-filled experience.

 

It's probably why I never understood some of the opposition to hospital births or appeal of midwives and home births here until I just read a thread were it was mentioned babies were still being sent to the nursery. In 2011?? Wow.

 

So I just wonder now if my experience was rare, some special Canuckistan privilege or those of us with good hospital birth stories just tend to be quieter about it.

 

My first 4 kids were born in a hospital much like you describe. Babies rooming in, lots of breastfeeding support - especially for 1st time moms, wonderful labor/delivery rooms, nurses who offered but didn't push interventions, etc. I have no idea if this is rare or not; but, this hospital is a major hospital in my area.

 

There is another hospital in my area that is the polar opposite. Interesting thing is that this second hospital is part of the same network as the one I gave birth in. I visited a friend of mine who had delivered her first baby in the second hospital. I was there when the nurses told my friend that the baby "wasn't allowed" to sleep in the bassinet in the mother's room. My friend and her dh were upset, but thought they couldn't argue. I was the one who ever so calmly informed the nurse that babies most certainly could room in. <back later -- got a call>

[linders]

In fact, they had a lactation expert meet with me beforehand, then come to the room right after the birth (help that was desperately needed with first DS.) No one even asked about going to a nursery - the hospital didn't maintain a large one, they just assumed baby would be in your room.

[WishboneDawn]

A neighbor had a vbac with her second at the closest hospital only because she stayed home as long as possible and arrived far enough along that the baby was born soon after. Her doctor said that he might allow a vbac, but probably not. It was ridiculous because she was a good candidate for vbac, 1 previous csection, newer incision etc.

 

It was taken for granted at my hospital (and with this baby when it comes) that I would have a Vbac unless there were some pretty out of the ordinary circumstances. wow.

[linguistmama]

It was taken for granted at my hospital (and with this baby when it comes) that I would have a Vbac unless there were some pretty out of the ordinary circumstances. wow.

 

That's awesome! If we had a hospital like that in our area I would probably deliver there since it would be so much cheaper without needless risk.

[Momof3littles]

It was taken for granted at my hospital (and with this baby when it comes) that I would have a Vbac unless there were some pretty out of the ordinary circumstances. wow.

 

You may be interested in looking up the report the NIH put together after convening a group to examine the vbac situation here in the US.

 

In some areas of the country, vbacs are very, very tough to come by.

 

http://consensus.nih.gov/2010/vbacstatement.htm

 

eta: from the above:

Among low-risk women, the repeat cesarean delivery rate had increased to 89 percent by 2003. Since 2003, U.S. Standard Birth Certificates have included information on VBAC and trial of labor. Among the 19 states that had adopted the standard certificate, approximately 92 percent of all women who had a previous cesarean had a repeat cesarean for their next delivery in 2006. A sharp rise in repeat cesareans was observed at all maternal ages and for all racial/ethnic groups.

[FrogMom5]

My experience was similar to yours. Both hospitals we used gave us a warm, home-like room with a recliner, rocking chair, shower with a bench and kind staff. If I hadn't had my first dc in a hospital, we both would have died. For my dd, it was no question, I had to be in a hospital.

 

Also, the nurses were very supportive of breast feeding and co-sleeping. Maybe I was lucky but my experiences were good.

Denise

[celticmom]

In my case the hospital almost seriously harmed me not once but multiple times. I have multiple severe allergies, my doctor and the hospital were informed of foods and medications that I could not have. They tried to give me medications and feed me foods that would make me sick at least three times. Rooming in was not allowed, breastfeeding support was nonexistent. I ended up with PTSD from the way I was treated. I wish that place had washed into the sea during Katrina(no I am not joking, I hate. that. place.).

[MrsBasil]

My kids were born in/will be born in a hospital. The two outside the womb were born in a maternity hospital and TBA will be born in a local general hospital.

 

My experience has been big birthing rooms with cable TV, a recliner, rocking chair and private bath. Kind nurses who encouraged me to get up and walk around. Lots of help with nursing when I needed it. My babies sleeping in hospital bassinets right beside me from the get-go. They never left the room I was in if I wasn't right with them. When my son was born the anesthesiologist even bought the kids stuffed toys because my son was going to have the same name as him! There was no cold, sterile, stress-filled experience.

 

It's probably why I never understood some of the opposition to hospital births or appeal of midwives and home births here until I just read a thread were it was mentioned babies were still being sent to the nursery. In 2011?? Wow.

 

So I just wonder now if my experience was rare, some special Canuckistan privilege or those of us with good hospital birth stories just tend to be quieter about it.

 

This was similar to my experience. I ended up havingto have a c-section, but was encouraged to walk around as I could within a day. Rooming in was encouraged, but they would send DS to a nursery while I was still heavily medicated from the c-section unless another person was in the room. I understand why, even if I don't love that.

 

There was a big whirpool tub to labor/relax in. The hospital had no policy on waterbirths, it was up to your provider.

 

I wasn't pushed into a c-section. My water broke on a Sunday. I was given 12 hours to dilate naturally, that didn't happen, we tried induction and that failed, so after close to 40 hours we had a c-section. My midwife, the OB, and the nurses knew I didn't want one and were pretty apologetic about it.

 

Every recover room is a private room with a space for a spouse or plus one to sleep.

[Embassy]

3 hospital births - all were in nice private rooms.

 

But I had to fight with the system for each birth.

 

Nursing support was horrible for my first birth and I lived in a hippy area. Nurses didn't know what they were doing. I did have a great lactation consultant that helped undo what was done. Formula was promoted and I walked out of the hospital with my son on formula. It took 6 weeks and a great deal of effort to get off the formula. In addition I was strong-armed to switch to a different hospital at the last minute by my doctor and went through the domino effect of interventions. This is in addition to having ten thousand tests during the pregnancy and being told the possibility of x, y, and z. At least my doctor apologized for the strong-arming.

 

For my second birth I was in a different state. I had a great doctor and a doula to help me. Birthing was quick and easy (20 minutes from doctor breaking my water to baby coming without any further interventions). But afterwards I had to fight with the nurses. They did not respect my wishes to have my son not receive sugar water. I had let them take my son to the nursery for a check-up. That was a mistake. I had to insist that they bring him back immediately and tell them to send a doctor to tell me that the testing results that showed my son was fine weren't correct. I refused to let him out of my sight after that.

 

For my third birth I was in a different state and was on state insurance. That is the most horrid thing ever. I had a CNM at first, but she switched me to a doctor at the end for a slight high-risk issue. The doctor insisted that I be induced if my daughter went over her due date and if I didn't listen to her my baby could die. I never went back to that doctor and just waited for my baby to come on her own and went to the hospital with my doula and had a wonderful natural intervention-free birth a day after my daughter's due date. I accompanied my daughter everywhere she went. I had to beg to get out of there the next day and they released us and set us up home lights for my daughter's slight jaundice.

Edited September 3, 2011 by Wehomeschool

[elegantlion]

My hospital experience was nothing like yours, OP. Mine involved Friday night to Monday afternoon labor (of which I remember almost nothing!), allergies to one medication, an emergency c-section with full anesthesia because they finally figured out after 2 1/2 days that scar tissue from a previous surgery was causing issues.

 

They let some young nurse practice IVs on me, my entire arm was black and blue. I watched her try five times to stick me, until the experienced nurse took over. I was on morphine after the c-section because I'm allergic to demerol, so everything was really funky, what I remember. I was in a different part of the hospital because of my surgery, nothing fantastic about the accommodations, no recliner, no toys, nothing. I never even saw ds in the nursery because I couldn't get out of bed for a few days.

 

My ds got to go home before I did. I remember bawling my eyes out one night because he was at home with dh and my mom. It was the night Rich Mullins was killed. I was so upset because I sat up and watched fish tv (christian music videos) the entire time I was pregnant because of insomnia.

 

After a week I went home. The doctor suggested my body probably wasn't suited for another pregnancy, I whole heartily agreed. :lol: That's one of the reason we have ONE (1) child.

[Amy in NH]

Sterile environment

Limited movement

Discouragement in listening to my body

Focus on monitors instead of me and the baby

Drug-pushing nurses

Doctors who come in at the last minute to "catch" the baby

Nurses taking my babies somewhere and trying to give them sugar-water or pacifiers while I'm trying to establish on demand breast-feeding and a milk supply

 

My first two were born in the hospital, my second two were born at home.

 

With my hospital births I had the same ugly corridor to walk up and down for hours and hours, in between being hooked up for monitoring. It was all so cold and impersonal.

 

With my home births, I could walk around my yard during labor and eat fresh raspberries off the bushes, bake a birthday cake, and watch a funny movie with my family and friends. I could eat and drink as I felt I needed to, and was able to keep up my strength. It was a fun, joyous experience. And I got to sleep in my comfortable bed with my new baby and dh instead of being poked all night by nurses while my baby was stuck in a glass crib.

[ktgrok]

All the local hospitals have c-section rates over 40%, if that tells you anything. Almost all births are induced. My ex husband is a nurse, and during his rotation through OB he didn't see a single woman make it through labor without pitocin. NOT ONE! I know pitocin has a place, but you can't tell me every single woman has a labor too slow for safety! The biggest hospital near here, the one most people use, requires a 4 hour nursery stay after a c-section, and their c-section rate is almost 50 percent. They do not allow water or even ice chips during labor, despite the ACOG revised statement saying women be allowed clear fluids. I know 3 women that delivered there, two fainted, one during l abor and one after the birth. Both women told the nurses they felt light headed but were forced to walk themselves to the bathroom. One was my sister, and they didn't have anyone strong enough to move her, so her husband had to carry her limp body back to the bed, screaming at her to wake up. She said she only came to because she heard his voice. Another nearby hospital has a nurse that told someone I know, just yesterday, that "if you didn't want an epidural you should have gone to a birth center. Here we do assebly line births." Yes, she actually said that! (they got a different nurse a few hours later).

 

Oh, and one of the local hospitals is where a woman contracted a staph infection after a c-section that left her a quadruple amputee.

 

Mind you, all these hospitals have gorgeous rooms, cable tv, etc. Two of them have spa services. The big one, that I mentioned above, has marble countertops in the bathrooms and gourmet room service. Too bad they won't let you even have clear fluids during labor.

 

Maybe that explains why I had a homebirth :)

[WishboneDawn]

I did have induced births. First time my water broke but there was no sign of labour coming on. I went in and we made an appointment for late the next day to come back to be induced if labour hadn't started. It didn't so induction number 1.

 

Second time my son was overdue. I went to see the OB on my due date and we scheduled an appt. for a week away. If he hadn't come by then I'd be induced. He didn't come so there was induction number 2.

 

Neither bothered me much. the reasons for them seemed pretty sound and they were't done to simply speed up labour.

[GWOB]

All three of mine were born in hospitals. The first two were less than exceptional, mostly because I gave birth in Navy hospitals. The last one was awesome. It was my most laid back, calm experience. I did have a midwife who really stood up for me, No IV, no confinement to the bed, nothing I didn't want. I think if the OB would have been on call that night, he would have done the same thing. Hospital births don't scare me one bit (well, except for Navy hospital births). Doctors don't intimidate me, so I have no problem standing up for myself and making my wishes/demands known. Honestly, in a doctor/patient relationship, the patient is the employer and the doctor is the employee. You seem assertive enough to not be bullied into anything you don't want to do. It will be fine. And it will be over soon enough.;):)

[littlebug42]

I had two great experiences with the births of my daughters. They were both born at the same hospital. The labor/delivery rooms were private complete and very comfortable, not to mention huge. They even have hardwood floors (or laminate that looks like hard wood). It was a very homey atmosphere. No episiotomy either time. My OB was there for a while with my first stretching me etc to avoid tearing. My second came too fast for that though. My wants were never dismissed.

 

After the girls were born, I was moved to a private mother/baby room, all of which had these great sitz bath things for after delivery. I could keep the baby with me as much as I wanted but for security they did ask for the baby to go back to the nursery if no one in the room would be awake. I did send the babies back to the nursery at night so I could get some sleep but the nurses always brought them back when they needed me. No pacifiers or sugar water were pushed. There was also a lactation consultant on staff at the hospital that helped if I needed it. If I were to have another child, I would go back to that hospital in a heart beat. We received excellent care both times. If my pregnancies could just be as good as my births, I would have several more kids. :001_smile:

[oraetstudia]

I have had very nice hospital deliveries for all of mine -- all born at the same big teaching hospital with the same doctor delivering. He even stayed over after his shift to deliver my youngest.

 

I won't say everything was perfect. I've had some with epidurals and those didn't always go in well and every time they wanted more monitoring than I would have liked.

 

Having heard some horror stories, I don't mind the heplock at all.

 

After my last delivery, I was very, very grateful that I was in a hospital, because my son didn't want to start breathing on his own and he was blue. His first Apgar was a 2 and the pediatrician on call and the OB were fighting over whether to give him a 1 or a 2. However, within seconds making the call that he wasn't breathing, they had him over on a warming bed, surrounded by a team of doctors and nurses. An oxygen mask was on him and an IV in him and by his second Apgar he was an 8.

 

After delivery, we did move to a different room, which didn't bother me. Except for an hour in the morning when pediatricians do rounds, it was always up to me whether to keep the baby in my room or send them to the nursery. Maybe I'm heartless, but there have been a few times when I did send a baby to the nursery so I could have a few hours of sleep (after very long labors or late in the evening deliveries, but when they went to the nursery, they were always brought back to me when they got hungry.

 

Even though I'd be a good candidate for a home birth, with pretty easy labors and all, I've been very happy with my hospital births.

[Gailmegan]

My first was a hospital birth.

 

I had unwanted interventions essentially forced on me (even with a pre-written "plan"), a nurse who only peeked her head in on occasion (was left fully dilated for three hours before the OB came and had me push), nurses in recovery who contradicted each other, gave me bad nursing advice and sent me home with a box of glucose water bottles - oh, and every time I manged to finally close my eyes when the baby was asleep they would come in and wake me up to take my blood pressure/temperature (which had NEVER been abnormal at all). It didn't matter that I needed rest, only that I was next on their checklist. It took me years to get over the abuse. And yes, I do call it abuse in retrospect. If I had the time or energy I might sue. I haven't covered even a quarter of the details in this response. It was a horrifying nightmare.

 

Needless to say my other two were born at birthing centers with amazing midwives who supported and empowered me. I only wish I had known better first time around.

[UnsinkableKristen]

I've had three wonderful hospital births, and while I have seen great home births as well, I had such great experiences that I see no reason to change for #4 :001_smile:

[boscopup]

My first was a hospital birth only because my water broke at 29 weeks. I had been planning an out-of-hospital birth. It wasn't the most horrible thing ever, but it was clear to me that the hospital policies were archaic. Many of the policies were NOT evidence based, both for L&D and also for the NICU care (like no kangaroo care allowed :confused:). The rooms are beautiful, but honestly, that didn't at all make up for the fact that I had an IV (necessary in this case, but for a full term birth, they would still require it), doppler belt attached, and I was forced to stay in bed and couldn't labor or birth upright like my body was screaming to do. I managed to go drug free only because I was in the Antepartum unit most of the labor. The nurses thought all first time moms take a long time to labor. :tongue_smilie: Nevermind that my mother and sister both had quick births. Yep, mine was 2.5 hours start to finish. I had told them to expect it, and they didn't believe me.

 

I had two births out-of-hospital (I cross the state line to a rented house), and they were both wonderful. No IV, no attached doppler (she used a hand held to check in whatever position I happened to be in), I was able to labor in whatever position I wanted, I could do a waterbirth (not allowed at the hospital), and my midwife was a FRIEND who I knew very well because I'd had hour long appointments throughout my pregnancy, chatting and learning about each other. By the third pregnancy, she knew my pregnancy and labor patterns as well as I did. :D I can't say the same about my OB, though he is a nice guy (I saw him for prenatals as a "just in case" measure for pregnancies #2 and #3... IF I had to birth in a hospital, I'd have my best chances of a good birth with him).

 

After the out-of-hospital births, I got to go home within a couple hours and rest in my own comfy recliner, use my own bathroom and shower, etc. No unnecessary uterine massage/torture, no visits to the OB postpartum. The midwife came to my house and checked my baby multiple times in the first weeks, watching for jaundice, weighing him, making sure he was nursing well, etc.

 

So my hospital birth memories are memories of fighting to keep me and my baby safe (due to policies that go against evidence based medicine), whereas my out-of-hospital births are warm, happy memories. No fighting necessary. I also had a care provider that I could trust to deal with a medical emergency. She was equipped to handle some things (O2, etc.), and she watched carefully for any signs that it's time to transport to a hospital.

[BakersDozen]

I've had a range of truly horrible hospital experiences and truly wonderful experiences. At this point I expect a nice environment (thanks to completely rennovated facitilies), baby with me at all times, and difficult nurses. ;)

 

The most important thing to me about a hospital birth has nothing to do with the accomodations or staff; for me, it's all about the epidural! I'd give birth in a 10X10 room with nothing but a cot and nurses whom I hate if it meant getting that wonderful epi. :D That alone makes any experience bearable.

[Paige]

It really depends on the hospital, OB you see, and your nurses what your experience in the US, and I guess anywhere will be.

 

I have delivered in 3 different hospitals in 3 different cities.

 

First was in a rural area that was extremely mother/baby friendly. I had a country, Amish friendly OB who was practically a doula himself! I had a doula and she and my OB got along really well. He delivered her children. My birth was not the easiest but I have no complaints about my treatment or my experience. They did everything they could to support me and my baby stayed with me as much as I wanted him to. I saw a lactation consultant the first day and she was very helpful and supportive. The hospital provided all new moms with a breast pump, we got special meals with candles, a little table with a white tablecloth and even special food- real, nice food- for moms and DH both to share to celebrate baby's birth for the 2nd night, and they offered new moms' playgroups facilitated by lactation consultants and childbirth educators, mother's sharing groups without baby (like a PPD preventative thing), and free lactation support services once you were home for all moms who delivered there. That was the best hospital ever!

 

My 2nd experience was with premature twins in a large city. I was life flighted to a hospital where I had to see a new OB but I was fortunate that my doula could still come. This was totally different!! The Drs were extremely old school. No getting out of bed, constant internal monitoring, no food or water, do this, do that, no knocking before coming into room with 15 of their intern friends, told me that if I didn't agree with what they wanted to do that they would probably have to break my pelvis and cut me from vagina to belly button! Awful. Additionally, they insisted on doing "sterile spec" cervix checks without telling me, and had I known what was up, I would have refused. Most painful experience ever!! After I delivered, the dr and intern team walked in on me pumping, shirt open and all, and just started talking. They didn't knock, didn't excuse themselves, ask if I needed a minute or anything. Honestly, I really feel it was much more traumatic with the hospital procedures and doctors than it was to have my babies in the NICU! Additionally, the doula and doctors were fighting all the time (big props to my doula for staying!), the nurses were in a horrible position with the doctors pressuring them on one side and them trying to support me on the other, and they didn't even bring me warm blankets. I got a goody bag full of formula, and the LC was a man and didn't even see me despite the fact that I asked for one (wouldn't someone with preemie twins be top of the list?) until the babies in the NICU were over a week old.

 

My last delivery was at a mid size city with no doula but a midwife instead and in a hospital. It was fine. The nurses were very nice, my midwife was super, the hospital room was just ok. I have no complaints but there was none of the warm fuzzies that I had with my first baby. No goodie bag. No special meal. No special birth certificate or foot and hand prints. The baby stayed with me but nobody asked if I needed a lactation consultant. (I didn't).

 

I think part of the reason many mothers want to avoid the hospital is because you never know what you will get! Will you end up with hospital experience number 1, 2, or 3? At least in a birthing center or with a midwife you can be pretty sure it won't be hospital number 2. If I had a choice between hospital experience #2 and staying home and delivering unassisted, I would stay home unless there were complications and then I would go to the ER and hope to stay there rather than being sent to L&D.

[Daisy]

I have no regrets about giving birth in a hospital. My experience was much like you described. Everyone was very supportive. I had a lactation consultant help me with breastfeeding.

 

Both of mine were induced because I stall out at 5cm forever. I had epidurals although it didn't work with my first child.

 

I'm not much of a granola mom though either.

[WishboneDawn]

I :001_wub::001_wub::001_wub: epidurals. :D