How did you/would you (OB nurses) handle your own hospital birth?

klone, MSN, RN · Mar 26, 2011

My third child was born while I was an OB nurse. He was born in the hospital at which I worked.

First, I hand-picked the nurses I wanted there. Both of them were very natural-minded and could provide labor support. I told them both in advance that I do not want an epidural, so if I asked for one during labor, they should ignore my request (I did, and they did :)).

I insisted on intermittent monitoring, which while okay per hospital P&P, wasn't done very often. I did not want a running IV, and requested a saline lock. My nurse offered to not start an IV at all, and we could give pit IM after delivery, but I said that I wanted the SL.

I told them in advance that as soon as I got to 8cm, they need to call the physician in for delivery, because my transition and pushing stages go VERY quickly (I also told my OB that ahead of time).

Most importantly, I asked if my husband could deliver the baby, and the OB had no problem with it. She was totally hands off, just verbally telling him what to do. So his hands were the first hands that were laid upon our son. :)

All in all, the labor and delivery were lovely, in large part because I was able to call the shots and orchestrate what I wanted.

Edited to add: I considered a homebirth with a midwife, and actually my second child was a homebirth with a midwife, but at that time we lived in a different area where there were only two options for homebirth midwives and I didn't like either of them. I felt okay with a hospital birth because I worked there and felt in control of the situation.

His name is Leo, so you can be the judge on whether it's weird or not. :)

iteachob, MSN, RN · Mar 26, 2011

I don't work at the hospital where I delivered, but I am an OB nursing professor and also do clinical teaching, so they know me well at the hospital.

I wasn't treated any differently than anyone else.....I don't think. I'm very easy-going and pretty much let them do their usual protocol. The only thing that I would point out is that a little knowledge can be quite unnerving.

First unnerving thing: They drew blood and then came back about an hour later for more...."why?", I asked. "They want to double check your platelets.....they're 84,000". EXCUSE ME. "Oh, and your B/P is up". (Well, yeah...you just told me my platelet count was crap). Turned out I have large platelets (???.....never heard of that) that the machine was counting as WBC's, and the manual count was within normal. Whew, disaster avoided.

Second unnerving thing: Son had a nuchal cord, so I got to listen to some lovely variable decelerations every once in a while.

Third unnerving thing: Being put in McRoberts maneuver....and knowing why. Things turned out well, though.

Son is named after his grandfather....and while it's not a terribly common name, it is a normal one: Ross

CEG · Mar 27, 2011

I was working in a terrible facility as an RN and had a homebirth with my third;)

I am now a CNM and planning another homebirth (different and better facility) but everyone just attributes it to me being a crazy CNM so I don't get harrassed like I did last time.

Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP · Mar 27, 2011

I had one birth 6 years ago being a nurse but not an OB nurse. I'll be having another one in a couple months knowing a lot more now than I did then.

I hope to not go into labor where I work for multiple reasons. But if I do, I have already talked with a couple nurses who are known to be good with women who would like minimal intervention. They've promised to either labor me or have told me to please call them at home if they're not there. But because my docs don't have privileges at my workplace, I'd be getting a resident delivering me, which I do not want. I'd much rather one of the good L&D nurses do it and just pretend she just shot out with no time to call the docs.

One of my good friends works L&D at the place where I will be delivering if all goes according to plan. She promised to come help me with my labor. My first birth there, I didn't wany many interventions and ended up with just about everything but a c/section. Pretty typical cascade, when I look back. So I'm really hoping for something different this time - and I know what to do/ask for and what not to do. (I'd love to homebirth but it is illegal for CPMs to practice in my state, and in any case, there are two CNMs and two CPMs that do homebirths, none of whom are anywhere close to me...so I really don't get to choose.) I guess the one thing they do/did differently is they talk to me in medicalese because that's what I understand best - they did it when I had #1 and have so far done it with this one as well.

I don't think I was a particularly difficult patient, but the staff may have other perceptions. In any case, if I am a difficult patient it has less to do with my being a nurse and more to do with my personality. I am just stubborn and have a low tolerance for bull-hockey. But I try not to be one that calls the doctor's office a thousand times to make sure I sneezed out of the right nostril, and when in the hospital I try to not be a call bell queen.

And no....neither of my kids have/will have particularly unusual names. :)

tablefor9, RN · Mar 27, 2011

Birth #1-3 were in hospital, CNMs attending, I was an ICU RN. So, "standard operating procedure". #3 was a precip...so #4 was an induction, different facility, the same year I moved to L&D. It was a labor from the fiery pit.

Birth #5 was lovely...intermittent monitoring, up to shower/ball/walk/whatever, nurse assisted delivery (OB was washing his hands, which, hey, I appreciate hand hygiene as much as the next girl...)

Birth #6 was prenatal care at the Farm in Tennessee, but ended up delivering at my own hospital for logistical reasons...my coworkers knew I'd planned on delivery at the Farm, and I'd only been on that unit 10 months. They humored the hippie chick from Florida and gave me my best birth ever. NST on arrival, intermittent monitoring, shower for discomfort, privacy...it was lovely.

Birth #7 was complicated by peripartal cardiomyopathy, a pit induction with hopes of keeping me out of deep doo and off the transplant list (yes, my EF was that bad). Little dude was wrapped in cord, so it made for a crazy ride, but I still did it with no epidural, position changes as much as he was able to tolerate, and I felt very supported by my people.

I feel that my birth stories cover a broad spectrum, the key has been being very open about what I wanted and expected, without being a jerk. Who knows better than a labor RN that you gotta roll with the punches and be ready to flip to plan B? I feel very blessed to have been able to give some of my coworkers a vision of a different kind of birth.

And, names? Well, ours are old, family names...several hundreds of years of tradition. But, as a friend of mine would say, the important thing is you can find them on a pencil.