I am a CRNA who is currently 33 weeks pregnant with my first child. As of right now I am planning on delivering at a birth center near my home. However, I know the possibility may arise where I need to be transferred to the hospital, or I may get into labor and decide on my own that I'd rather deliver at the hospital. I am very determined to have a natural birth (i.e., no epidural, no IV meds)....obviously the birth center I am going to is very pro-natural birth. My concern, if I do need/decide to go to the hospital to deliver, is that the nurses there will not be very "natural birth friendly." I have been around OB long enough to get a feel for a lot of nurses attitudes towards things like natural births, birth plans, doulas, etc....and let's just say they are less than positive. I've sat in the nurses lounge and heard comments about how annoying patients are who want to have natural births, and how they "already have their paperwork ready for a c-section." This really upsets me and is one of the reasons that I don't want to go to the hospital to deliver. I want to be in an environment that is supportive of mine and my husband's wishes and I'm afraid that the hospital will not be that place.
So tell me, how do most L&D nurses really feel about natural birth? Are patients who come in requesting to go natural really treated with disdain and annoyance from the nurses? How do you feel about patients who refuse certain procedures (i.e., IV sticks, continuous EFM, etc.)? Obviously I will be putting the health of my baby first and foremost and if there is a medical necessity for any intervention I will be more than willing to have it....I just don't want a lot of unnecessary interventions attempted for the convenience of the staff. Sorry if I rambled a bit, just trying to get a feel for what to expect. Thanks in advance for any responses!!! :nuke:
Talk to your midwife and ask about how much freedom her patients have when delivering (voluntarily) at the hospital. The more you can find out ahead of time, the fewer surprises you will have, and the safer and more confident you should feel.
Maybe you can take a tour as well. That might give you a "feel" for the place.
You sound like a reasonable person with realistic plans. Hopefully, your midwife has the autonomy at the hospital to bypass any of the "normal" interventions she feels to be unnecessary.
I really hope all goes well for you and your wee one. If you are 33 weeks, your due date must be right around Christmas Day. What a great present!
I just started reading "Homebirth in a Hospital" it is pretty good; it may give you some tips on the planning part; like what hospital to go to if you need to be transfered. However, if you are transfered for medical reasons you can probably expect to have interventions; a midwife in a birth center is not going to transfer you for any ol reason
Do the research on the facility you want to deliver at if need arises. Talk to your midwife. Get all the details, the good and the ugly.
My current job does not support Midwifes, Doulas, Birth Plans or anything of the sort. The doctors do not support it, the staff does not support it. They are catty, mean and hateful to those who present with a birth plan. They will shred a patient and her Doula. It's horrible.
I'm quitting this week because I can't in good conscious continuing working in an environment that is so catty, nasty and disrespectful to their patients. Not to mention, they are so reactive rather than proactive.
However, I'm going to be starting at GREAT facility that supports moms wishes (with in reason of course). So they exist. Just make sure everyone is on board with your plan.
Do the research on the facility you want to deliver at if need arises. Talk to your midwife. Get all the details, the good and the ugly.
My current job does not support Midwifes, Doulas, Birth Plans or anything of the sort. The doctors do not support it, the staff does not support it. They are catty, mean and hateful to those who present with a birth plan. They will shred a patient and her Doula. It's horrible.
I'm quitting this week because I can't in good conscious continuing working in an environment that is so catty, nasty and disrespectful to their patients. Not to mention, they are so reactive rather than proactive.
However, I'm going to be starting at GREAT facility that supports moms wishes (with in reason of course). So they exist. Just make sure everyone is on board with your plan.
BTW, congrats
That's terrible!! I hope you have more satisfaction at your new job. When I found out I was pregnant I started doing a lot of research on the topics of natural and low-intervention births. I even ordered the DVD "The Business of Being Born" and watched it....quite eye-opening....I can't believe how medicalized birth is nowadays and that nothing has been done about it. I definitely feel that a lot of women (nurses included) are "brain-washed" into thinking that more medical intervention = better outcomes. DH is a nurse too and I got him on board with the whole "natural thing". If this birth goes well I think we will be having our next one at home with a midwife.
I was born 2 weeks after Christmas, and when I was little my mom would have my birthday parties in the spring- I was sold on this because it meant I could have an outdoor party, but now I suspect it had more to do with rebounding from Christmas than being able to have a party at the zoo....
The nurses at my work are supportive of natural birth if that's what a patient wants.
I'd be happy it if all (well, most all!) my patients wanted to go natural.
But as a nurse I am limited to MD orders ("protocols" aren't mine, they are the hospitals or MD's - we don't have midwives), so as others have written, I would talk to your midwife and back up MD about their standing orders and what you can realistically expect if you go to the hospital. Or, if it's the hospital that you work at as a CRNA, go have a little talk with the nurses for the scoop on protocols/standing orders and what patients are normally able to do.
I am not in a place to dictate most items that commonly appear on a birth plan (IV, walking, monitoring, rupture of membranes, pictures, episiotomy, epidural... on and on... NONE of that is up to me *at all*).
I think you'll do great, you are obviously already thinking about these things & on the ball. Just remember, in most places it would probably be your midwife or MD that is in control of your wishes being carried out, not the nurses.
The attitude of the units does really vary from place to place (I'm a traveler), however on most units there will be nurses who enjoy working with patients who want as natural a birth as possible (and also those who don't "get it"). If you have an "in" at the hospital, or your midwife does, it would be good to kind of ask around, find out who really enjoys these patients and see if you can have one of them assigned to you if working when you come in (knowing several would facilitate this). Ask the nurses themselves as well as the head nurse - most respond well to being asked for in a positive way! Between that and your midwife, you should have a good chance of having the kind of experience you want.
I'm one of those who volunteer to take these kind of patients as I really enjoy using all the alternative techniques I've learned over the years. The only ones I find really difficult are those who come in stating they want to "go natural", but have done NO preparation - no classes, reading, or talking with their provider (usually they just say "Oh I've been watching A Baby Story"). These are the ones who are totally panicked when reality sets in.
I really, really don't know where these women are having babies that are not permitted to choose their birth plan and how they end up with an OB that won't follow it. That is something that should be chosen and discussed with the OB up front, and if the OB isn't "down" with the plan, then it's time to start shopping for a new one.
I am a student, but I am all for a natural birth...it's not my pregnancy, it's not my baby, it's not my pain...everyone has a different level of pain that they can tolerate...I saw one birth this summer, natural, very young, nice-looking, well-educated couple that were Christian (not Christian Scientists), where she did a silent birth...she never made a sound the entire time and it was beautiful...but she also had a very quiet personality.
A patient has the right to refuse pit. They also have the right to refuse a c-section.
If I was the type of mother that was dead-set on getting a natural birth, I would have to have the opinion of not one but two OB's that my baby was at risk...not so we can just "move the process along" or after an hour, "well, we can just sit here and you are not going to progress any".
Labor can take a long time...and an OB not getting home in time to watch 8:00 football on a Monday shouldn't be an excuse.
Where are the nurses acting as an advocate for the patient that should be telling them that they have a choice?
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rn/writer, RN
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Talk to your midwife and ask about how much freedom her patients have when delivering (voluntarily) at the hospital. The more you can find out ahead of time, the fewer surprises you will have, and the safer and more confident you should feel.
Maybe you can take a tour as well. That might give you a "feel" for the place.
You sound like a reasonable person with realistic plans. Hopefully, your midwife has the autonomy at the hospital to bypass any of the "normal" interventions she feels to be unnecessary.
I really hope all goes well for you and your wee one. If you are 33 weeks, your due date must be right around Christmas Day. What a great present!