littlemrs

SmilingBluEyes...can you be my nurse when I have my baby in February?

OK, so we had our appointment today. The doc spent about 25 minutes with us! I told him of our visit to the hospital this weekend, and what all the nurses had told us about their labor routines. He insisted on knowing which nurse it was (we didn't remember her name) so he could talk to her about what she told us. (He wasn't mad at her, just ) Basically, what she said was all BS. My doc said I could walk up and down the halls until the baby comes out, or stay in the shower the whole time for all he cared, anything I need to do to birth this baby out comfortably and effectively. He is very, very supportive of me going unmedicated, and actually prefers that I do it that way, due to the complications surrounding the heparin. He said, "You know, people all over the world do this all the time with no medications, but here in the US it seems people just can't get their arms around that, and epidurals are used without thought. Our nurses [at this hospital] are just not used to seeing an unmedicated birth, so they don't know what they are talking about." He said he prefers intermittent fetal monitoring to continous. He said a heplock would be preferable to an IV. Etc, etc. Then he said, "It's your birth, not mine." I was stunned. My doctor rules! I never even showed him the birth plan, and I'm thinking about chunking it at this point. He said he had no doubt in his mind that I can do it unmedicated, he supports me fully in what I need to do, and he is really looking forward to being there when we have our son. It think his attitude towards birth stems from the fact he trained and spent half of his career in Canada. (Figures.) He's only been in this area for 3 years or so. For this reason, I had an inkling he was going to be pretty accomodating, but I didn't expect this much accomodation. So, I feel MUCH better about things now.

OMG, tonchinto check your personal messages.

Hehe! You guys have been sooo helpful and encouraging (and funny!) I am talking to my doc about it all tomorrow, so it should be interesting to see what he says. (I'm kinda nervous about it.) I anticipated somewhat that I was going to have pushback on things in L&D, but never anticipated it would be to this, er, extent.

Wow. Thank you guys for the very quick and thorough responses! So, I'm not crazy in thinking this is a bit of an insane policy. During our tour I asked all the pertinent questions about the labor process, after baby is delivered, etc, and even though they are very mother-baby friendly, their labor policies are pretty, uh, old fashioned. They promote breastfeeding like nothing I've ever seen, and baby never leaves your side in the hospital unless their are complications, of course. So, they aren't completely in the dark ages. I don't have a choice where I deliver because my doc is the only doc within a 120 mile radius who deals complications like mine (genetic clotting factor and I'm on heparin for the pregnancy, a big reason I don't want the epidural and am preparing for unmed, obviously) and that's where he delivers. He is very supportive of me wanting unmedicated, especially as it makes things less complicated for him (not having to 'reverse' my heparin unless it's an emergency, etc.) I know some docs like to take the patient off of heparin and then induce, but he'd rather me go into labor myself, and then just discontinue the heparin once I am in labor. If they need to then 'reverse' the heparin (in an emergency) that is still in my system, they can do that. The L&D nurse said stirrups and breaking down bed are standard for delivery there, as are IV and continuous fetal monitoring during labor, etc. I've yet to talk to my doc about what all I learned yesterday but I am planning on it at my appt. this Wednesday. I am going to make a preliminary 'birth plan' and discuss with him. I totally agree about being careful not to put him or the nurses on the defensive with the birth plan, and I actually just read last night the long thread here about birth plans, and it was really helpful to get your guys perspective! I know flexibility is the key, but I still want my 'voice' heard, you know? Knowing my doc (who has been pushing for all kind of updates in L&D since he arrived there 2.5 years ago) he will be much more accomodating than 'standard policy' of the hospital. So, I'm not too worried, I just want to make sure everyone else is on board when I'm actually in labor. Oh, and if it's some insurance-company mandated policy to confine laboring moms to bed (which is what the nurse made it sound like), I'm completely willing to sign some kind of release so I can get out of that policy, if that's what it takes. (Oh, and I will have a doula. :) )

I just took a tour of the L&D where I am going to be having my baby (due in Feb.) I want an unmedicated birth (for various reasons) and I asked about mobility and they said that they don't allow you to leave the bed after you've gotten to 4cm, even if you don't have complications, an epidural or pit. She gave me an example of why - That if I was out of bed and my water breaks and the cord prolapses, then that's obviously a bad situation and they could be 'liable' if they didn't get baby out in time via c/s. I assume there are other reasons too, but I didn't ask because I was kinda speechless. Is this standard operating procedure in most places? In all the reading I've done I've never heard of this rule, or concern for that matter. I think my doc will be more accomodating if I ask, but I just had to ask here if this was normal. TIA!