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6 misconceptions about hospital births
Many women have the wrong idea of giving birth at the hospital. I've listed a few of the things that I hear most from women.
1. You should always go along with the doctor/midwife, they know best.
While it's true that they have learned for it for many years,
you shouldn't assume that when they offer things, you have to
go along with it. Very often they will offer something because
it's standard protocol at the hospital but you still have the
the right to refuse it, or to make a counter offer without putting
yourself and/or your baby in danger.
For example, in many hospitals it's standard to start pitocin 6 hours
after your waters break, if labor hasn't started yet. There is no
research that supports that labor must start after 6 hours. In most
cases, labor will start spontaneously within 24 hours and waiting
patiently doesn't cause any harm.
2. I don't want to room-in with my baby because I want to rest.
One thing is for sure; you won't get much rest at the hospital. And
it's not because of the baby! Hospitals have a very strict time
schedule, and most of the time they're not in sync with yours.
Meals are at a specific time, and if you don't show up (because you
are sleeping or otherwise occupied), you won't get any food.
Breakfast is served early in the morning, right at the time that
you are probably finally sleeping after having to get up a few times
at night to feed your baby.
That's the thing, if your baby isn't next to you at night, you
actually have to *get up* and *walk all the way down the hall*
in order to get to your baby in the nursery. Speaking about
tiring!
What about the nursing staff that obviously don't sleep at night
but walk around, sometimes enter your room, don't bother to
tip-toe or whisper. Sometimes they even bring in a new roommate
in the middle of the night. Or they come to check your blood pressure.
The cleaners can be expected at 6 am, then the round of nurses
at 7 am when there is a shift change. And then there is breakfast.
And in the afternoon, it's visiting hour when you want to nap, and your
roommate is hosting all her aunts and uncles. What can you say?
3. Going to the hospital early means I'll have a better birth.
Many ladies, especially those giving birth for the first time, will get
restless when labor starts. It's a natural process to start looking
for a safe, sheltered place to give birth. Just like mommy cat or dog!
Unfortunately, the hospital is not that safe and sheltered place.
Hospitals are big and impersonal, and often have their own agenda.
From my experience I can say that the earlier a woman goes to the
hospital and the more time she spends there, the higher the chance
that she'll end up with interventions and an epidural. In stead, it's
always better to wait until the pace of labor has really picked up
before going to the hospital.
4. A hospital birth is safer than a home birth or a birth center birth.
Research says that this is not true for women who are low-risk.
If you want to know more about home births in Israel, click here.
5. I will have to spend my labor lying down in bed.
Most traditional labor and delivery rooms have the bed placed
prominently in the middle of the room. When you enter, it screams:
"Lie down on me! That's what I'm for! That's what you need to do!".
If there are no specific complications, lying in bed during the whole
labor is about the worst thing you can do. In order for the birth
to progress steadily, upright and/or moving positions are the best
way to go. Not every L&D nurse or midwife will bother to tell you this.
6. The nurse/doctor/midwife will stay with me the whole time.
Unless you hired a private midwife, hospital staff will not be able
to stay beside you the whole time. Most of the time, they have
more than one patient to care for at the same time, and they
just aren't able to stay with you.
And doctors usually only come in when it's time to 'catch the baby',
even if you hired a private doctor.
If you want someone who will give you continuous support and
who won't go home when her shift is over even if you haven't
given birth yet, you should hire a doula.
Technorati Tags: birth, hospital birth, midwife, doctor, doula, baby, labor, home birth, birth center
1. You should always go along with the doctor/midwife, they know best.
While it's true that they have learned for it for many years,
you shouldn't assume that when they offer things, you have to
go along with it. Very often they will offer something because
it's standard protocol at the hospital but you still have the
the right to refuse it, or to make a counter offer without putting
yourself and/or your baby in danger.
For example, in many hospitals it's standard to start pitocin 6 hours
after your waters break, if labor hasn't started yet. There is no
research that supports that labor must start after 6 hours. In most
cases, labor will start spontaneously within 24 hours and waiting
patiently doesn't cause any harm.
2. I don't want to room-in with my baby because I want to rest.
One thing is for sure; you won't get much rest at the hospital. And
it's not because of the baby! Hospitals have a very strict time
schedule, and most of the time they're not in sync with yours.
Meals are at a specific time, and if you don't show up (because you
are sleeping or otherwise occupied), you won't get any food.
Breakfast is served early in the morning, right at the time that
you are probably finally sleeping after having to get up a few times
at night to feed your baby.
That's the thing, if your baby isn't next to you at night, you
actually have to *get up* and *walk all the way down the hall*
in order to get to your baby in the nursery. Speaking about
tiring!
What about the nursing staff that obviously don't sleep at night
but walk around, sometimes enter your room, don't bother to
tip-toe or whisper. Sometimes they even bring in a new roommate
in the middle of the night. Or they come to check your blood pressure.
The cleaners can be expected at 6 am, then the round of nurses
at 7 am when there is a shift change. And then there is breakfast.
And in the afternoon, it's visiting hour when you want to nap, and your
roommate is hosting all her aunts and uncles. What can you say?
3. Going to the hospital early means I'll have a better birth.
Many ladies, especially those giving birth for the first time, will get
restless when labor starts. It's a natural process to start looking
for a safe, sheltered place to give birth. Just like mommy cat or dog!
Unfortunately, the hospital is not that safe and sheltered place.
Hospitals are big and impersonal, and often have their own agenda.
From my experience I can say that the earlier a woman goes to the
hospital and the more time she spends there, the higher the chance
that she'll end up with interventions and an epidural. In stead, it's
always better to wait until the pace of labor has really picked up
before going to the hospital.
4. A hospital birth is safer than a home birth or a birth center birth.
Research says that this is not true for women who are low-risk.
If you want to know more about home births in Israel, click here.
5. I will have to spend my labor lying down in bed.
Most traditional labor and delivery rooms have the bed placed
prominently in the middle of the room. When you enter, it screams:
"Lie down on me! That's what I'm for! That's what you need to do!".
If there are no specific complications, lying in bed during the whole
labor is about the worst thing you can do. In order for the birth
to progress steadily, upright and/or moving positions are the best
way to go. Not every L&D nurse or midwife will bother to tell you this.
6. The nurse/doctor/midwife will stay with me the whole time.
Unless you hired a private midwife, hospital staff will not be able
to stay beside you the whole time. Most of the time, they have
more than one patient to care for at the same time, and they
just aren't able to stay with you.
And doctors usually only come in when it's time to 'catch the baby',
even if you hired a private doctor.
If you want someone who will give you continuous support and
who won't go home when her shift is over even if you haven't
given birth yet, you should hire a doula.
Technorati Tags: birth, hospital birth, midwife, doctor, doula, baby, labor, home birth, birth center
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posted by Michal @ 9:55 PM
3 Comments:
I agree with most of the points. In Shaarei Tzedek they did serve food in the room whenever I wanted so that wasn't a problem. The constant screaming in the Tinokia was awful the babies kept waking eachother up and the nurses went nuts from the constant noise.
I think anyone going to give birth in a place where placing the baby in a tinokia is mandatory should go there and check it out first!
Wow this really is a different and interesting blog. Keep up the work.
Thank you!
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