Why are Hospitals used for Birth in America? (natural, wife, weeks)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I dunno, i personally hate having my kids be born in hospitals, i want them born at home with a midwife who knows what she is doing, and where i can say what goes and who can come in and when. I HATE being at the hospital, they do not listen half the time they are rude and interrupting what the parents wishes are, next time it will be a home birth for our child. That will be a long way down the road though.
Having a child with a midiwfe is completely different than having a child in the hospital. A midwife is right there with you, supporting you the entire time. There wouldn't have been IV's to rip out. I could be completely wrong, but it sounds like you didn't have a very supportive environment to labor in and you were pretty much left to your fears, maybe having a doula or a midwife could have been of help to you in keeping you calm, and thus making it better experience for you...and, lol, the nurses.
I needed the IV, I don't even remember, but I tested positive for something and I needed the IV to protect the baby. And I can assure you I would not have felt better with a midwife and I probably would have kicked her ass. Nobody was going to make me calm, if three nurses, my mom and dad, my husband and my doctor couldn't calm me down, nobody was going to. Plus I needed medical attention which a midwife could not provide for me. She would of had to call the ambulance anyway.
If it was the GBS test, or Strep B, that you tested positive for, the midwife can certainly give you an IV for antibiotics at home OR use erythromycin in the baby's eyes and watch you to see if you develop a fever. The use of antibiotics during birth is not always the best thing anyway - Mothering Magazine Birth Preparation Article: Group B Strep
Basically, there are not that many things that a midwife cannot do for you that can't be done at a hospital IF you are withing 15 minutes or so of a hospital. One study showed that from the time the decision is made for an emergency c-section, the actual C-section could be preformed as late as 75 minutes later with a good outcome (although they don't feel that it shoudl take that long) Log In Problems Midwives also have the unique position of knowing if something goes wrong they may need to transport, so the tend to not take chances with their patients. They are also taught how to keep the baby in, if necessary, during transport.
A few reasons why I would not go anywhere but a hospital......
1. My first child was a stillborn 6 lbs 8 ozs with 'no' reason for it, no cord around neck either.
2. My second was a ten pound child, breech feet first and ten pounds! A regular birth I had..yikes.
Not easy in the least ( now in these times they would do a C-Section for that)
3. My daughter had a Vena Previa (sp) ...It is where the veins are going along the placenta and not in the cord........The sites on information on that call it a " walking time bomb" She had many issues that even the doc didn't pick up on. We knew something was wrong.........He thought she would deliver early. No one knew until the birth. She had the typical issues after the birth also, and that is a danger. The danger in this is a loss of the child and the mother........That was a scare.
People need to understand........not all deliveries are what you think and dream of.
I found out the hard way.....
3. My daughter had a Vena Previa (sp) ...It is where the veins are going along the placenta and not in the cord........The sites on information on that call it a " walking time bomb" She had many issues that even the doc didn't pick up on. We knew something was wrong.........He thought she would deliver early. No one knew until the birth. She had the typical issues after the birth also, and that is a danger. The danger in this is a loss of the child and the mother........That was a scare.
People need to understand........not all deliveries are what you think and dream of.
I found out the hard way.....
I did not have vasa previa but I had a velamentous cord insertion, which is where the vessels run along the membranes instead of going directly into the placenta but do not cross over the cervix like in vasa previa. When we examined the membranes after the birth, they had torn within 1 inch of the vessels. Just one more inch and I could very likely have had a cord rupture. Scary. I had to have a hospital birth just like you did for that reason.
My cord issue is why I encourage every pregnant woman to get at least one ultrasound. If you have vasa previa you need to know.
Again, a midwife generally will send any complications she does not feel comfortable handling to the hospital. Deciding to have a homebirth does not mean you HAVE to have one. Often times, plans change as new information arises. At that point, a decision is made what is best for them mother and baby, and a new plan is put into place. There are always things that can not be safely at home, but for the vast majority of labors, homebirth is a safe option.
Hospitals are NOT sterile. Most infections a baby can get come FROM the hospital. I think because you had complications you are unfairly characterizing homebirth as unsafe. If I had your history, I would be in a hospital too.
I don't have a problem with homebirths. I feel they are perfectly safe as long as you are comfortable with it. I think it should be required to have a medically trained professional (midwife) around so they can spot troubled labor and post labor issues a lot faster than someone who has no training. They can get you to a hospital if need be.
I definitely believe hospital operating rooms are more sterile than a home.
If you really thought Hospitals were less sterile than your home, you would have your next surgery at home rather than in an operating room.
If you do not have any complications, than you needn't worry about sterility since you are not getting opened up.
Quote:
Research shows that with an uncomplicated pregnancy it is safe for a woman to be up to 30 mins away. Of course closer is better. It takes over 20 mins for an OR to be prepped for surgery. Choose a certified midwife as they will have backup at a hospital.
What research says being 30 minutes away is safer than being at the hospital even for an uncomplicated pregnancy (which is not the same as an uncomplicated labor and delivery)?
The thing is, you don't know you will have an uncomplicated birth until AFTER you give birth. No one goes in planning on having complications.
Quote:
I just want women to know that in countries where homebirth is the norm for healthy pregnancies there are fewer maternal mortalities, infant mortalities, infections, and unnecessary interventions. Why should anyone assume that hospitals are safer when all evidence shows that you are more likely to end up with an unnecessary C-section, an infection, or a dead baby.
I didn't have an uneccessary c-section at the hospital even though one time i was in labor for 26 hours and almost couldn't get the baby out. No one told me I had to have one.
I had no infections even though i tore.
I certainly never had a dead baby.
These sound like statements made just to support your theory that homebirth is better than hospital birth. I don't think people should tell others what to do unless there is a life at risk.
I personally don't care where women birth at and am not trying to persuade anyone into doing something they don't want to. They are the ones who are responsible for their child and it begins at birth.
Quote:
I know of a few really good books on this subject if anyone would like to know. Also the movie "The Business of Being Born" was a great movie.
Throughout history it inherently has been unsafe to give birth because you never know what can happen and things take a turn for the worse so quickly it becomes a life and death situation.
Most women have no complications, but the nature of birth can be dangerous. The decline in maternal deaths is because when complications do arise, a hospitals is better prepared to deal with it than a birth clinic.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
