Best hospital for natural child birth (Dallas, Plano: insurance, home, to live in)

[xinaTx]

I have heard that Baylor Dallas is very supportive of having babies naturally (unmedicated). Can anyone give more information?

Are there other hospitals in the Dallas/Richardson/Plano area that you recommend? Are there doctors/midwives you recommend?

I'm an older mom, so some have suggested that having the baby in a hospital w/ a doctor is the safest option for me.

If you haven't decided between a medicated or unmedicated birth, you should watch the movie produced by Ricki Lake called "The Business of being Born".

[pepper131]

I have heard of the movie, but haven't seen it yet.

I had a mostly natural childbirth at Baylor. My mid-wife was Susan Akins who wokred with the docs at Woman's Health Alliance. She has recently left to live in New Mexcio. Her replacement, Lindsay, is lovely. You should meet with her.

What I was allowed at Baylor having a midwife rather than a dr:
*My water had broken, but because I was strep B+, I had to go right into the hospital to have IV antibiotics to prevent carrying it to my son in delivery. My midwife let me go the max amount of time with my water being broken - 24 hours. A dr would never allow that to happen.
*And before I was induced, I had my acupuncturist visit me in the hospital to try to induce, I power walked around the outside of the hopsital. I did everything I could besides what Ina May Gaskin suggests...something more intimate, but I was simply too tired and fed-up. My acupuncturist also suggested it...
*Being induced is no fun, but had to happen. I asked for drugs. But my midwife knew that was not what I really wanted and she reminded me constantly of what I was doing and why i was doing it. It also helped that the labor nurse had recently delivered with the same midwife and she knew the routine.

[xinaTx]

Moderator cut: let's stick with the topic you started for now, thanks!

Is it safe for an older mom (over 38 yrs) to have natural child birth?

[pepper131]

I know a mom who had her first child at 38 at home with a midwife. Her second child about 5 yrs later at home and her third child just 4 yrs ago at age 46 or 47 at home....ALL homebirths with a midwife w/o complication.

Also look into the Birth Center on Swiss Ave. They work closely with a dr practice very near them and affiliated with Baylor in Dallas.

[CallMeLaura]

I've had two friends almost die as a result of their pregnancies, so if a medical professional is telling you to have the delivery in a hospital, I'd be inclined to listen.

However, if your doctor checks you out and doesn't see any issues, but your friends and family are pressuring you, I would say it's more up to you. I would go just to not have to listen to my mom...

Some friends of mine who got pregnant just before the insurance kicked in ended up doing the midwife thing because it was considerably cheaper. You'll never forgive yourself, though, if there are complications and you lose the baby because you were trying to save money.

[tx_girl]

I had a friend whose wife just gave birth a few months ago at the birthing center on Swiss. They had a great experience and were comfortable since it was so close to Baylor. She ended up having her baby by their midwife around 7pm and baby and family were home by midnight! I don't think I could do it, but they loved it and their midwife!

[netfrog]

Baylor is indeed a viable option if you want a natural birth. Presbyterian Dallas also has a birthing suite with a whirlpool, etc. and is more open to natural birth than some (steer clear of Presbyterian Plano, though - they have one of the highest elective-Caesarian rates anywhere).

In addition to the Birth Center on Swiss Avenue mentioned above, there is also the Allen Birthing Center up in Allen - they are excellent (Allen Birthing Center - Dallas Midwife: Honoring the Spirit of Birth)

[shutchins]

Baylor Dallas is one of the most natural friendly hospitals in the area, and there you will find Dr. Graham and Dr. Lawson that are very supportive, along with Susan Akin and Lindsay Kragle CNM's. Truth of the matter, age doesn't have much to do with the safety of an out of hospital birth, but it is easier to justify a c-section, induction, or intervention if you can get families to believe such a thing. The vast majority of mothers that have a complication are those that have interventions (pit, epidural, break the bag of waters, etc). As a CBE, I've had moms that are 40+ for 1st babies... homebirth, birth center, or hospital... very successful outcomes. Information is your friend, don't take someone's answer for granted. Ask for your 'risk factors' that are defined by maternal age... are there any legit ones given to you? Stay away from Plano Presb or Med City of Dallas... FWIW, this is what I would tell a childbirth class student too.

[momof2dfw]

I'll tell ANY and ALL mothers to be to stay clear away of ALL of the north suburban hospitals: Presby Plano, Presby Allen, etc. The doctors ONLY induce or do C-Sections (w/ the later being the most popular ). From experience w/ other relatives I know one went into the hospital on a recent Saturday w/ major complications 5 weeks BEFORE she was due. On Sunday by lunch time nothing had changed and the nurse had to call the oncall doc TEN TIMES and tell him, "THIS BABY IS COMING TODAY!!!!!!!" The mothers life was in jeopardy as was the babies and the doc STILL did not want to come. Only 2 babies born that day and on the schedule for Monday morning they had down 14 . My sis's ob/gyn delivers at Presby Allen and he ONLY does C-Sections - they just flat out do not want to be disturbed on the weekends.

I had both of mine at Medical City Dallas. First one the med's worked great and all was great and happy. In labor all night but no big deal and she came fine. Second one I again was in labor all night but it was natural childbirth and not by choice as the drugs stopped working half way thru the night. This one SHOULD have been a C-sectioin (in hindsight many years later I'm glad I did not have to have one but it SHOULD have been). I could not have safely delivered this one outside of a hospital even though it was "natural". After her I said IF I do have a third I will NOT get drugs. Still be in the hospital but no drugs. Most doctors were okay w/ it even then which hasn't been that long ago. I'd say it has gotten worse since then being that most of these doctors only want to do it on their schedule.

Good luck

[LMKH]

You will have to fight for a good hospital birth in the DFW area. DFW ranks one of the lowest in the country for maternity care.

As far as the poster who tells you that she knows 2 people who almost died during pregnancy, I am betting if you learned the details, those 2 people had a lot of intervention that actually caused their problems...like early induction for no reason other than convenience and so on. You know nothing about those 2 people or what their problems were or otherwise (such as, were they diabetic, etc). Most people would tell you just to go to the hospital and obey whatever anyone there tells you to do because they never gave much thought to their own births and allowed themselves to be scared by societal pressures and scare tactics by physicians marketing departments.

I would listen to what to what Ricki Lake had to say and follow her advice.

Skip Swiss Avenue but consider Lover's Lane.