Thank you so much for all your responses girls, and Sasa I don't want you or anyone to feel attacked (I think as women were are attacked enough we should at least be same in a forum like this!)
You are all echoing thoughts I have had myself, and bearing out an inkling I had that many women don't actually mind the idea of hospitals, but its the reality of them that has us worried (ie: your mw/doc/OB might mouth words of support for a natural birth but the reality of being in a hospital "system" is that it is pro-intervention).
A really minor example of this - with DS#1 he was born 27 hours after my waters first broke, so he was given a shot of penicillin to prevent infection because hospital policy required the nurse to do so if the baby was not born within 24 hours. There was no sign of any infection, and I know some hospitals have a similar 48 or 72 hour policy. I remember thinking that was so dumb!
I had an awesome hospital birth with DS and my Ob was fantastic, the midwives were great, and I had a wonderful doula as well I really can't fault my birth... and I wasn't even in a birth centre and it was a VBAC. It makes me sad that 99.9% of hospital births aren't like this, I know it can be and I know that Ob's don't need to be intervention crazy to do their job. I hope one day it can all go back to being a team that works together for the woman rather than what the situation currently is.
Here's a different perspective though... would I recommend my daughter have a hospital birth... probably not. In fact I would want for her (provided it was her wishes obviously) the most natural birth experience possible with little intervention. Purely because I got lucky doesn't mean she will (unless something changes) and thats what is so sad.
Roryrory, i did not feel attacked
And I completely agree that having arbitrary time limits seems totally stupid.
I guess every situation is different. I really did feel that my MW was my buffer between me and the hospital system. She didn't push anything on me. She always gave me a choice. Like for example when it came to the Hepatitis shot, which I declined. Or when it came to the Vit K, where I chose the oral dose. I later found out that she (and her BC collegues) regularly get into trouble over this as the hospital is not happy with their vacc rates. But they don't care as they do what they believe in. They just have to be careful with how they word things, so it isn't perceived as if they discourage women from those procedures.
And I do really know how low intervention her attitude is as she is pregnant herself now and is planning a home birth. So she isn't just paying lip service.
Actually, this is the biggest beef I have with some health care providers. That they mislead women by saying they are pro-natural birth or pro-BFing. But once they gain the woman's trust, they start undermining the natural process. if they were up-front from the start, a woman could make a choice based on whether her beliefs are matching the approach this health care provider has.
It is such a sad state of affairs that we have to have this deep-seated mistrust towards the very people who are meant to help us.
For the sake of being clear to all who read this (I think you know my story).
My DD14 (it's her birthday today!) was to be a homebirth - because I see birthing my babies as natural as doing a pee... A little harder work - but natural none the less. I am a nurse and had attended a number of homebirths and hospital births. It was a no brainer that my baby would be born into the water at home. Alas fate had other ideas! I transferred to hospital about 24 hours into the labour. My midwife was a beautiful woman very experienced at homebirth - but she was a born again Christian and her loud praying and "praise the Lord" exclaimations just about did me in... My beautiful girl was born vaginally but alas not naturally! I managed to keep at bay a very ferocious advocate for the unnaturalness of birth (his name is well known in Brisbane - he has about a 70% c/section rate...) Between pushes he "forced" me to sign a statement that I was birthing vaginally at my babies risk and peril... Now, I made an informed decision. My babies heartrate was normal, membranes were intact - I was absolutely exhausted but that was the only issue. I knew I wanted more babies and a c/section would only make vaginal births more difficult in the future. There was absolutely no way I was going to the OT.
I had a 2nd degree tear which I elected to not have sutured (again at my peril! )
Fast forward 6 years and I went to the birth centre at the RBWH. I had a beautiful midwife who supported my beliefs and advocated for me. It didn't even enter my mind that the surgeons knife was down the hall way. I knew my midwife and she knew me. She was my advocate and I trusted her implicitly. Importantly she trusted me and believed in me also.
My son was born into his Daddy's hands. My most vivid memory of that labour was my midwife cross stitching at a little table in the corner of the room - in between checks on me... It was beautiful.
My daughter was born much the same - but much faster and more furiously.
My next daughter was born at a private hospital - however I chose an obs who would agree to not enter my birthing space unless a doctor was required. He did so, and I had a midwife known to me (this hospital had a midwifery program that enabled this) support my labour. She was born into the water in a candlelit room surrounded by her siblings and my SIL...
Immy was an emergency c/s at 27+5 weeks...
So, would I have a home birth. You bet ya I would. Unfortunately I couldn't find a midwife to assist me in Brisbane at that time. However, knowing what I know now I had awesome births that really couldn't have been more empowering. The only down side was the drive to hospital that obviously wouldn't be needed if I had a homebirth.
The secret to empowered birth is education and support. Choose a birth place that will tick all your boxes. Care of another woman known by you and trusted by you is not just nice it is IMPERATIVE. Yep some women have great births without this - but when things stray by the wayside you need that woman. Be she a midwife or a Doula. Its not a negotiable.
You need to be educated and make it clear what your thoughts and decisions are. You need to ensure that your birth place have no restraints on movement, using water, managed 3rd stage, HEPB, candles, music, PV exams, what happens post dates, PROM etc etc.
There is no right place to give birth - however I'm a back to basics type of gal... Women have birthed their babies at home for ions - healthy women with uncomplicated pregnancies need not move from their loungerooms when labour begins. Provided they have in place good support.
If I were in your situation, with your history - I would be engaging an independent midwife, hiring a birth pool and trusting that your beautiful body will do it's job just fine. If something goes a little off track - you can transfer. That's not optimal but if it's necessary (and overwhelmingly things go fine!) then you will have a midwife with you to advocate for you and continue to support you...
i am reading this thread with so much anticipation! this has been my question for any future birth choices that i may have the privilege of making...
my optimal situation would be to go to the Mercy FBC. BUT i have immense fear in the strong possibility of transfer and to end up in a hospital environ if i had of been expecting a BC may catapult me straight back to PND land.
for that reason, if i suspected that there was too great a risk of not getting into the BC then i would most probably go HB. (unless of course there were actual risks to the baby or myself to birth vaginally etc).
hmm as you can see this has been a confusing decision. my DH is supportive of both BC and HB...so he's no help LOL!
either way i will have a ind. midwife or doula no matter what...
Yep, I would have no problems birthing where I did last time - Angliss FBC.
For my first I had a private hospital birth with a Ob (I have cardiac history too). It has a very high rate of c/sect. It was a terrific experience but I totally put that down to my midwife and the head midwife. There were 2 that sucked - one that kept asking if I wanted pain relief and one that jabbed me without warning or permission with the syntocin shortly after DD was born.
The 2 good ones - they both guided me gently and gave me quiet strength.
Third birth at FBC - freakin awesome. Waterbirth, midwife and doula. It was just the three of us, chatting softly peacefully. Everything I think a birth should have been, it was.
Again, the difference is the people who are caring (or whatever you want to call it) for you when you give birth. No matter where you are.
If you have an Ob breathing down your neck, your support people will buffer you from them. Get a Doula chickie
So after all that blather, I actually felt more comfortable at the FBC than I would at home. For lots of silly reasons, but I was grateful that I could feel comfortable there as well as at home and create the sort of peaceful and safe environment I need to give birth.
I wouldn't object to a birth centre and was looking forward to going to one with DS (didn't happen though due to stupid lying dates which weren't right). TBH, I'd give birth in a hospital if there were an option for giving birth in a hospital rather than being bullied and treated like a lump of meat and cut up without your knowledge or consent. I had a good midwife for one shift in the hospital and, despite the bully on the ward, would have been able to give birth if I'd have had that sort of treatment (ie head around the door every two hours to see if I were OK!).
In fact, if I were to have any medical input in #2 then I'd go to a birth centre no problem. But I'm not even telling my GP, nor any midwives, nor any hospital that I'm pg next time so can't really book into a birth centre. The reason for that is because of the trauma around the whole DS thing. I just don't trust anyone. I actually would trust my current GP but can't risk getting anyone involved - and I will have a different GP next time due to having moved a long way out the area.
No, Flowerchild, I don't have anything to report but a few other threads on these boards just got me thinking about whether it was inherently the hospital or the nature of what goes on there that was the evil we often seem keen to avoid.
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I really can't fault my birth... and I wasn't even in a birth centre and it was a VBAC. It makes me sad that 99.9% of hospital births aren't like this, I know it can be and I know that Ob's don't need to be intervention crazy to do their job. I hope one day it can all go back to being a team that works together for the woman rather than what the situation currently is.
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