Do you want a natural birth? What are you going to do about it?

[Rosey]

Unfortunately, preparation can only get you so far. Unsupportive carers are like a brickwall and sometimes it doesn't matter how well informed you are, or how well you advocate for yourself.

Agree with that 100%

[Cricket]

True, sadly enough. But it still remains that if you have a good doula, and really know what birth is about, and have some alternative pain management techniques at your disposal, and have researched enough to decline interventions you don't need, you are likely to get farther than if you just go in unprepared, hoping for a natural birth.

[meow]

Wow! This is referring to the american system of using nurses in maternity wards. Thank goodness australia uses midwives at least! I can't believe they have no birth training!

[Cricket]

Any registered nurse can be hired on a birthing unit. However, when I was in school to become an RN, it was obvious that it was a floor that a lot of the nurses wanted to work on, and competition for jobs there was pretty tight. So if you had extra training, with special courses you took yourself relating to labour, delivery, and neonatal care, you'd have a real advantage, but of course, as with most things, if you know the right people, you could be hired to that floor without special training. Also, ongoing professional development is a requirement to maintain your license to practice. There are people who get by with the bare minimum, and people who are truly passionate about their job and want to learn to do it better.
Is a US/Canadian midwife the same as an Aus midwife? In Canada, a midwife practices independently, like an ob, but with low-risk clients. Our local practice, for instance, has 4 or 5 midwives who work in the office together. Each client is assigned a primary and secondary care midwife, who do all the prenatal care, and both will attend the delivery, whether at home or in hospital. If you deliver in hospital, the labour and delivery nurses will not be part of your care - just your midwives. Whether you choose an ob or a midwife, a home or a hospital birth, your care is totally covered by the provincial health care plan. It's pretty nice in that way!

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

This makes me angry.

When a mother is not prepared for birth, but seeks a natural birth, the demands of their nurse are drastically increased. Nursing units are often understaffed and nurses are overworked. There is a tremendous demand on a nurse when a mother is not prepared for birth, a father is not prepared to be a birth coach, and a doula isn’t present to assist mom throughout the birth process. This can create animosity towards the patients that seek a natural birth, but due to lack of preparation rely on their nurse for all of their needs during labor. Even though more women are asking for a natural birth in the hospital, many still end up with unnecessary medical intervention due to their lack of being informed and prepared. Unfortunately, this means that even labor and delivery nurses lack experience in the natural birth process, because the majority of patients are not giving birth naturally. They also doubt the ability for women to birth naturally, because they see many unsuccessful attempts. When a well-prepared and well-informed mom comes in to the hospital, they are often faced with judgment and animosity because they are categorized with the moms who aren’t prepared and informed. They assume that they will be unsuccessful also.

"You come in and we laugh at your birth plan: you have a vague idea but haven't prepared, so when we push drugs and interventions you just accept them, cos you're more work if you don't just let us yank the baby out when we want. You need to bring an advocate (doula) in with you because we won't listen. And we use words like unsuccessful to describe your birth and further destroy your self-esteem when you had prepared and we just pooh-poohed you."

Pretty much sums it up.

Demand all you want - you still won't get to give birth if you approach a medical person about it.

[trishalishous]

Ive been 'lucky' to have great careproviders and a fantastic support person, who knows what I need to hear while birthing.

[nickle730]

Er... I nurse with 120 course hours?? 4 of those focussed on obstetrics? An RN in Australia currently studies for 3 years and has a degree at the end of it. A midwife studies for 3 years or 4 if doing a combined degree. I don't really understand the US system, but regardless of which birth model I choose, I would hope that my primary caregiver has more than 120 hours total education under their belt.