I birth at Newcastle Private and it was great... the ob and midwife were only there to catch the bub and (oh embrassment) wipe the poo!!!!
If you are worried, have someone there who can make your wishes clear to the staff.... my hubby and doula spoke when I couldn't (though I did mostly) to make sure I got what I wanted from my first birth.
Good luck with it all
I'd love to know if the centre I gave birth in is W.H.O approved, I have no idea to be honest. My daughters' birth was very rushed (they had me 'pushing uphill' because she got stuck when I was squatting and pushing) because I laboured for too long (more than 24 hours after my waters broke) and my daughter was distressed (she passed meconium as she was being born).
Public hospital, midwife led birth for me last time, and it was great. I think I worried during the pushing stage as they were telling me to push when I didn't feel the urge to. Apart from that, it was all very natural - no tugging and certainly no hands up there while baby was trying to get out
I know some women find it very helpful to 'educate' or 'prepare' themselves for birth by watching gory videos of the process, but I personally chose to remain as ignorant as possible and approach my impending labour with the knowledge that yes, it was going to hurt like nothing I'd ever experienced before but apart from that, I was just going to have to go through it myself and find out what happens the hard way!
That's not to say I didn't educate myself on all the possible outcomes, scenarios and techniques that I could apply - I considered myself very well-informed long before I entered the delivery suite. But I knew that as long as I had that knowledge, I didn't need to see various women huffing a puffing and spurting out fluid everywhere in order to prepare myself, I wasn't afraid or apprehensive about the birth at all, just calm in the knowledge that what would happen would happen, it would be a natural process that millions of women have gone through since time immemorial, and I would only know how it felt once I'd done it.
I was induced two days before my due date, but apart from having my waters broken for me and the standard poke every so often to find out how far I was dilated, I had no interference from the medical staff at all. One midwife threatened me with an episiotomy and forceps if I didn't 'hurry up', but I kicked her ('accidentally', of course) and she soon left me alone and let my body do my thing.
My advice is just to be as vocal as possible during your labour - if you don't want interference, let the midwives know that you feel okay with how things are progressing and know that you're doing fine. If they try anything you're not comfortable with or prepared for, demand an explanation and if it doesn't sound satisfactory or valid, tell them to back off.
I am very glad that I gave birth to DD in hospital as I suffered a severe and very nearly-fatal postpartum haemorrhage within minutes of delivering the placenta, so if this is your first birth I would recommend having all your bases covered by being in a hospital setting rather than go it at home, but I know my experience was individual and relatively rare so the choice is ultimately yours - do your homework, ask around and make the choice you think is best for you. The midwives I had, apart from that one mean one, were absolutely lovely and were more than happy to be there simply to assist rather than force me into anything I didn't want, chances are if you're attending a highly-regarded hospital, you will be fine.
A lot of hospitals these days offer many options for birthing - water births are just one that seems to be very popular due to the gentle, free nature of it and if my hospital had offered this option, and I had gone into labour naturally, I would have chosen it.
If you have definite ideas for how you want your birth to go, definitely write up a birth plan and discuss it with your care team as soon as you can in order to determine what will be possible, and to ensure that the staff you will be dealing with are aware of your wishes so that if you find you can't get the words out during the labour, they have it in writing. Also discuss your wishes with your support person so that they can speak for you if you are unable to.
To me, the gory end of childbirth is for the midwives. I don't want to see the mess that comes out - just get rid of it. I'll take the baby and that's it, thanks. Poo and blood and the rest is all yours.
Hmmm, may need to have a midwife come visit after my freebirth LMAO.
I did have DS in a hospital and never again. Those Utube videos aren't lying about the amount of people bossing you about in there. And vocal doesn't help, at least not if you're being vocal about something they don't want and they've strapped you down so you can't kick (with your husband's approval, of course). But then I did have a very hands-on, too literally, team supporting the hospital policy. Sorry, I mean me. That did happen.
I'd say go it at home but have a hospital ready for a back-up JIC it's needed for whatever reasons - homebirths are great, but an EMERGENCY section can't be done at home, only at home it is for an emergency other than "the Obs wants to leave by 5 tonight".
When I was pregnant with DS I went in blind. I didnt attend antenatal classes, I had no idea what was 'normal' and decided to trust myself and go with what felt comfortable to me. With this 'Youtubeing' I assume your not only looking at Australian videos but experiences of women all over the globe good and bad. I know of quite a few BBers that have their births on Youtube but have had them pulled for music choice and from what Im aware these women had great birth experiences. Trust yourself not peoples videos cz I guarantee you no two births are the same so the videos will do you no good.
I had a homebirth and the only hand on DD's head was mine (felt incredible!).
It might not be something every woman would want to attempt for a first or even for subsequent pregnancies, but it is a falsehood that homebirth is dangerous, even for first time mums.
Bx
ETA - go look on Youtube at "Birth 8" and visualise yourself getting one just like that!
I've had two good hospital births - the midwives were gentle with me, and there was no pushing, pulling, tugging, stretching, etc. Don't scare yourself.
However, you are always bound by hospital policies in hospital - there may be time limits on labour, time limits on pushing, you may not be allowed in water after your water breaks, you may have to wear constant monitoring that limits your movement, you may have to stay in bed, etc. Some hospitals are like this - others are great! Check out what the one near you is like. Then you'll have a bit of an idea beforehand what sort of attitude they have towards birth - controlling, or go with the flow.
If you can not find a hospital near you that will allow you the freedom you want during labour and birth, look for a birth centre or consider a home birth. My third baby was born at home in the water, and that was a great birth experience! Hoping to do it again.
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