It is important to choose your care provider carefully. It is equally important to choose your birth location wisely. Some moms who are choosing a hospital birth, think it doesn’t really matter which hospital they choose.
Hospital Choice Can Be Key
I have looked at this comparing 2 local hospitals I have been a doula at.
I then compared 2 births at these hospitals.
Statistics Show It
There was an interesting study showing that for profit hospitals perform more cesareans than non-for profit.
Birth Workers See It
The Midwife from Birth Sense compares 2 hospitals she works at and their differing policies regarding eating during birth and how it can affect births
At Your Cervix shows how a Care Providers negativity can lead to unnecessary cesareans. How is this related to the hospital you choose? Some hospitals have policies in place to help prevent this from happening. Policies that encourage lower cesarean rates, like no limit on time pushing as long as mom and baby are doing well. Vs a 2 hour limit at other hospitals. Maybe there are policies at certain hospitals – no vacuums unless baby shows distress?
It is just a vivid reminder of the importance of choosing your care provider and birth location carefully!
I just had to comment on this post after my birth experience last weekend. We have two local hospitals to choose from. When I delivered my two-year-old, we had registered at the smaller hospital based on word-of-mouth recommendations. Unfortunately, my OB was at the larger hospital with another laboring mom when I went into labor. His office told me I had to go to the larger hospital since he was already there. As a result, I labored and delivered in one room, then was rushed all the way to the other end of the hospital to their “mother-baby” unit. My daughter was taken to the NICU for “breathing problems” and was not released for 36 hours. My entire experience there was stressful and traumatic. And this was all despite having a (physically) quick and easy delivery.
Fast forward to this past weekend. My OB happened to be out of town when my labor started. He had already told me to go to the hospital of my choice if it was that important to me, so we went to the smaller hospital and checked in. However, the on-call doctor was working at the larger hospital for the day and requested that we check out of the smaller hospital, walk around the mall for a few hours until I had progressed further, and then check in to the larger hospital! Can you imagine? All I could imagine was giving birth in the car or at the mall. We exercised our patient rights and opted to stay where we were.
Twelve hours later my labor stalled. I was dilated to 6 cm and 50% effaced and my surges just stopped altogether. The on-call doctor refused to even come to the smaller hospital to evaluate me. She basically said (through the nurses) that she had offered us care and we had refused, so we were out of luck. Well, the nurses didn’t want us to leave because we live 40 minutes away and this was my 5th delivery. They knew once labor started again I might not make it back in time. My OB was due back in town the following afternoon so we decided to wait for him. During this time I just kept focusing on Sheridan’s advice in her e-book to trust my instincts and not make any quick decisions when I didn’t have to.
That night and the following day the nurses took exceptional care of me and my husband. They seemed genuinely glad to have me there. I believe that my prayers were answered concerning my whole birth process and that God was allowing my body the rest it needed. When my OB came back into town, he ordered a low dose of Pitocin to get things moving again. I listened to my instincts and felt this was a good choice. My surges started again at 3pm with the Pitocin and at 4pm I was 7cm dilated. We decided to break my water and I felt good about this decision also. At 5:30pm I began to shake and I remember thinking “I can’t do this!” Then I realized I was in transition and I felt encouraged. I was 9 1/2 cm dilated and 100% effaced. The nurses prepared the room and I pushed for about 10 minutes. My baby girl was born at 6:02pm — 8lbs 15oz and 21 inches long. No tearing or stiches. In fact, my perineum wasn’t even sore the next day.
I had been diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes during my pregnancy but I managed it by controlling my diet. I later found out that my baby would have been automatically admitted to the NICU at the other hospital because they don’t do blood sugar testing on the floor. Instead, the nurses had me nurse right away and the baby’s blood sugar normalized within a few hours. We were sent home 21 hours after birth with a clean bill of health and the most positive birth experience we’ve ever had. I KNOW without a doubt that the hospital you choose can make all the difference in the world!!