There are certain scenarios where we might prefer you be in the hospital bed, so we can better monitor you and your baby. One example is if the fetal heart rate should drop. But, if you and your baby are doing well, I highly encourage physical activity throughout labor. You can move around until you are ready to have the baby if that feels right to you. Pushing can be done in many positions, the most common ones being on your back, side-lie, squatting, and on elbows and knees.
If you have an epidural, however, your choices are limited by the fact that you have no strength in your legs so that we cannot safely have you on your knees or squatting anymore. But side-lie pushing is still an option even with an epidural, and often, we switch it up during the pushing stage and will do a few pushes in different positions until we find the one that works best for you.
Stirrups take away your ability to actively participate in your delivery, and I need you to participate! The idea of wearing a baggy hospital gown with openings in all the wrong places may not sound attractive, but come delivery day, fashion statements will not be front and center in your thinking.
We need access to your belly, and when you are laboring especially during the later stages , we need access to the vagina—so underwear is not an option. That being said, there are special gowns that you can purchase online for the occasion that look a lot cuter than the hospital gowns and accommodate all access needs. They may, however, be somewhat pricey, and you should know ahead of time that whatever you are wearing would likely get quite soiled with things like amniotic fluid, blood, and even poop.
Yes, you may eat during labor. These policies may vary from one hospital to another but tend to be rather reasonable. This is why I recommend only small, light snacks that are high in energy. No, I do not perform routine episiotomies. I cannot repeat this enough. Episiotomies are for certain situations where the baby needs immediate delivery and cesarean section is not feasible. Fortunately, such scenarios are very rare. This is largely dependent on your individual pregnancy and preferences.
If you desire an unmedicated birth and your pregnancy has been normal, you can labor at home for as long as you feel comfortable doing so. On the other hand, if you plan on having an epidural, going to the hospital when contractions are regular and painful is recommended. The reasons is that the anesthesiologist will usually require lab work and some preparation extra hydration with IV fluids prior to placing an epidural, and this can take some time. Pitocin, the brand-name for synthetic oxytocin, does have a time and place for the informed and consenting mother, generally when labor fails to progress.
Inducing labor with Pitocin or generic oxytocin comes with trade-offs: required hydration via IV during labor; required continuous fetal monitoring during labor, potentially, a bladder catheter too ; and sudden and greater pain, as inducing labor with Pitocin makes contractions go from 0 to 60 and inhibits your natural pain-relieving hormones.
Using oxytocin to induce labor also risks hyperstimulating the uterus, which can stress the baby or rupture the uterus, necessitating a C-section. An episiotomy — that is, a surgical cut to your perineum your vaginal opening — is a very outdated practice that is still unfortunately very common in India. Contrary to previous thinking, the recovery time for episiotomy is longer than for a natural perineum tear during childbirth. There may be a shard of truth to that — one study found Indian and Filipino women in the US were more likely to have severe perineal tears than other ethnicities.
Regardless, the risk of severe perineal tearing is very low for all women, no matter what skin colour or nationality, and does not warrant routine use of episiotomy. Epidurals and spinal anesthesia are common medical options for pain relief during labor. For instance, epidurals require an anesthesiologist to administer. Ask your caregiver: Is there an anesthesiologist always available, or on-call at your place of birth? Conversely, you can always refuse an epidural if one is offered or insisted upon.
Also, consider what non-medical options for pain management during labor are available to you. Continuous one-on-one support from a doula, hot compresses and water birthing are all alternative methods of pain relief during labor — ask your care provider: Does the hospital allow doula attendance? Can the hospital facilitate a waterbirth or water labor?
Can you get hot compresses throughout labor? Some care providers require the assistance of a team; others are fine working alone or with just one or two supporting staff. Labor is much more likely to progress normally in situation where mothers feel unobserved and safe.
Freedom of movement during labor is probably the simplest and most effective tool pregnant women have. Your rights during labor and delivery also include not being alone. Many women want their husband in the delivery room, or their partner, doula, other family member — or all of the above. The benefits of skin-to-skin contact after birth also known as kangaroo care after birth are many, and range from emotional to physical for both mother and baby.
While rare emergencies may make immediate skin-to-skin contact after birth impossible, your rights during labor and delivery include a delay of routine post-birth baby care like weighing, measuring or cleaning, which may unnecessarily take your baby out of your arms.
Ask if your hospital supports doing these assessments an hour or two after the birth. A C-section can make immediate skin-to-skin contact after birth challenging, but not impossible. And if anyone tries to take away the baby for a non-emergency reason, stand your ground! Make one here! Good luck, moms-to-be! Remember, this is your birth, your body, and your baby. We had a similar experience. I was in labor for almost 60 hours with my second and pitocin was never even offered.
Thank goodness. I know some doctors automatically give pitocin once you get an epidural bc the epidural can slow things down or they just figure since you can't feel anything you won't mind. Was it getting close to 24 hours since your water broke? Otherwise, I don't see why they would give you pitocin. I'm sorry I don't have any advice, but I'm definitely with you on not having pitocin unless absolutely necessary.
It sounds awful. I'm glad I read this thread. I was given pitocin with my first and it was awful! I'm definitely going to refuse it this time around. I didn't need it since I progressed really well and they broke my water at the hospital.
I still pushed for 4 hours and was just a few pushes away from a c section. I had a ten hour labor! Water broke at 11am It's an old way of doing things. With my second baby, when I was laboring just fine, the OB on call, who I had never met by the way, just stuck his head in the room and said "we'll probably start pitocin soon". I was like wtf? Who are you and what's the reasoning for it? Luckily my midwife completely ignored him.
I labored for a long time, but pushed out my 9lb 5oz baby in less than ten minutes. My water broke, however my body was not going into labor on its own. So they suggested Pitocin to move things along. I wanted to go naturally but I also know that it's better to deliver the baby within 24 hrs of your water breaking. I did not want to compromise the health of my baby, so I went ahead and took the pitocin.
Yes you can refuse it. It's your body, you do have control over it. I'd ask why they are wanting to give it and if the reason isn't your baby is in distress or in danger, then you can say no. I'm having a natural birth and my doctor is totally on board, he's told me to make a birth plan and give it to the hospital staff at 36 weeks. He advocates for his patients and the nurses know not to even suggest certain things when he is there.
Those are his words. I'm so glad I found him because I had to switch a couple times. I'm not comfortable with a home birth because of my history, so a hospital was a must for me. I know you said you're getting an epidural, but the same goes for you having the right to say no unless it is completely necessary for your and the baby's safety. Best answer is to stay home as long as you can when you go into labor. That kinda takes away the option of an epidural if you get there too late in the game, however labor will be progressing all on its own.
You can refuse to be induced up to 42 weeks, as long as baby and you are healthy. Chances are labor will happen naturally around 41 weeks if not before. I would never agree to pitocin unless it was necessary and I don't think my midwives would suggest it unless it was needed. With my daughter my water was broken for 20 hours and I stopped progressing at 6cm she was face up and havjng very irregular contractions.
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