Tips On How To Choose A Hospital
Which Is Supportive of Unmedicated Birth

If you want to have an unmedicated birth or natural childbirth at a hospital, one important thing that you have to do is to choose hospital wisely. This means that you should choose a hospital whose policies are not against your wish of having a natural birth.

However, you must also understand that you will give birth in the hospital in which your obstetrician has admitting privileges. Therefore, when choosing obstetrician, you should also consider his/her hospital admitting privileges. The good news is that most obstetrician have privileges at more than one hospital, and therefore you will have several options to choose from.

How To Find Hospital Supportive of Unmedicated Birth

Let's say you have 3 obstetricians to consider. Each has admiting privilege to 4 hospitals. This makes 12 hospitals to consider. For me, that's a lot of hospital to interview and tour.

Now, where can you find these people ? There are several ways of finding these people:

• Childbirth educator. A childbirth educator whose class emphasize on natural childbirth usually knows which hospitals favor unmedicated birth.
  
  
• Local support group or mailing list for these following organizations: attachment parenting international (API), La Leche League (LLL), homeschooling group, and other natural family living organization. Moms in these organizations know which hospitals are notorious for unmedicated birth and which ones are very accomodating and respectful of those wishing to have an unmedicated birth and headstart on breastfeeding as well as mother-baby bonding. You can find the local group contact either through these organization's website or by asking people in a national natural family living forum or mailing list for local referral.
  
  For instance, you can post a message in Mothering.Com forum. Chances are there will be somebody who knows a local mailing list to join or somebody in your area for you to contact.
  
  Remember, if you want to have an unmedicated birth at a hospital, recommendation from other natural birthers who had gone through it is important. Don't take recommendation from well-meaning friends or relatives not committed on having natural childbirth since their criteria are likely to be different from what yours are.

Choosing Hospital For Unmedicated Birth

Now that you have narrowed down your choice to just a handful of hospitals, it's time for interview.

Here are several things you should ask the hospital before deciding the right hospital for you to have an unmedicated birth:

• Hospital's policies on continuous electronic fetal monitoring and routine intravenous hydration. You wouldn't want to end up in a hospital where these two things are compulsory since this means that you cannot move about freely during labor. Laboring women should be allowed to move about freely and find comfortable position for her to labor so that the labor can proceed smoothly. Strapping a woman on an electronic fetal monitoring system, coupled by intravenous hydration can make the labor less effective, hence they increase the rate for c-section. Therefore, if you want to maximize your chance of having an unmedicated birth or natural childbirth, look for a hospital where being hooked up on a machine is not the norm.
  
  
• Hospital's policies on nibbling (eating small amount of food) during labor. Most hospitals won't allow this, so it will be difficult to find one which does. If you know you won't be able to eat at the hospital, make sure you eat enough food during early labor at home and stay as long as you can at home so that you are going to be at the hospital for the shortest time possible.
  
  
• Hospital's policies on pushing position. Ask whether you will be allowed to push while squatting, or on other 'unconventional' position. Being able to give birth using your preferred position is better if you are aiming for an unmedicated birth since this will allow you to push better and will reduce the chance of getting a vacuum or forceps-assisted birth.
  
  
• Hospital's policies on induction. Find out how long you are allowed to labor before you get induction. You would want to be in a hospital which limits the length of time you can labor since you can end up with induction or other intervention if you labor or pushing your baby for too long.
  
  
• Hospital's policies on stripping membrane or breaking water to speed up labor. Don't go to a hospital where this is a routine procedure.
  
  
• Whether it is possible to labor and give birth in the same room. Being able to labor and give birth in the same room is a plus since you don't have to transfer during your hardest contraction.
  
  
• Whether it is possible to have a vaginal birth after cesarian (VBAC) if you've previously given birth by c-section and are interested in trying to have a vaginal birth this time.
  
  
• If you prefer to labor and give birth in water, make sure that the hospital has a water tub. Ask how to reserve for a room with this facility.
  
  
• What the ratio between nurse and women in labor is.
  
  
• Ask for the rate of c-section, vaginal birth and unmedicated birth on that particular hospital.

Once you finish this part of the interview, you will have a feel on how a particular hospital handles labor and birth. But you're not finished yet with the choosing procedures.

So, you still have to continue the interview by asking the hospital its newborn policy.

Click here to continue reading on choosing a family-friendly hospital supportive of natural vaginal birth and breastfeeding.

*NOTE: Do you want to get more tips and techniques for having natural birth? Then subscribe to our FREE monthly newsletter, "Born Naturally" and receive a FREE "Pregnancy Diet Secret" ebook.

Click here to subscribe and claim your FREE bonus ebook which will change your 'pregnancy life'

Is natural birth worth it
The truth of hospital birth
How to choose an obstetrician supportive of natural birth
Tips on how to maximize the chance of having natural childbirth at hospital
What you should do on D-day to get natural child birth at hospital
Birth At Hospital Main Page

Other birthing options:

• Homebirth - Why giving birth at home
• Giving birth at a birthing center

From Choosing Hospital for Unmedicated Birth page to Homepage

ADD TO YOUR SOCIAL BOOKMARKS: Blink Del.icio.us Digg
Furl Google Simpy Spurl Technorati Y! MyWeb