Thread: Where to Give Birth

Would like to hear stories about places where you've given birth - hospital, birth center, home, bathtub, or ??? Hope this is the right forum.

I had my first at home with a midwife and my second at a birth center in a tub, also with a midwife.

Birthing at home is nice, being able to do that in the comfort of one's own home. But my midwife didn't use any pain medication, which probably would have helped. I have a very high pain threshold, but two hours of pushing after two hours of hard labor was just too exhausting.

With my second, I opted for a birth center. Was given medicine to help take the edge off the pain. Got in the tub soon after that. TUBS ARE GREAT! I hung over the edge while my now-ex poured water over my lower back. Oh, that felt good. Then the midwife said she needed to check me so I laid back. "Oh, his head is right there!" she announced. That's when the contractions got really bad. It was time to push. The medicine didn't help after this point. I pushed 7 times and out he popped. Total labor time: 1 hour, 20 minutes!

I had my first in a hospital, with an epidural. It was a dream and let me tell you why. I had planned on using a hospital to give birth but the one I originally planned to use had some trouble believing me that i was in labor. Can you believe that? I went in, granted after coming in every week for the past month because of contractions, but i could tell this was different and EXTREMELY painful. I was crying, the whole deal. And they said, oh your three weeks early, your only dilated to a three, go home. Say what? I can barely walk i hurt so bad. HELP ME PEOPLE! It was horrible. But since i was not dilating past a three quick enough for them, i was "not in labor". So i go home for a few hours and sit in the tub, then I can't stand it so i go back and demand something for the pain at least. They shoot me up with morphine and send me home. I puke my guts out half way home. Did they warn me it might make me do that? Not at all! So needless to say after a lot of back and forth and doctors and nurses treating me like I'm a retard, I get the idea to go to another hospital, that discovers lo and behold i am now at a 5 and i am feverish. (After the birth they discover my placenta was starting to separate also) I am now 48 hours into full on labor pains and finally starting to dilate. They slip an epidural in and Ahhh.. I sleep a little bit (for the first time in 48 hours) and give birth 6 hours later. The right hospital makes ALL the difference. I recommend to get some recommendations from people before choosing your hospital!

I've heard many nightmare stories about people getting sent home again and again or just general lack of medical establishment courtesy towards pregnant women. I mean, this is an intense, emotional, physically painful/trying time!

On another note, after natural childbirth, there isn't a whole lot that's more painful to me, so most of my fear of physical pain is gone.

Yes, I join the ranks in the nightmare delivery stories and poor tx of pregnant women. I think medical personnel become NUMB and are emotionally closed off to the experiences us new mothers are facing. I felt treated like an annoying customer who they couldn't wait to get rid of. My regular OB was fantastic, but the staff in labor and delivery was bitter, cold, and unkind.

I eventually had an emergency c-section (which I felt most of the cutting) with my first, after laboring for over 12 hours and pushing so hard that I tore my cervix and my bladder. I peed blood for two weeks after and had to have a catheter in for 2 weeks with a Foley bag around my lower legs. It was hell!!!

Oh my! I think that is the worst labor/delivery story I've heard yet!!!

Meanwhile, I get mad whenever I see labor/delivery on TV/movies because it never seems realistic.