Childbirth Class #2 and Hospital Tour

I had my second childbirth class on Tuesday and my tour of the hospital last night. I was waiting for both to be done with so I could post about them together. So here I go.

This childbirth class was a lot less crazy than the first. First of all, the loud smoking lady was not there with her “friend”. That made things a little more relaxed. The topics of this session included what happens when you get admitted to the hospital, internal and external monitors to keep an eye on the baby and on your contractions, positions, comfort measures (balls, Jacuzzi tubs, and squatting bars), and breathing methods to deal with pain if you are going naturally, getting induced (the process of it), getting epidurals/intrathecals (what they were, how they are administered, the effects of them, etc.), and interventions that doctors can do to assist in birth (forceps, vacuums). We talked about birth plans, too, that allow you to decide ahead of time which of these things you want or not. The nurse was able to tell us what our specific hospital offers rather than just seeing a video of all options. We also got to pass around all of the monitors and vacuums to observe and feel them. I think that was the gist of most of it. Very informative.

Now, I mentioned in my last blog that I had been wrestling with the idea of getting induced because my doctor will most likely not be there to deliver the baby the week I’m due. However, what I mentioned before was that I had been discouraged from it because it can be very difficult for first-time moms if their body is not already prepared to go into labor. The induction part of this class was particularly applicable for this reason. In short, I learned that when you are induced, they can’t force your body to go into labor. They can only present stimuli, which will hopefully further it along. So, what they do is first insert a tablet into your cervix, which is supposed to soften it. They keep checking and making sure it is, but there’s no guarantee. Then they put you on an IV drip of Pitocin which will also release some hormones to increase contractions and soften the cervix. In the end, though, nothing is guaranteed. So, if it doesn’t work, they’ll either send you home to wait it out some more, or you’ll end up having a c-section. The nurse seemed pretty clear about her feelings on “social induction” (being induced out of convenience rather than medical reasons).

Furthermore, she also shocked a lot of people when she said that, in all honesty, the doctors in my clinic only tend to deliver 60% of their own patients’ babies. The only way that your doctor will be the one who delivers for you is if they are the one that’s on call that night. So you have a 1 in 7 chance of your doctor being on call. Considering that Dr. York is supposed to be out of the office that week, Jesse leaned over to me and said, “It looks like we’ll have an on-call doctor delivering.” I’m not really upset by it. Like I’ve said, I’m not overly attached to my OB-GYN. The only reason I’d want her over someone else is that she’s already been there and knows our history, but, as the nurse added, the doctor REALLY only comes in to catch your baby. The nurses on the floor are really the ones who are treating you the whole time.

So, last night, we got to go to the hospital and see the maternity ward firsthand. We started in the labor and delivery room. (If you don’t remember, I actually work at the hospital, which branched out and built a new building the month I started working here. So, I technically work at the old branch and the place I’ll be delivering is the new branch. We all work together, though, and I’m pretty familiar with the workings of the hospital. I’ve just never been in some of the new facilities.) The new hospital is actually MUCH nicer than the old. I watched several friends have their babies at the old hospital and they often had to share rooms with other patients. The accommodations were a lot less. Now, every single patient has her own room. Every labor and delivery room is bigger and set up to accommodate family members and a more comfortable environment for the mom. I can adjust the lighting to be whatever I find soothing. I can bring my own music to listen to. Every room has a Jacuzzi tub that, I’m certain, will be my new best friend during labor. There are comfort measures, in addition to the tub, like birthing balls and birthing bars, which will help you to find comfortable positions. And the bed can be adjusted a number of ways to be most comfortable.

Once the baby is born, they really encourage bonding time. They immediately put the baby on mom’s tummy and clean him/her off there. They encourage breastfeeding within the first hour. They allow you to choose who cuts the umbilical cord and when you want the baby to be weighed and measured, etc. And, they allow you to shower and get relaxed (altogether about 2 hours after birth) before transporting you to the mother/baby room.

We then went to these rooms, which aren’t quite AS big, but are still very decent sized patient rooms. They have a big window seat which converts to a bed for dads to sleep on. And, unlike what you see in many hospitals, there’s no nursery where the babies stay and everyone looks at them through the window. Instead, your baby stays in your room with you at all times. You’re allowed to dress the baby up and eat and watch tv- whatever makes you comfortable. You have to stay a minimum of 6 hours in order for them to make sure you are healing ok and that the baby is feeding ok, but you’re free to leave after that. Most people stay 1-2 nights if they have a vaginal birth.

They also have a lactation consultant who can come talk to you at any point. Someone also comes up and helps you fill out the birth certificate and sign your baby up for a social security number. I seriously had NEVER thought about making sure my baby has an SSN before this was mentioned. It didn’t even cross my mind. I’m glad they come up and do that for you! They take pictures of your baby if you want them posted on the hospital website, and they also offer some for you to buy if you’d like.

I, overall, felt like everything was really accommodating to what was best for my baby and me. I was quite happy about it. I could tell that several of the moms there were VERY particular in what they wanted, which the nurses adhere to. I realized when I started filling out my birth plan, though, that I’m pretty open to whatever. I’ll adjust the lights and music to be what is most comfortable at the time. I’ll determine which methods of birthing are okay or not okay as I experience them. I’m open for guests and I’ll say if I’d rather not have visitors right then. Overall, there’s just too much that would be determined by how things go. I’m not going to go in with a certain idea stuck in my head and make it even harder to get through things (or be upset with the labor process) because I am so particular.

I officially put in my pre-registration at the hospital. So now I’m in the computer system and they won’t be trying to ask me a lot of questions while I’m having contractions. I’ve only got one more childbirth class to go, and then my baby shower in a week and ½, From there, I want to get the nursery all finished and everything ready to go in it. I want the carseat loaded in the car, the hospital bag packed and ready to go, and the house and car cleaned up and child-proofed so that we can maintain it easily until the birth. Whew! It’s coming up fast!!! But my checklist keeps getting smaller and smaller…