From: grun@intellistor.com (Paul Grun)
Subject: Re: Homebirth vs. Hospital birth
Organization: Intellistor, Inc.
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 92 01:18:53 GMT

In <1992Dec9.190715.20357@adp.uucp> kevinc@adp.uucp (Kevin Cherek) writes:

> (deleted)  My OB/GYN, who I like
> alot, is against non-hospital birth, although we picked him
> originally due to his non-interventionist attitudes on birthing.

(deleted)

>  2) If you had a hospital birth, would you recommend one?  What should
> I watch out for if we decide to go that route (unwanted intervention,
> monitoring, medication, for example)?
>  3) We hear that care of the newborn in hospitals is particularly of
> concern.  What is your experience on this?  (Having the baby removed
> from the room, drops in eyes & measurements within the first few
> minutes, etc.)
>   Any and all information on your experiences would really help us
>alot.  Thanks.             Ginger Goral     gsa@osnnov1.adp.wisc.edu
>-- 

Congratulations!  May will be here before you know it.

Needless to say, this is a controversial subject.  Everything that follows
is strictly my own opinion.  Tempered with experience.

There's alot to be said for an at home birth...if it goes okay.  
There are the familiar surroundings, the comfort of friends and
family etc.  Be prepared though, child birth can be a _messy_ business.
Still and all, some people have wonderful homebirth experiences.

But what if things start to go wrong?  I have no statistics, but when
things *do* go wrong, (which they do, sometimes, and without regard
for the health of the mother) there is frequently _very little time_ in which
to intervene.  An ambulance ride would be too long.  So, ask yourself;
is a home birth worth it compared to the potential for a disastrous
delivery resulting in the death of the baby and/or serious injury (or worse)
to the mother?

As for our hospital experience, we agreed with our doctor beforehand on an 
intervention philosophy.  And he stuck with it.  Yes, we
had some interventions, but always after consultation and consideration.
We evaluated the situation at each step and made decisions
that were right for us.
As for the hospital, it'd be hard to say enough good stuff about it
(Boulder Community Hospital).  Every step of the way it was plain that
the nurses and staff had our best interests and desires at heart. 
We had nothing but *excellent, outstanding* care.
As for newborn care, we delivered in a LDR (labor/delivery room)
which has complete facilities right there for caring for the newborn.
Somehow the nursery nurse appeared in the LDR at just the right 
time to help care for Casey.
Yes, she did weigh and measure him and give him apgar scores
within minutes after birth.  This was all done right in the LDR.
He was never out of our sight and rarely out of our arms.
She also saw to it that he got to mom and tried latching on right away.
In no way did anybody take over the baby. 
They involved us all along...more like a partnership.
Left me with very warm feelings.  
One brief anecdote:  We had discussed a LeBoyer bath with our doctor
beforehand.  He told us to mention it to the nurses during delivery
and they'd make it happen.  Of course, I forgot all about it....but the
doc didn't.  He'd mentioned it to the nurses beforehand, and sure
enough, they made it happen.

Maybe we were just lucky with our choice of doctors and the philosophy
of the local hospital.  But I'd sure check it out carefully before I
rejected the hospital route.

Best wishes.
-Paul
grun@intellistor.com
 'once in a while you get shown the light...'
-- 

goes to show, you don't ever know...
grun@intellistor.com
Newsgroups: misc.kids