What to expect when having a vaginal birth at hospital - and what can you choose?

So we all have this picture in our heads of what birth might be like. I had a whole story written out about how I hoped my birth would go, and I imagined it that way. But never did I actually give proper thought to the subject on what might happen to my body, my baby, and my birth experience, while under the care of hospital staff.

There are so many things to think about, plan out, and stress about during pregnancy. So let me be your guide and help you gain knowledge on what you might expect when going to a hospital to bring a little life into this world.

1. You will probably be asked to lay on a bed so that they can monitor your contractions, and do a basic health check where they will check the birthing mother's heart rate, temperature, blood pressure, etc.

2. The nurse will probably want to place you on a drip. It has become common practise to deprive a birthing mother of food and water during labor, and instead put her on a drip. We will look into research surrounding this matter a bit later on.

3. Electronic fetal monitoring. They can either do external or internal fetal monitoring. IFM poses more risks than EFM, but both have their ups and downs.

4. Vaginal exams. This one just leaves my head spinning. Your cervix is not a crystal ball. Your dilation does not indicate when your baby will be born, and there are so many risks to vaginal exams anyway. It should only be done if a mother really needs to know, although it can be more discouraging if she is not as "progressed" as she hopes to be, or if there is a very prolonged pushing stage which can cause a cervical lip etc.

5. Artificial rupture of membranes (AROM). This is when a medical practitioner will break the amniotic sac surrounding baby. It is important to make an informed decision and ask your doctor what the risks might be. They will usually do this if you are not dilating as quickly as they would want you to, although it carriers many major risks.

6. Coached pushing. This is the time where the care provider will usually have the woman on her back in the hospital bed, and put her feet against paddle-like things, or in stirrups and tell her when to push. They usually coach the pushing before the mother feels the fetal ejection reflex, and it does not allow the mother to work with her body and her contractions to bring the baby down. This type of pushing is also known as purple pushing - AND YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DO IT. Did you know the most common and natural position for a mother to be in when birthing her baby is on all fours? Who would have guessed :)

7. Episiotomy. This word is enough to make most mammas cringe, and it is something you should talk to your health care practitioner about. Some do routine episiotomies, and others only do it in extreme cases. An episiotomy is sometimes done when there is a prolonged second stage of labor, and usually due to the positioning of the mom. (Did you know, when pushing while laying on your back, your pelvis can close by up to 30%. That is a huge amount!) This then requires that mothers need assistance so in order to do a vacuum or forceps delivery, an episiotomy is needed.

Here is an interesting study that discusses the risks to all these procedures, as well as a few more. Most doctors do things differently from each other, which means not all doctors do everything right. It also depends on the hospital and the procedures they have in place. But it is your body, baby and birth. You do not have to do anything you do not want to do. Knowledge is power, don't be scared to use it!

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