Did you know that in most hospitals you are allowed two support people? Presumably one will be your partner and the second can be...your friend, a family member, or a hired professional called a doula.  Having an extra set of hands to assist you and your partner can be very beneficial.  In the case of a doula, The assistance comes without judgement and with an expertise in modern birth and a knowledge of the workings of the hospital.

But what if you were told by your doctor that they didn't allow you to have a doula?  Do you think your doctor has the right to dictate who your support people are? One such incident was highlighted to me earlier this week and it got me thinking. 

Consider this, what are the chances your doctor will actually be at your birth? Having a doula offers you continuity of care.  Your own doctor can't offer you that.  The vast majority only work at their hospital once a week or less.  And as most hospital policies do not dictate the precise "who" you can have, where is it coming from that your doctor can say precisely who will be there to support you?

One reason could be that the doctor has had a past bad experience with a doula and has written off the entire profession.  A situation of one bad apple spoiling the bunch.  But like with all things, there is good and bad.  There are good doulas, and bad doulas.  Just like there are good doctors and bad doctors, good nurses and bad nurses.  But you might agree, that one bad experience shouldn't ruin the experience of all mothers and shouldn't take away a woman's choice for her own birth.  If we did that, then most of us wouldn't be seeing doctors at all, or going to hospitals. 

A second reason might be control.  Some doctors, not all, like to micro manage birth.  They like to control the process and don't like to answer questions.  Some feel the questions you ask are actually you questioning them as a doctor and as a professional.  Some think the doula is whispering in your ear and getting you to make decisions that go against medical advice, or that the doula is bad mouthing them behind their back. 

Nothing could be further from the truth.  A doula is there to support your decisions.  To help you in physical comfort and evidenced based information.  To remind you of your birth plan, that you and your doctor agreed to.  To help you cope when things don't go as planned and to be with you even when everyone's shift has ended.  They are not there to make decisions for you, but to help make sure you have all the information to make an informed consent decision.  And informed consent is your right as a patient. 

So what is a parent to do when confronted with having to choose between the birth team she wants and not upsetting their care provider? The easy answer is nothing.  It shouldn't be a choice.  Your birth should be what you want it to be.  With a care provider you like, who is supportive of your choices, in a place where you feel comfortable, either at home or a hospital or a birth center.  With a team of supporter of your choosing who will care for you, listen to you, and be with you every step of the way. 

But how do you do that? Research.  Interview, yes even doctors.  Go on tours of different facilities, ask questions, ask your friends, family, co-workers, prenatal teacher.  Research on-line, read books beyond What to Expect When Your Expecting.  Pregnancy and birth are all about choice.  Don't have that choice taken away from you because of fear and ignorance. 

Inductions suck! (A Very Tired Rant)

Let me start by saying that for some, inductions are necessary. Those women with high blood pressure or PIH, those with gestational diabetes and those who suffer from other illnesses that may threaten their or their baby's life. For them inductions have saved lives.

Having said that, for women who are "past date" or their water has broken or their doctor is impatient inductions SUCK!

The main reason being that they are designed to fail. Lets consider how it goes:
The pregnant mother comes into the hospital with the belief that her baby is 'overdue', 'very large', 'her water has broken 24 hrs ago', or they had thought they were in labor and the hospital was not busy and even though they were only 1 cms dilated they were kept and given a room. (Hint, go home!!!!)

She is told, for whatever reason, that she will need to be induced. The reasons given sound grave and usually the mother is so sick of being pregnant it is a straw she can't help but grab.

And thus it begins.
She is sent to a room. Forced into a hideous blue gown with her butt exposed. Propped up all comfortable in bed, (The first of the problems). Attached to fetal monitors (The second of the problems) and either her water is broken or she has an iv started and is pumped up with pitocin. (The third of the problems).

If the induction begins with breaking her water, there is usually a shred of hope in that she is able to walk around at least after a little bit of monitoring. This is good and necessary because women need to move in labour.

If she has pitocin then she is doomed. Women in labour can't remain in bed, unless their body is telling them too. Being on pitocin she must stay monitored and thus stuck in bed. Thus begins the interventions.

An epidural follows because the contractions she is getting from the pitocin are unnatural and very painful and being stuck in bed she can't move around to find a comfortable position. You can try sitting in a chair or standing or even on the birth ball, but heaven's forbid she should move because then the monitor won't pick up the baby and the nurse has to reposition it until the baby can be 'found' again and that usually involves the mother being uncomfortable and begging for pain medication.

Thus the epidural now has slowed the labour and mom isn't labouring at the rate she should. According "the text book" you should dilate at a cm per hour once you hit 4cms. Now because of this delay the pitocin is continuing to be increased. After a while the baby may not tolerate the pitocin contractions and the heart rate will dip repeatedly and the pit is stopped but the contractions do too and then the cycle starts. After a while, usually just enough hours to really drain on the mother and her partner the doctor mentions the dreaded "C" word. At this point, the dips on the monitor have scared the parents, they are exhausted and just want to see their baby and be done with it all.

Thus the end of the induction is a c-section. Failure!

So then what are you to do? First off get as much information as possible before you are induced. Ask the following questions:
"Am I or my baby in danger?" If the answer is yes then you have no choice and the induction is necessary.
"What happens if we wait a little longer?" Most of the time it will buy you some time and if the answers you get are satisfying to you then, wait!
"What happens if we do nothing?" Again, more time is bought and you get more information to make a sound decision about the care you are going to be receiving.

Don't blindly jump into an induction without all the facts.

Second, there are lots of great ways to get your body ready for labour:
Massage, accupuncture, chiropractics, sex, and more.

Try everything else first.

Well that is my rant for the day. In case it wasn't obvious I had a failed induction on the weekend and while mom and baby are doing great I'm saddend by the fact that she missed out on the birth she was hoping for.

Therefore: Inductions Suck!