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Zasha 
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Joined: 18 July 2009
Location: Bay of plenty NZ
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 Topic: Hospital or birthing centre?
Posted: 27 November 2009 at 7:39am |
Just wondering if you ladies might be able to enlighten me, to which would be better, hospital or birting centre, and what your experieinces have been like at both?
On the physical side of things I have had a trouble free pregnancy except for (sciatica) and so far everything looks to be very low risk. This is my first pregnancy so I'm a little unfamiliar with things. I've talked to a few ladies that have had babies with in the last year, and a couple of the ones that have given birth at the hospital haven't really had much good to say about their experience, except that they have more options available if things go wrong ie; should a c-section be required or more pain management (epidural) be needed. but the others said they were happy with the way they were treated and the care they recieved.
Where in contrast all the ladies that had given birth at the birthing centre (none of them were first time mums though) said their stay was less stressful and a much more private experience and that having their own room was a huge bonus, specially when family members came to visit, and they could also stay in the centre for up to 4 days. where the public hospital liked to get you outa there asap.
So which would be better hospital (safety) or birthing centre (or more relaxed enviroment)?
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T_Rex
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Posted: 27 November 2009 at 8:34am |
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IMO the best thing you can do for an good birthing experience is to be as relaxed as possible. Its very individual as to where is the best place for you to achieve this. If you need the security of knowing you are in a hospital, then you'll feel on edge birthing elsewhere, but if you find hospitals a bit scary, then maybe the birthing unit is best. It has been shown that if you can keep the stress to a minimum in labour, your likelihood of needing the hospital-type interventions/treatments is actually reduced. So it doesn't really matter that they are not there, cos you don't need them.
Also, in terms of safety, they can transfer you to hospital from the birthing centre if it looks like things aren't going to plan. It might pay to have a good chat to your MW about the situations that might bring that to happen, and also find out how long it takes to transfer.
I've pretty much decided to aim for a home birth, because I think thats where I'll be the most relaxed and confident. However, I'm also doing this on condition that if at any stage either DH or myself (or the MW) feels that I should be in hospital, then we'll just pack up and go there.
I don't know if thats any use, but thats been my thought process on the whole thing. Only we don't have a birthing unit, so its hospital or home for us.
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busybee
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Posted: 27 November 2009 at 9:28am |
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Its my first and I am going to hospital. I like the reassurance of knowing that if something goes wrong and a csection is needed then I am right there. You can never say how things will go. I don't want to have to transfer or anything. I figure when it gets to that it will already be traumatic and you don't want to have the extra stress of transfer. Suppose it is a personal choice though. I'm more about dr's and meds than the natural angle on things.
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Mamma2N
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Posted: 27 November 2009 at 9:49am |
Like T_Rex said it really comes down to where you think you'll be most comfortable. I don't feel comfortable in a hospital and it certainly didn't feel like an environment conducive for my calm, stressfree birth.
DD is our first and we can't rave more about her birth. Even DH who intially believed that the ONLY way to birth was with loads of drugs and strapped to the bed with your legs in stirrups  He has now agreed that future babies will be homebirthed. 
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Mum2ET
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Posted: 27 November 2009 at 10:31am |
I had a hospital birth for my first and had no problems at all with my stay. I have to give birth in a hospital because I require antibiotics during labour (and I liked the idea of epidural being an option) but I found my care both during birth and afterwards to be great. I got a private room and had no problems getting MW to help me with any problems. I also had great follow up care, as I had quite a bad tear and impressed with the hosptial physio came to visit me a couple of times, gave me a call once I got home and I also got an appointment with OB afterwards to check I had healed. I certainly wasn't expecting that level of service. I stayed 3 nights and didn't really feel any pressure to leave after the 3rd night, but I felt I should.
BUT in saying that, this time I am planning on giving birth in the hospital (planning a water birth) and then transfering up to Warkworth birthing centre, as I want to make sure that i definitely get a private room (with having a toddler around I really wanted that option) and I can stay 4 nights. So that could be an option for you- get the best of both worlds?
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E&L+1
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Posted: 27 November 2009 at 11:19am |
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I just had my first and had planned to give birth at a birthing centre.
I had to be induced so ended up giving birth at the hospital, my midwife was there and I have to say other than not being able to get in the birthing pool as planned it was fine. We transfered to the birthing centre 2 hours or so after she was born. The stay was great it was well worth the effort of getting in the car, having your own room is great!
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Caro07
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Posted: 27 November 2009 at 12:02pm |
I had DS in hospital as that or homebirth were the only options available and DH didn't want a homebirth.
I had an OK experience. Nothing bad but nothing great either. The midwives were very busy as it was a mixed pre and postnatal ward and as I had had a straightforward delivery my needs were considered low (which compared to others they were). I decided to go home after just less than 24 hours as wasn't getting any help with anything, was sharing a room with a another baby who cried all night and figured I would get more support from my family at home.
I plan to use a birthing centre this time though. Good luck with your decision 
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Caroline, SAHM to 2 boys, S (4 years old) and J (2 years old) 
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first
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Posted: 27 November 2009 at 12:29pm |
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It does come down to comfort. I felt like birthing was a natarul event for women so wanted to stay away from the hospital and medical side of things but wasn't confident enough to do a home birth due to some medical issues through the birth. So i birthed at a birth centre which was close to a hospital if I needed one.
I loved my experience as it was almost like being at home which is what I wanted.
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HippyMama
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Posted: 27 November 2009 at 12:38pm |
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I wanted to go to a birthing centre for my first, but my midwife ruled it out once I was in labour and I didn't have enough information at the time to have known I could have stood my ground and gone to the birthing centre instead of hospital.
The labour and birth at the hospital were OK, but my recovery was craptacular and I had a few issues with the staff.
For my second baby I stayed home, and good thing too, as DD2 was in a hurry! I was waaaaay more relaxed and comfortable, my active labour was only 1.5 hours (labour in total maybe a little more than 2hrs?). My recovery was the polar opposite to my first birth, I felt absolutely amazing afterwards.
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Mama to two earth walkers & two angels.
Remember, you are not managing an inconvenience; You are raising a human being. ~ Kittie Franz
Next Slingbabies! Meet - Friday 4th May !!
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caitlynsmygirl
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Posted: 27 November 2009 at 12:54pm |
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I hate pain, so Im not fond of labor (sorry , I know there are those that think its beautiful etc etc , I don't , I hate it )
Even so , I had no pain relief both times, the first in a hospital , which was fine, except I didn't get the epidural I was yelling for , and the second in a birthing unit, which was fine , up until I decided I was an idiot for doing it without drugs again and I hated it .
Next time , a hospital with drugs for me thanks , and anyone that says "oh , but you forget the pain " or " but you connect more with out drugs " blah blah can kiss my a** quite frankly , ive done it twice, hated it twice and im still waiting for my medal.... ...
Anyway , to answer your question , I liked both , and had good experiences (mostly ) in both , I think as long as your having the labor you want , you should be ok , like, if your at the hospital , you don't have to make it all clinical etc, most have birthing pools etc these days too
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crafty1
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Posted: 27 November 2009 at 1:57pm |
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I think like the others say it's up to you what you feel most comfortable with. I want to give birth in a birthing centre and since i had straightforward labour last time it all looks good. My belief is that birth is a natural ps and so that's what i want, i'd have it at home but not sure about the mess and managing with a toddler etc.
I have friends though who freak out at this and BIL actually said he thinks it's stupid that i'm endangering the life of my baby by not being in a hospital. Weird response i know but he has a very medical model approach to labour, whereas i believe it's a natural process.
I had planned to give birth at a birthing centre last time but due to a last minute midwife change i couldn't. Hospital was fine though, nice big room with birthing pool for the labour. Had a shared room afterwards which was a nightmare (snoring lady) but then when i transferred to birthing centre i had a shared room there too (screaming baby) so no relief in sight and so i discharged myself and went home. It seems really wrong to me not being able to have my husband there with me after going through that together and to have him there to help with things in the night. Esp with your first!
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pickle
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Posted: 27 November 2009 at 2:31pm |
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Hey - IMO I would only choose a hospital, I too had relatively trouble free pregnancy and DS was born in hospital, with no pain relief etc but then i had to go to theatre as I could not deliver the placenta.
As for the birth of my DD, if I had of had her at home or birthcare (1km from Auckland Hospital) I would of died!!!!! I pushed her out and then everything went wrong.
I am a relatively fit and healthy person but things can go wrong and IMO you and your baby are much safer to be in the Hospital where everything is at hand.
Sorry i now have quite a strong opinion on this one as i was the One in 1000 person!!! At the end of the day we all want a healthy baby and a healthy mummy!! Good luck
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HippyMama
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Posted: 27 November 2009 at 3:17pm |
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Crafty1 - I have a 3yo DD who was there for my labour and the birth of her little sister, I just made sure that I had a support person around who she was familiar with and could take her to a quiet spot in the house to do an activity if I wanted her out of my space. She was absolutely fine though and didn't even bat an eyelid, she was so excited to actually see a baby rather than just mummy's huge belly!
As for the mess, what mess? LOL All the pads that were laid under me (I gave birth in my bedroom) plus a few bits of plastic packaging from my MW's kit filled a grand total of one plastic grocery bag. The pants that I dirtied were whisked straight away by my support person and dumped into the washing machine, along with a couple of towels we used to wrap DD2 in.
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Mama to two earth walkers & two angels.
Remember, you are not managing an inconvenience; You are raising a human being. ~ Kittie Franz
Next Slingbabies! Meet - Friday 4th May !!
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SebsMum
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Posted: 28 November 2009 at 8:44pm |
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With DS (my 1st) we went to the birth centre, went really well, natural water birth, all to my birth plan, I consider myself very lucky. This time we'll be going the same path. I asked my MW why so few first timers end up birthing at the birth centres, & she basically said that whilst there were sometimes complications, there was also the fact the fist time births can be longer and not everyone is realistic about just how painful it is going to be and whether they can handle that pain once it starts.
I loved my birthing centre birth (other than the God awful pain of course), but would have had no problem with going to the hospital if that was what was needed.
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toniellis
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Posted: 28 November 2009 at 9:28pm |
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Me personally, homebirth all the way (lol i know that wasn't an option up on the board) for the simple fact that my own experiences proved that being in hospital complicated what should have been UNcomplicated.
Homebirth midwives have to carry all the equipment required for emergencies & it is easy enough to transfer if the need arises in most cases
My next choice would be a birthing centre.
Hospital is my last choice becaus eit is just not a comfortable environment for me. Both times i have tried to give birth in hospital ended up with interference which lead to c-sections. My homebirth was very fast & easy in comparison.
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Mum to Alex (11), Blaire (10) & Erika (8) and Damien (6)
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babybaby
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Posted: 29 November 2009 at 1:56am |
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I want to try the birth pool at Auckland Hospital. It sounds very nice, but I'm worried that they will give me injections. I want to try on my own first. :)
Anybody here had experience with Auckland Hospital?
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T_Rex
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Posted: 29 November 2009 at 8:01am |
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Injections of what, babybaby? Its entirely up to you what treatments you accept.
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Richie
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Posted: 29 November 2009 at 8:41am |
Im preg with my first and planning on having a water birth at St Georges. I am also in the same mindset of those of you who believe childbirth should be a natural process. I have had a trouble free pregnancy thus far so all going well it should all go relatively to plan. The thought of an epidural freaks me out, I want to avoid that at all costs. I would much rather be in pain and be able to control whats going on. The risks associated with Epidurals just dont sound too pleasant to me. But of course, on the day, that may all change. St Georges isn't too far from CHCH Womans so if I need to be transferred, so be it. I certainly would never CHOOSE to birth at a hospital tho cause hospitals frighten me. Both my younger and older sister have spent a lot of time in hospitals so I have bad experiences there and get scared when I set foot in hospitals now so dont think that would be the best place for me to go. I have done a tour around St Georges and its very homely and much more relaxed. Im actually really excited about the whole labour and birth process which is great
Good luck with your decision but just remember that things dont always go to plan so make sure you have a plan B
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Kellz
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Posted: 29 November 2009 at 10:03am |
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I had a hideous hospital birth, and am really looking forward to my planned home water birth this time around- 6 weeks to go!
HippyMumma- glad to hear it went well for you having your 3 yr old in the house. I would love Isla to be there watching if thats what she wants. My parents are now living next door so will be on hand to help out with Isla as much as we need. Im not at all worried about any mess- the midwife is bringing all the homebirth linen over when Im 36 weeks preg, and will clean up and take it with her after the birth.
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Zasha
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Posted: 29 November 2009 at 11:51am |
It's been a great help reading through all the replies, personally I'd like to have a home birth but DP is scared that something might go wrong since I haven't been through his before.
The unfortunate thing for me is even if I do most of my labouring at home and then transfer to either the birthing centre or hospital there's still a considerable time spent in travel involved. The birthing centre is 20 mins drive north, where's the hospital is 40 mins drive south from my home, so even if I do go to the birthing centre and then things turn to custard, and ended up getting transfered to hospital there would be around about an hour spent in travel time. Personally I don't think anything will go wrong, but then again I guess it's one of the few times in your life where you don't really have any control over what your body decides to do.
Hmm decisions, decisions.......
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Hospital or birthing centre?
