Questions & Answers

make the best decision for you and your baby!!! Don't let anyone bully you into doing something do not want. Do not let any narrow minded people crush your desires for an amazing birthing experience. How many times do you actually get to experience such an incredible and beautiful part of life?? Maybe just a few times. Do whatever you have to do to make this the most amazing experience of your life. Good luck!!!!!

This is exactly why I am using a birthing center instead of a hospital, with a midwife. They don't take the baby for one minute and I can go home as soon we want to. The baby just needs to see a pediatrician within 3 days of birth. The only ones present in the birthing room are my family and my midwife. Its a personal, natural experience all moms should have the right to choose. Before I decided on the birth center and the natural water birth, I spoke with the hospital and they said they have their protocol and due to insurance regulations they must do what they must do. Birth plans go out the window the moment they put the IV in your arm. They will induce you when they want and you will have the baby on their time. I recommend you watching Business of Being Born. My first baby, they took her right after she was born and didnt bring her back for 12 hours and gave her formula even though I was a strictly breastfeeding because they didnt have time to bring her back! Never again!

I have read the eye thing isn't necessary unless you tested positive for any cultures. For the vaccines I was going to do the vitamin k but I read it was perfectly safe to wait a week or so for the others. I definitely believe they are important and I don't want my baby to get mumps or any other childhood disease that could be prevented but the baby was born ten minutes ago-give it a minute for heaven's sake! I can't get to the original article but here is a cached one that talks about things they will want to do and why and what you can opt out of safely. I thought it was helpful: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.keeperofthehome.org/2012/02/1o-decisions-for-parents-of-newborns.html

@ Kelliers that sounds terrible that they were not interested in your desires. My ob and hospital seemed very enthusiastic about expectations and requests. I am sorry that is not the case for you. If I were you, I would just lay down the law with my ob. Tell her how your experience is going to happen not the other way around. If she is still not interested in accommodating your request, then I would look at other options that are available to you. Good luck with everything!!!!

I believe they usually will hand the baby to you first now and if you want they will wait until after you have breast fed and bonded with the baby before taking it away for testing and a bath. That's what I'm going to request.

Oh, and giving the hep b vaccine at birth isn't standard practice anymore. I'm pretty sure my second baby didn't get any vaccines until his 4 week checkup. Just the standard heel stick at birth to check vitamin K levels and blood sugar, both important. It also tests for several genetic diseases all at once that if not caught early, can cause serious problems later. Pretty convenient, really, that they can tell so much by inflicting only a few seconds of pain. I know it sucks that they have to do anything unpleasant to the baby right away, but if done properly, it really only takes a few minutes and they shouldn't have to take him/her out of the room to do it either.

Kelliers, I am pretty sure they laugh at those who have a birth plan and demand and expect it to be followed no matter what. When having a plan you need to realize that things can go wrong and last minute decisions must be made. You have to be flexible during that time and most don't want to give in.

I must be crazy though as I find your anxiety a little over the top and dramatic.

Maybe I need a new OB...she seemed largely uninterested in my desire to just have a baby and go home in the simplest manner possible. My husband's aunt is a NICU nurse and she told me they laugh at people who come in with birth plans. That certainly didn't give me a warm and fuzzy about hospital staff respecting my wishes, either. Part of me hopes we wait too long to go to the hospital so we can just birth at home :)

I had both my babies in the hospital and neither of them were ever taken out of the room after birth. They both got all the necessary medical care and baths right there in the room in my sight. My husband actually video taped it all for me because I was getting stitched up at the time. I was in the room, but not able to quite see everything from where I was laying. Different hospitals have different policies, which is why its a good idea to do the tour before you are there in labor. Ask questions! Take notes and don't be afraid to make your wishes known. If your Dr or midwife doesn't seem interested in how you feel about these into at lea explain why the might be necessary, I would say its time to find other Dr. I am a medical assistant myself and I know that sometimes just explaining why something is needed to a patient instead of just saying "well thats the way we do it" goes a long way towards making you comfortable! So make them explain things to you. Its your right to kn

Kelliers I am having the same issue!! I feel like he is MY baby not the hospitals and I am not sure if my anxiety is hormones or irrational but I do NOT want my baby out of my room. Also I know for a fact that I am not allowing him to have the Heb B vaccine at birth. Vaccines that early is crazy to me. I've read that the vitamin K is for their best interest but I am not sure about the other tests they run.