Your hospital birth environment can impact your experience of labor and birth. The perfect labor environment is one in which you feel secure, have access to pain relief, have privacy, and feel safe and well supported.
If you are like more than 90% of women who have decided on the hospital for labor and delivery and thought you would be giving up a natural childbirth environment, continue reading! It turns out, and you can get the security and experience found in a hospital setting and the choices and conveniences you may find in home birth. How do you say?
The Birth Environment At a Public Hospital
It turns out you only need to know what to request. And we’re not speaking about natural as in no pain relief, but instead, a more natural environment in which to welcome a new life in your world.
Once you know what is available, sign up for your local hospitals’ tours and ask friends for referrals. Equipped with your choices, you will have the ability to pick the best hospital to deliver your baby.
How To Locate a Hospital That Delivers a Natural Childbirth Atmosphere?
A hospital or licensed birthing center is the safest choice for a baby, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). However, you also want it to feel like the natural process that it is, right?
Many public hospitals have air-conditioned birthing suites, typically with ensuite and shower and frequently a bath. The birthing suites may also have electric oil burners, heat packs, birth balls, and other equipment.
Many Public Hospitals Have Birthing Pools Within Their Birthing Suites
From the birthing suite, remaining active and practicing vertical positions might help you in labor progress and aid you avoid interventions. Using beanbags, mats, cushions, birth balls, or water can help. Talk to your midwife before birth about how you would like your birth surroundings to be.
Finding a hospital which allows/offers these birthing options can help provide a more natural childbirth experience:
Doulas
Nothing says natural childbirth like a doula. Suppose you’re a little unclear about what a doula is and does, based on DONA International, the world’s top doula certifying organization. In that case, a doula is a trained professional who provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to a mother before, during, and soon after childbirth to help her attain the healthiest, most pleasant experience possible. By incorporating a doula in your hospital birth environment plan, you really can have the best of both worlds.
Freedom To Proceed With Wireless Fetal Monitoring
Part of the security of a hospital birth comes from the constant monitoring of the baby’s heartbeat during labor –with any changes alerting personnel to potential issues. However, being hooked up to a conventional fetal monitor typically meant mother was confined to remaining in bed. With wireless fetal monitoring, the mother is free to move around and float the halls. In actuality, walking can be an excellent way to move labor along.
Natural Pain Relief Choices
There is nothing wrong with an epidural arrival –over 50 percent of women have an epidural during childbirth. They’re a terrific solution for pain relief and can be used safely at any stage in the labor process. This means that even if you believe you do not want one, you may change your mind. But, you might want to try these other, more natural, options:
- Breathing techniques
- Aromatherapy/essential oils
- Cold/hot therapy
- Hydrotherapy
- Distraction
- Nitrous oxide
Make sure to allow your labor team to know in advance if you’re considering one of these options so that they can ensure that your delivery area can accommodate your choices.
Peanut balls/Birth balls
Labor balls (or Birth balls) are the same in some exercise classes and the gym. They can offer a soft, giving surface to sit down and gently move around as you stretch your body and let gravity move your baby into position for birth. You may even lean forward on the ball, which may help pull tight back muscles and let a spouse or doula rub your back.
Peanut Balls
Envision a birth ball but smaller and shaped like a peanut–can help the mother remain in bed, have had an epidural, or is tired. They can be positioned in several ways to help promote dilation and position the baby to get more positive delivery. Based on Lamaze International, research shows that peanut balls might help shorten labor.
Other alternatives to improve a natural childbirth atmosphere in a hospital setting are such things as:
- Music and lighting options
- Cord-cutting and infant catch
- Immediate skin-to-skin contact
- VIP/luxury suites which feel more like hotel rooms than hospital rooms
- Baby and spouse can room-in
- Gourmet celebratory meal
- Essential oils or aromatherapy
- Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) machine
- Pillows
- Blankets or rugs
- Special food or beverages.
- Curious about something else just ask!
Many women prefer soft light during birth and labor. You might be able to use lamps or dimmer switches to adjust the lighting in the room. It is OK to ask whether you may close doors or draw drapes for privacy. Music may help you focus. Covering visible clocks may also help you to be ‘at the moment.’
Check with the hospital about having friends, family, or other children in the birth if that is what you want. You and your midwife can allow support people to understand how they can help you.
Public postnatal rooms (where you stay after the delivery) frequently have single, double or twin-share lodging, with ensuites or shared baths. You may be able to have a private room or double bed, based on availability.
Public postnatal wards may also have:
- Televisions (you may need to pay to use them)
- Telephones (you may need to pay)
- Small kitchens.
- Hospital Gowns
They are enough to make anyone cringe. The hospital gowns are paper-thin, scratchy, and — well — exposing, they are not only uncomfortable, but they can also make you feel anything (read: not everything you need on one of the most beautiful days of your life).
Fortunately, you do not have to accept the presence of the required throwaway dress right when you are admitted. There is a much better, more comfortable option you could bring with you to your hospital bag: your delivery and labor gown.
Can You Wear Your Own Gown During Labor?
Yes! While you’ve been busy getting the nursery ready or packing a hospital bag filled with essentials (such as a coming home outfit for baby!), it’s easy to miss one of the most obvious things: what you will be wearing in the hospital.
Though the hospital will provide you with a paper gown to wear during labor, a lot of women choose to bring their own choices which beat the hospital gown concerning comfort (the majority of the options you may purchase are 100% cotton or a blend of jersey materials) and style (fun patterns, bold prints), while fitting the garment concerning functionality, giving physicians and nurses easy access to your body for required medical care. So why not look and feel better with your own gown for the big day and have one more item to improve your hospital birth environment.
Kinds Of Labor And Delivery Gowns
There are many different types of delivery and labor gowns out there — some from big box retailers and a few from small companies began by mothers who understand what women may be looking for in a delivery gown. Most are gowns, dresses, or robes that include openings in logically-placed areas so that caregivers can track you and perform tests without simultaneously exposing a lot of your skin.
What type of delivery apparel you choose will ultimately depend on you — everything you’re looking for, what styles you select, and which features you like. Some options seem more similar to conventional shipping apparel than others. Some are more style-forward dresses (remember: halter tops), while some are just robes to tie around yourself.
Before you buy a dress, think about when you are planning on wearing it (Is this something that you would like for after you have the baby? Are you expecting to wear it throughout your labor?) And the operational specs (snaps up and down the back or front and in the shoulders, by way of instance ).
Finally, with the right choice, you’ll wind up with a dress that will help you feel more at home and more for you in what could otherwise be a daunting, unknown scenario. Plus, who does not need to look their best when meeting infants?
Here are several selections that may work for you:
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Baby Be Mine Gownies Labor & Delivery Gown
Forget the conventional, scratchy, bum-out-in-the-open hospital delivery gowns. Gownies redesigned them to be fun and comfortable (but only as practical ) items. Hospital-staff approved, this dress will work for labor and delivery. It has got snaps (rather than hanging ties) running down the back, front snaps so you can pull the front of the garb down once you will need to and complete coverage (read: no bothersome adjustments each time you get up). Plus, it is comfortable and bright, assisting you to feel better the moment you put it on.
Image: amazon
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Baby Be Mine 3 in 1 Labor & Delivery Dress
This comfortable dress has it all: a breezy, pretty patterns, on-or-off design, and a flattering (and flexible!) empire waist. It blends style and purpose without difficulty, outdoing the throwaway alternative. Even Better: All of the organization’s products are designed by mothers, who know what they would want from this sort of apparel, so you understand every little detail has been considered.
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Ekouaer Nursing and Delivery Nightdress
Mamas who prefer a simple look will pick this suitable gown (choose from Colors like black, navy, and deep red) that is also impressively useful with side buttons and buttons that run all of the ways down the back. The loose fit will keep you comfy.
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Ginkana Maternity Labor Delivery Gown
Who said comfy could not be cute? This Ginkana maternity dress will make sure that you feel your best in the hospital. The dress checks off all the must-haves of a labor and delivery gown, such as front hinges for nursing, back snaps for evaluation or an epidural, and a soft cloth. Additionally, the matching pillowcase means that you can bring your favorite pillow from the home to match on your big day while staying comfortable.
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Ingrid & Isabel x James Fox & Co. Maternity/Nursing Hospital Gown
Who’d have guessed a hospital gown could look so stylish? This delivery-style gown has all you need (think: a whole rear snap closure, shoulder snaps for breastfeeding, side slits for freedom, and an adjustable tie waist). Additionally, it includes a lovely drawstring carry bag.
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Labor and Delivery Gown by Frida Mom
Blake Lively shared her baby registry requirements and included this modern delivery and labor apparel from Frida Mom. There are snaps in front for breastfeeding or skin-to-skin contact, and it has full coverage in the back.
Video by Frida Mom
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Motherhood Maternity 3 in 1 Labor, Delivery & Nursing Gown
Fetal monitoring, an epidural, IV access, nursing — all of it is possible within this cotton-meets-modal dress that way outperforms your typical scratchy hospital gown. It has got snaps in all the proper places (up and down the back and front and in the shoulders), and a sleeveless match for medical access but is slick and straightforward enough to make you feel great walking around the hospital halls (because, yes, that matters ). Note that other dimensions (such as a medium) are available too, but you will have to do separate searches for them.
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My Bella Mama Delivery Gown
Image: mybellamama.com
This dress might have the same general shape as a hospital gown (except, of course, it is fully covered on the back, thank goodness), but it is made from cotton, meaning it is far more comfortable than what the doctor hands you. Expect all the essential functionality: a front slit opening with a tie-up closed, shoulders that snap off entirely in the case you need an IV, and snap closures up the back for accessibility (but also privacy).
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Beauty Cotton Labor & Delivery Hospital Gown
This 100 percent cotton dress will make sure you feel comfortable. On the gown’s roster: front panels for breastfeeding and skin-to-skin touch, full back snaps for comfortable access to medical tests and an epidural, and four distinct styles to select from. Additionally, since sizing during pregnancy can remain confusing, the company’s super detailed size chart is much appreciated.
- PinkBlush Navy Blue Floral Lace Trim Delivery/Nursing Maternity Robe
Cute delivery robe or floral print kimono? It is difficult to tell with this Rosy print that has large bell sleeves, a simple open front with a tie, and a Pretty lace trim (it is guaranteed to brighten up even the dreariest of hospital rooms). Dress up your cozy evenings at home pre-baby or wear it rather than this throwaway option after you are admitted. You’ll probably need another one for when you get home, too.
Video by PinkBlush