NATURAL DELIVERY IN HOSPITAL

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by SHARON MAEHL

Having a baby today in the "establishment" manner can be a spirit-crushing and money-consuming experience and a growing number of couples are seeking out more natural methods of delivering their children. Not everyone is ready to insist on birthing their baby at home, however, and—for the couple who can't find a doctor who will do home deliveries or the folks who are downright leery of non-hospital births—there is an easy, inexpensive and much more human middle ground: a well-planned hospital stay of only a few hours. I've done it twice myself and recommend it.

You can start making this idea work for you early in pregnancy by learning—at home or in the classes given by a local preparation for childbirth group—the exercises and breathing techniques of one of the natural delivery methods. The Lamaze method has worked well for me twice and I recommend the book, SIX LESSONS FOR AN EASIER CHILDBIRTH (in paperback) by Elizabeth Bing. This excellent guide is often used as a text in formal classes.

Next, you'll have the problem of locating a doctor and a hospital.

With very few exceptions, doctors seem to consider a pregnant woman incapable of making decisions about herself and her baby. Why should she when she's paying them to do it? Furthermore, most obstetricians—in addition to being insanely expensive—have been trained to think of childbirth as a medical problem best treated with drugs . . . and they routinely fail to inform expectant mothers of the facts about these drugs. For example:

[1] All drugs used in childbirth have produced undesirable side-effects . . . some merely unpleasant (such as a headache of a few hours duration) and some as serious as death of both the mother and her baby.

[2] This is not a justifiable risk. Only if the safety and comfort of the mother is in jeopardy should any drug be used in the course of a normal labor and delivery.

[3] The cost of the drugs adds a great deal to the hospital bill. My own conclusion (and some doctors agree) is that any medication should be reserved for the relatively infrequent (4%-6%) medical complications of childbirth.

Financially, a pre-natal clinic attached to a teaching hospital is preferable to a private doctor. Not only are the charges more reasonable ($200-$500 usually covers all pre-natal care and all hospital expenses for the mother and infant) but the care (medical, not personal) is better. At the clinic you'll be seen by more than one doctor—diminishing the chances of an undetected problem—and you won't have the emotional burden of worrying about "disappointing" your doctor when you enter the hospital.