NATURAL DELIVERY IN HOSPITAL
(Page 3 of 5)
May/June 1971
By Sharon Maehl
As soon as the baby is born and is breathing well, ask to hold it. Again, you have the right. The baby is yours, not hospital property.
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Begin nursing the baby right away. This causes the uterus to contract and expel the placenta. It's also a wonderful experience to nurse your child for the first time.
The doctor may now want to give you an injection of oxytocin to help your uterus stay firm and to prevent excessive bleeding. If you want the drug but don't like injections, ask for it in pill form. Hospitals always have it and it's easier to take.
If your child is a boy you'll be asked for permission to circumcise him in the delivery room. You can refuse if you prefer not to have him circumcised. This is an unnecessary surgical procedure with some dangerous complications (mainly, severe bleeding) and babies have died as a result of circumcision. Not often, but it does happen.
At about that point a nurse will want to clean the baby and take it to the nursery. Don't let her. If you like, let her wash the baby a little and give it back to you. The nursery is a source of infection and, anyway, the baby belongs to you and your husband.
The medical staff will have fits about this (routine is routine) and won't know what to do. They'll probably plead with you, threaten you and — in general — be complete nuisances. If you are firm and seem to know what you're doing, however, they'll find some place to put you, your husband and child for a while.
Somewhere along the line you should tell the staff that you'll have to be running along soon (you left a cake in the oven?). Whatever you do, though, don't mention this to anyone in the hospital until the baby is born. If you tell the doctor during your pregnancy, he may even refuse to accept you for pre-natal care. Doctors are not known for their flexibility. Best wait until the baby is born and safely in your arms before you tell anyone your plans.*
You'll want to stay at the hospital for at least an hour — preferably two — before you leave. This greatly reduces the danger of post-partum hemorrhage catching you off guard. Two hours should be plenty and, during your short wait, the hospital will dig up a staff pediatrician to give the baby a physical examination before you take it home.
When you're ready to go, sign the little forms that say you're leaving against medical advice. Don't be intimidated by those slips of paper. Just smile and sign them . . . then pick up your baby and go home.
I assume that anyone who reads MOTHER would breastfeed her child. This is imperative if you leave right after delivery because it controls bleeding and ends the worry about whether or not some plastic formula agrees with your baby.
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