How to achieve a ‘natural’ and unmedicated birth in a hospital that leaves you feeling empowered!

Hospitals are the primary choice for most US families, accounting for over 98% of births. Maternal care in hospitals often heavily leans towards intervention-focused approaches. This can be seen in the prioritization of medical procedures, swift timelines, and the inclination to medicalize natural processes. As a result, interventions, although crucial in specific cases, can at times overshadow the holistic and personalized care that mothers and babies truly need during childbirth. This is why some families desire a birth experience with more control and fewer interventions, striving to embrace the natural process, and are determined to advocate for that opportunity while giving birth in a hospital setting.

These families yearn for a more profound, unmedicated connection with the birthing process. Their aim is to steer clear of artificial induction methods, minimize pain-relief medications that might impede labor, and reduce surgical interventions. This yearning for a low-intervention and autonomous hospital birth stems from a compelling urge to be active participants in their birth journey. It involves embracing the human connection between the birthing individual and the new life they're bringing into the world. It's more than just a medical occurrence; it's an inherently human experience. As the landscape of childbirth evolves, families are discovering ways to merge the hospital environment with the ideals of natural birth. Seeking autonomy during childbirth mirrors the power of choice and taking control over their body and birth experience, even if it contrasts with conventional methods. It's a call to prioritize a meaningful and intimate birth, even within hospital walls that often advocate for a more interventional approach.

However, achieving the goal of a 'Natural' or low-intervention birth demands thorough preparation and unwavering support. Today, I'll be sharing five tips I encourage families to explore when pursuing this type of birth experience. Adequate preparation and reliable support are essential to reaching their ultimate goal and maintaining trust in their birth team, even if urgent changes to the plan become necessary.

Choose a Supportive Healthcare Provider

Choosing the right healthcare provider is the cornerstone of achieving an autonomous and low-intervention birth in a hospital. Not all OB-GYNs and Midwives see birth the same, making it paramount to identify one whose values align with your birth goals for low intervention and self-directed birthing. During the interview process, any discord or reluctance they exhibit towards your birth plan should be seen as a sign to continue your search. Early resistance could indicate a potential lack of support during the much more crucial last weeks of your pregnancy journey and into the birth. This final chapter of the birth demands unwavering trust in your healthcare provider so be sure to watch for the signs as much as you can early.
Cultivating a foundation of trust over the course of those nine transformative months is a beautiful way to grow alignment with your chosen provider as well. If you sense an openness for them to truly trust you that can open up the doors for working together to achieve your birth goals. This bedrock of trust will be a lifeline when your pregnancy or birth goes through ups and downs. It also gives you a sense of empowerment in your choices and ensures your voice resonates throughout the birthing process no matter the end result.
For those in the Denver area, I wanted to also share a few of the most supportive hospitals to birth at in our community.
The Center for Midwifery (CFM)
at:
UCHealth Anschutz
UCHealth Highlands Ranch
Avista Womens Care
Denver Health Midwives

NOTE: for years, hospitals around the U.S. have co-opted the language of birth centers by quietly renaming their hospital-based maternity wards "birthing centers" in order to appeal to a fast-growing demographic of folks seeking gentler, lower-intervention care. Hospital advertising--using language about "choice," "autonomy," and respect for birth plans--has evolved along with the changing demands of a more informed birthing population {BIRTH MONOPOLY}

IF YOU FEEL THIS MAY BE THE CASE FOR YOUR CHOSEN LOCATION, ASK MORE QUESTIONS. ASK THE HOSPITAL, AS A LOCAL BIRTH WORKER (DOULA, MIDWIFE, ETC.)

SIMPLY PUT, A BIRTH CENTER IS A FREE STANDING FACILITY THAT IS NOT UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF A HOSPITAL. A BIRTH CENTER IS NOT A COUPLE OF ROOMS ON THE L&D FLOOR. THESE ROOMS MAY HAVE ADDITIONAL SUPPORT OPTIONS, DECORATIONS OR AMENITIES, BUT THAT DOES NOT EQUATE TO A “BIRTH CENTER”.

2. Create a Detailed Birth Plan

The goal of writing a birth plan is not to control the unpredictable nature of birth. Instead, it serves as both a guide and a preparation tool for potential changes that might arise during your experience. This provides the space for thoughtful consideration of options, preventing the feeling of being caught off guard.

The true value often lies more in the process of creating the plan than the plan itself.

When you first start writing your birthing plan the goal should simply be gathering information. Research is key. One of the first things I encourage families to look into beyond their care provider is their chosen birthing location. Unfortunately, the hospital system cannot guarantee your chosen care provider being on call for a physiological or naturally occurring birth. So knowing even more details about the hospital and its routine procedures allows you to align your preferences and know where you may need to advocate strongly for your autonomous choices.

As you gather information for your birth plan, think about what resonates with you and what you believe will be a uniquely supportive feeling throughout your birthing journey. These insights form the foundation of your plan, with the process often leading to crafting three plans: your dream birth plan, an induction birth plan, and a cesarean birth plan. This comprehensive approach helps dissipate uncertainties and empowers you with a range of possibilities.

Once you've collected the necessary information and reflected on your priorities, it's time to put your plan into words. Your approach could involve simplified pictures birth plans or detailed written explanations, but clarity, conciseness, and readability are paramount. Be sure to make and bring several copies to your birth as well.

For added support, I offer my doula families a complimentary annual membership to the Motherboard Birth Birth App. This valuable resource streamlines the process, providing evidence-based information and enabling you to craft a birth plan that's both effortless and enjoyable, allowing you to explore as much or as little detail as you desire.

3. Bring Together a Supportive Birth Team

Surrounding yourself with a birth team that resonates with, backs, and aligns with your autonomous birth aspirations can be an invaluable asset in the context of a low-intervention hospital birth. They act as your advocates when the intensity of labor captures your focus, consistently reminding you of your goals throughout the transformative journey. bringing together this supportive team will be unique from person to person, but I wholeheartedly recommend considering the inclusion of a doula if possible and financially feasible. A skilled and experienced doula brings a blend of expertise, advocacy, and a profound emotional connection to every birth, offering guidance through unpredictability, emotional and physical support, and bridging the gap between medical knowledge and the familiarity of a trusted friend. Their presence adds another layer of strength and resilience to your cause for low intervention and autonomous birth.

It can also be beneficial and empowering to invite even more people onto your birth team like your mom, sister, or friend. But be sure all who you invite fully support your birthing autonomy and are there to offer unwavering encouragement with our alternative ideas or agendas. Hiring a professional birth photographer can also be empowering but if you decide on a birth photographer I urge you to seek a professional with years of experience so they can add to the autonomous energy and support you fully with their energy even if they are mostly in the background. A skilled photographer can seamlessly contribute to the atmosphere of autonomy while remaining unobtrusive, capturing moments while knowing how to navigate a birth with ambitious and profound goals such as natural birth in a hospital.

The synergy of a well-curated birth team envelops you in a cocoon of unwavering support while nurturing your autonomy and choice! There is power in having a team following your lead and trusting your body alongside you.

4. Educate Yourself and Your Partner

Seeking education and being well-informed during childbirth may be your most powerful tool for achieving an autonomous birth experience. Education provides a sense of control, empowerment, and comfort, even when medical considerations or swift changes are necessary. This education about birth and what could occur can also really benefit your birth partner. Witnessing your birthing journey can be an emotionally intense experience for them, but equipping them with an understanding of your body, the birthing process, and your preferences for a natural and autonomous birth empowers them to provide real and thoughtful support. This might encompass providing physical comfort measures, reminding your to eat and drink, or offering moments of intimacy during labor to get that oxytocin moving through your body.

Educating yourself about the birth process and the nuances of physiological birth is crucial. However, delving further to understand comfort measures and natural pain relief techniques such as water immersion and diverse body positions can be equally essential. This knowledge empowers you to find relief during the course of natural labor. While your support team, including both those you invite and the hospital staff, should ideally offer these resources, entering the process well-prepared and informed is pivotal. Advocating for your desired birth experience becomes more effective when supported by a foundation of knowledge so you have no doubt in your choices when feeling push back in some medical settings.

5. Connect with Your Intuition

On the journey of childbirth and pregnancy, forging a deep connection with our intuition is incredibly valuable. Without this connection, we risk being swayed by external influences and veering away from what our gut is telling us, leading to potential regrets. Nurturing this connection demands intentional time and meditation throughout pregnancy to find that innate alignment with our body and baby. Trusting this intuitive sixth sense offers us a powerful and internal guide, steering us not only according to the choices outlined in our birth plan but beyond so we can find groundedness when navigating the unpredictability of birth. It's a profound alignment with our inner compass, a pathway for finding our way through birth by listening to our instincts and internal guidance.

I find it gets easier with each baby because the transformative power of parenthood will truly cause that intuition to ignite within. As we learn to feel confident in our instincts the more strength we feel when pushing against a system not created for our autonomous birthing goals.

These five essential tips for achieving an autonomous birth within a hospital setting underscore the undeniable importance of informed choice and personal autonomy throughout the birthing journey. By selecting a supportive healthcare provider, crafting a detailed birth plan, bringing together a dedicated birth team, both you and your partner seeking education, and nurturing a profound connection with your intuition, expectant parents are empowered to actively shape their birth experience. Autonomous birth means not allowing birth to happen “to” you but taking power over the process and advocating for an experience that will leave you feeling powerful and seen. Autonomous birth also doesn’t look one certain way, it’s more about how you feel navigating birth and afterward.

The significance of these steps reverberates beyond the birthing room, birth is not just a medical event but a transformative, deeply personal journey. I hope these tips encourage you to bravely choose a birth setting that offers you an autonomous and natural birth experience if that’s what your goal is.