Why I Will Continue to Support Winnipeg Hospital Birth
This blog has been rattling around in my brain for many, many months, and I’m just now getting a chance to sit down and put pen to paper… fingers to keys.
The past year and a half while the world pivots around Covid-19 has been interesting to say the least. We’ve watched restrictions change over and over at all birthing places, and entry into our Winnipeg Hospitals is still a little iffy.
It would be easy to make a blanket statement that I am no longer attending hospital births. Others have, for various reasons. I won’t. Why? That’s not as easy an answer, but bear with me while I try.
Not all birthers who want to birth out of hospital CAN birth out of hospital.
I am a prime example of this, and I would have been devastated if my doula had turned me down due to where I was giving birth. As a long time doula, and someone who knew long before I got pregnant that I wanted an ‘undisturbed’ birth, I was literally in tears when I received final notification in my second trimester of my first pregnancy that I had been turned down for midwifery care because there were not enough midwives to go around.
My doula took this at my very much unwanted first hospital birth. Her presence there honestly got me through the tough times.
I honestly could not picture my birth taking place within a hospital. It was foreign to me, and took weeks to wrap my brain around. Then to make things worse, I chose an OB that had a reputation for being very family centred— and after two appointments together she retired. I was shuffled to another brand new OB working in a nearby practice. This new OB was perfectly friendy, but I was not at all confident that she was going to be someone who would support me through my birth— if she even made it there. I knew that she shared call with other OBs in the practice and I would more than likely end up with a provider that I had never met (Spoiler alert, I did.)
One of the only things that made me feel confident going into that birth was knowing that both my husband and my doula would be there to support me. I had people on my side who I knew. Who knew me. Who had taken the time to get to know me. The two of them together worked as a perfect team to provide consistent care and support so I didn’t have to worry about everyone else in the room that I didn’t know.
In the end, my hospital birth was without issue. I was respected and listened to. I had lovely nurses most of the time. But without knowing that going into it- it was the knowledge that my doula would join me that held me together.
Transfers Do Happen.
In first time birthers, I believe the transfer rate from homebirth or Birth Centre planned births is about 20%. Most of these are non-urgent, but it can still be scary and overwhelming. See above! You now have a person who is working hard to labour calmly and confidently, who is also having to juggle the emotions and logistics of a changing birth space. That’s a lot for anyone to handle.
I have been part of three hospital transfers in the last couple years of my career where the birther started labouring at home or birth centre and I met them there to give support- and then they ended up moving to the hospital. Every one of those birthers- and their partner, were overwhelmed and nervous. In each one I was able to provide reassurance of the next steps, able to support the partner, and then pick up where we left off as soon as we got to the hospital.
Research has shown again and again that one of the most crucial parts of doula care lies in the aspect of them being a continual support. That we are one of the only faces around the birther that is constant, reliable and familiar.
In what has the potential to be a very scary change of scenery- I was a constant. I can’t imagine abandoning my client at that moment when they needed me most. How do you have that conversation with someone? I know that your world is turning upside down right now, but I’m not stepping foot in there! Sorry hun, See you when you get home?
Nope. I just cannot fathom it.
This image would not have been possible had I chosen not to follow my client to the hospital for their unplanned but necessary transfer from the Birth Centre.
Risking out of out of hospital birth during pregnancy is stressful enough.
This combines many aspects of the above points. I’ve had so many clients reach out to me in frustration or sadness after finding out during their pregnancy that their planned out of hospital birth was no longer an option for them. Usually this is due to an issue with the pregnancy, and comes with so much stress on top of it. Often they are having to switch care providers as well, sometimes late into the pregnancy when it’s too late to form a relationship with their new OB.
As someone who has already had to plan a hospital birth that I hadn’t intended, I can only imagine how much worse that would feel after having felt like you wont the midwife lottery and were going to get your choice of birth place. At this stage, birthers don’t need more reasons to feel stressed- like worrying about whether their doula will abandon them because their birth place is no longer ideal. They need consistency and support- and reassurance that regardless of where they give birth- it can still be an amazing place.
Because sometimes hospital birth is just plain amazing too.
We do a disservice to birthers everywhere when we automatically put out this assumption that any birth in the hospital is going to be “less than”. That they should put their guard up, or worry, or that they should just give up because it’s “obviously” going to be a bad experience.
Sometimes, yes. Sometimes a hospital birth is awful. Sometimes so is a homebirth. We don’t know how a birth is going to go until we’re in that moment, so let’s stop projecting onto our clients births.
Some of the most supported, family centred, intuitive births that I have been to- have happened in hospital. I’ve had clients who were more comfortable being there due to having close medical intervention nearby, or who needed to be there specifically for the interventions and help. I’ve had undisturbed birth loving clients who just couldn’t get midwives but still had the most empowering soothing birth I could imagine at the hospital they chose.
All births can be good. Regardless of where they take place. Choosing to sit out on one because you’re projecting that the building it takes place in, is doing a huge disservice to your clients.
Yup. That’s my amazing client just a few pushes away from meeting her daughter, laughing in between contractions in a birthing room filled with love and support.
All birth is beautiful.
Bottom line.
Support should not end due to choice of birth place. So for as long as I can, and as often as I can, I will continue to support births in all Winnipeg birthing options. While Covid is making that a little trickier for us— we learn to bend and flex a little bit!
To have the best chance to be allowed to support my clients in all WInnipeg birthing places right now, I am fully vaccinated. I support the usage of masks and will wear one myself in all birth spaces. I have additional training in PPE and infection control and will always use best practices to keep everyone safe.
If you have questions about having doula support or birth photography for your upcoming birth, send me a message and let’s chat about how to get you the best birth possible, wherever you birth!