Busting Two Common Hospital Birth Myths

“Thankfully you were in the hospital!”

Unless you are well prepared, have an advocate, and are going to a provider and setting that supports natural physiologic birth, the following are unfortunately the common scenarios. A healthy pregnant mama gets admitted to the hospital in labor, put on the continuous fetal monitor, given an IV, told she can’t eat or drink, put in bed, labor stalled, she was then given Pitocin to augment her contractions which caused fetal distress, resulting in an emergency cesarean. And they tell you, thankfully you were in the hospital. We need to send love to all who still face this prevalent “we saved your baby” after the cascade interventions that proceeded it, that often caused it all.

Another common scenario is a mama is told her baby has macrosomia - is too big (well above 9 pounds for example) and they schedule an induction, which has all the above interventions and their risks, including not creating the necessary ingredients for her to succeed in progressing to have a natural, let alone vaginal birth, and she is told she needs a cesarean for a failed induction; or they just jump to cesarean without a “trial of labor” and baby weighs up to several pounds less than the estimated weight, indicating the induction or cesarean was not even necessary in the first place.

I’ve posted often about each one of these interventions and how they are not evidence based. No animal could labor well with any one of them, so how could a human being? Each one in their own right increases risk and may lead to this cascade of interventions, stress and rescue when nothing wasn’t broken to begin with. Whether you’re planning a birth at home or birth center to avoid this scenario in the first place, or hospital, especially if it’s your first time giving birth vaginally, your excellent preparation is key. Set yourself up for success with my online Guides to Pregnancy, Birth & Postpartum. And in adjunct my Natural Birth Secrets book 2nd edition.

“We just want a healthy mom and baby.”

Heathy to medical providers and hospitals means a mom and baby who are alive without any serious unstable conditions that need immediate or ongoing attention. They are not often concerned with long term effects of their treatment - even medical ones like the disruption of the microbiome from antibiotics - especially concerning when overused and unnecessary, or the short and long term harmful impact of early cord clamping. They are not concerned with the traumatic impact of their type of treatment on mother or baby. Over 45% of mamas in US experience birth trauma - PTSD from their birth experience and how they were treated. I discuss this in depth for mom and babies in my Natural Birth Secrets book 2nd edition.

If this is your only goal YOU are selling yourself short. A live mother and baby without obvious concerning physical complications is baseline, but what about the bigger and long term picture of real health of your mind, body, heart & spirit, the health of your family? What about your experience - is it deeply positive, respectful, empowering, beautiful, sacred, personal, one you will love and treasure forever even if challenging? Do you feel heard, respected, supported? Do you feel safe, comfortable, free to labor as you want? Do you get full informed consent and your decisions and choices honored? Was your partner involved in a meaningful way? This is the most important day of your life - let it be fully and truly healthy and absolutely glorious. Make this happen with my Guide to Pregnancy, Birth and Postpartum. And compliment it with my Natural Birth Secrets Birth second edition - where I go into both of these topics in more depth, along with the research, and the safety and better outcomes from homebirth with midwives in the healthy population.

I’ve taken everything I’ve learned, trained, and supported women locally for over 28 years in my private practice and I’ve poured all of my love, passion, knowledge, and experience into creating something truly special for you… my new and updated Pregnancy, Birth & Postpartum Guides. Same Beloved Content Plus Over 40 Added Bonus Videos! Buy Here Now!

They can be used via the mobile App or on your desktop! It’s the most up to date combination of Love Your Birth and Walk With Anne for Mamas online courses at a cheaper price! And they have an option for direct access to me for your questions and concerns!!

Whether you’re an experienced or new parent, there are hours of videos, workbooks, and PDFs to answer all of your questions. Everything is searchable, so you can just type or talk and it’ll bring you right to the exact moment in the video where I answer your question. It’ll blow your mind! If English is not your strongest language, you can even change the captions or even the audio to the language you prefer. The Prenatal, Birth & Postpartum Guides can be sold separately or in a bundle to buy only the section you need or get ALL of the guides for a limited-time offer of 50% off -> RIGHT HERE!

The key to a positive birth is feeling confident, strong, relaxed, and empowered during the entire process, regardless of the twists and turns it may take. I give my full heart and all I know in everything I do to support Mommas.