I was able to have both of my daughters in a hospital that fostered a home-like environment, and had dedicated nurses who rarely left the room and who catered to my every whim. I felt like a queen both times, and my children didn't seem any worse for having been born to a mother with pain medication. Power to you if you want to have an at home birth, or a natural birth, but for God's sake don't go through all of that pain to satisfy someone who isn't going to feel it for you.

Give me a team of medical professionals and the benefits of modern pain-relief any day of the week!

Thank you. I am 5 months pregnant with my second child and the current controversies over where and how and with whom to have my baby have me second guessing all my decisions and stressing over things my own mother never dreamed about (as if there isn't enough abut pregnancy and new babies to stress over). I feel compelled to defend any decision I make to my friends and family- some of whom are sure to criticize no matter what route I take. My largely- liberal "pro choice pro-woman" friends are the worst. Though I agree with 99% of their ideologies, I am tired of justifying my previous C-section and my current decision to have doctor-attended hospital birth this summer. While I applaud the wealth of available information and choices now available to new moms, I am tired of the judging and criticizing. Much like abortion, the decision of how and where to have ones' baby (and how to feed it) is highly personal and shouldn't be subject to the opinions and judgments of politicos on either side.

I am currently pregnant (and have never questioned that I am going the hospital route) - but have a friend who is due soon who is doing the home birth.

What scares me about the home birth is the "what if" of the situation. There are two many times where fast medical decisions need to be made, and a mom can find herself going from a normal birth, to being in the OR prepped for a c-section in the span of 5 minutes. I personally don't feel comfortable with not having the medical options there by my side, even if i don't plan on using them.

In this day and age, anything that you are choosing to do at home (water birth, all natural, etc.) can be done in a hospital as well, and by a midwife. Just food for thought...

I personally am excited about the possibility of nitrous oxide and the narcotic shots. One woman in my class chose our hospital for their use of nitrous alone. For my own personal view though, I'm pretty much refusing that epidural unless I'm in so much pain I can't take it anymore. I don't want to have to do assisted pushing and I don't like the idea of having to stay in bed once they put the drug in your back, or even possibly needing a catheter to pee. Plus I learned in my birthing class that an epidural can increase the severity of the tearing, no thank you.

I'm not opposed to drugs, nor do I think anyone who doesn't use them is kooky or superduperhuman. Everyone is different, from the videos I saw even women who wanted to do natural childbirth, their body just wasn't cooperating to make that feasible while for another woman it was just fine. I just want to be in a hospital just in case. My hospital does do the birthing room, where you have your own room, with the tub and shower, the big ball, the straddling bar, you can have music and control over the environment. They don't take the baby from you unless there is something wrong.

I think every woman should just take a class, it just makes it better because then you know what to expect besides the stories you've heard or the crap they put on TV.

Home and hospital are equally valid choices for places to birth (usual low-risk caveats apply). Choose surgery, choose painkillers, choose induction, choose as-natural-as-possible -- the point is to CHOOSE! Make an educated decision, know why your setting and attendant is the best choice for you, and birth advocates all over will respect that.

What's most lacking in our maternity system is families making educated decisions, partly out of ignorance and partly lack of options. Currently, midwives and birth centers and home-birth attendants are unavailable in much of the country, so people are pushing for more. Everyone could use more evidence-based medicine, and both patients and insurers should be demanding it.

Yes, emergencies happen in birth and it's important to have a hospital to go to when you need it. Train wrecks happen everywhere. It's only responsible to do what we can to make those emergencies less likely and less severe. For some people, that means going to the hospital early in labor. For others, it means planning a home birth and going to the hospital only when necessary. Don't let anyone else make the decision for your family.

Amen, sister! Thanks for providing a little balance to the birthing brouhaha.

Interesting you bring up the hospital/early labor point. I just learned in my class, that going to the hospital in early labor is one of the things that increases medical interventions. The current studies and opinion of a lot of hospital staff is to stay home until you reach the active labor phase, they call it the 512, contractions 5 minutes apart for 1 to 2 hours before you head in.

The instructor said that they don't really know why going the hospital early increases these instances of medical interventions, there is still more research to be done regarding that. They suspect that it's because the women stop moving around so much once they get to the hospital and remain in bed and not changing positions can increase medical interventions.

So they say sure call your doc, but you don't really go to the hospital in early labor unless your doctor tells you to come in, like if your water broke and the fluid isn't clear. You can be in early labor for 8 to 10 hours.