Ever find yourself pondering who will be there to welcome your baby into the world on the big day? As you journey through pregnancy, it's essential to grasp the dynamics of your healthcare practice and who might be by your side during those transformative moments of childbirth.
Visit our website, here: https://birthlearning.com/ Follow us on Facebook at Birth Learning Follow us on Instagram at @birthlearning
Show Credits
Host: Angie Rosier Music: Michael Hicks Photographer: Toni Walker Episode Artwork: Nick Greenwood Producer: Gillian Rosier Voiceover: Ryan Parker
Ever find yourself pondering who will be there to welcome your baby into the world on the big day? As you journey through pregnancy, it's essential to grasp the dynamics of your healthcare practice and who might be by your side during those transformative moments of childbirth.
Visit our website, here: https://birthlearning.com/ Follow us on Facebook at Birth Learning Follow us on Instagram at @birthlearning
Show Credits
Host: Angie Rosier Music: Michael Hicks Photographer: Toni Walker Episode Artwork: Nick Greenwood Producer: Gillian Rosier Voiceover: Ryan Parker
Speaker 1:
Welcome to the Ordinary Dula Podcast with Angie Rozier, hosted by Birth Learning, where we help prepare folks for labor and birth with expertise coming from 20 years of experience in a busy Dula practice, Using thousands of people prepare for labor, providing essential knowledge and tools for positive and empowering birth experiences.
Speaker 2:
Welcome to the Ordinary Dula Podcast. This is your host, angie Rozier, and we are sponsored by Birth Learning. Thanks for being with us today. When we prepare clients for labor and delivery, we give them some talking points, things they can take to their provider and ask questions about so that they have the most realistic expectations possible on the day that they go into labor, whether that's spontaneous labor or an induction, however that works out. One of those talking points is going to be the topic of our podcast today. That is the question, or the talking point who will deliver my baby?
Speaker 2:
A lot of people want to know who will be there and sometimes they're surprised by the answer that they might find. So you're going to have a certain number of visits with your provider and people are in all kinds of different practices. Right, there are some practices that are very large. We might have a practice of 20 OBs that works together. We might have three or four OBs. We might have OBs and midwives mixed together. We might have large midwifery practices. We've been somewhere there's 13 midwives and we've been somewhere there's three midwives, I would say. Over the last couple of decades I'm seeing a bigger shift towards large practices in urban areas. So there's large groups of people, the workload has kind of shared a little bit differently, whereas 20 years ago we had smaller practices and you would have a doctor who you would see for all of your visits and they would probably be on call and come into your delivery whenever it was. And there's been a shift in the industry over the last many years that you might have a doctor but they might not be on call for your birth. Specifically, some of them will kind of script things so that they might be there, especially if we're looking at inductions. Maybe doctors so and so likes to induce on Mondays and Wednesdays so that he or she can be present for the deliveries. But if the baby comes spontaneously on another day of the week or a week and they're not on call, you might get a partner deliver that will come in and deliver that baby. So this can be surprising to some folks, especially as you build a relationship throughout your visits during your pregnancy and then this person who you've been seeing is not coming in.
Speaker 2:
So understand how your practice works. A lot of them now are working under the model in larger practices where you see a different provider for every visit. So these are quick touch points. It's harder to build that relationship, to get to know your doctor or for them to get to know you. Of course there's your chart and there's notes and people can kind of put the pieces together, but a lot of times we miss that human component, that human connection, and so kind of understand again how your practice works, and then we'll talk about ways that we can kind of make up that human connection and relationship if your practice isn't one that you're able to develop that in. So in smaller community hospitals a lot of times we do see smaller practices.
Speaker 2:
It might be just a couple of doctors and so you're going to get to know them pretty well and it'll be one of the two of them or three of them who will deliver your baby. And then home births and birth centers that you're cared for by a midwife. Those are really heavy on connection and relationship. So the appointments are generally much longer, more than minutes. They are upwards of an hour or more or more each of those that you're going to spend with your midwife, whether in your home and in an office, in a birth center. So those are all about connection and you're very well aware the one or two people or the team that will be delivering your baby in those situations. So make sure that you have realistic expectations of your provider and the practice they're working.
Speaker 2:
So even if, let's say, you go into labor, a lot of people are surprised by how much the doctor's not with them, and that's you know. I've had several people say gosh, like we can't do anything till the doctor gets here. Like when is the doctor coming in? And understand that doctors come in at the end. Generally they want to come in to deliver the baby. They don't want to come in to watch you labor. They're not going to offer labor support. They may pop in throughout the labor experience, throughout the day, depending how long it is Sometimes before clinic starts, they may pop in. They're going to be, have your chart accessible so if you're being monitored, they can always check in and see, kind of generally, what's going on. The nurse may stay in touch with them so they'll have an awareness, but as far as being in your presence, it's not. It's not a whole lot. So just understand that going in they also may after clinic or at lunchtime they may come for a visit on the labor and delivery unit and then they come, of course, at the very end when the baby's born.
Speaker 2:
Some people too, you know we get to the end like, okay, surely the doctor's coming now and we get to that pushing part, which you know could take a while sometimes. I just heard a new record a gal I worked with a couple weeks ago had pushed for nine hours and had a vaginal delivery before that. In the last 20 years the most I had seen was seven hours, pushing for seven hours and still having a vaginal delivery. See, many people push for six hours. Some have C-sections, some have vaginal deliveries. But new record of nine hours and unmedicated. This mom was unmedicated and pushed for nine hours and delivered her baby.
Speaker 2:
So a lot of people too like, okay, I'm pushing now, surely the doctor will come in and even at that you're you're with your nurse. Your nurse is generally in the room continuously while you're pushing and she is your liaison. She or he I have had several male nurses in OB but generally it's a female is the liaison kind of your frontline caregiver during this process and will keep your provider updated and get them there in time ideally to deliver the baby. So some providers will be in the room for five minutes before the baby's born 20 minutes. I've seen providers sit and hang out for a while during pushing, but usually it's kind of short.
Speaker 2:
So who will deliver your baby? Make sure you understand that and a lot of times you don't know. The answer is we're not sure. Some offices, some practices, will provide their patients, as they get closer to the end of pregnancy, a call schedule like all right, here's for the next two weeks. Here's the docs who are on call. When they're on call, just so that you're aware. But a lot of times you go in and you don't know. Um, every once in a while we can have in certain situations, it's called specialing, so you might have a provider, a midway for a doctor who will special a certain situation or certain patient for a variety of reasons. If we've got a lot going on for this person, um, if they have made a great connection. A lot of times there's some higher risk things, whether emotionally high risk, physically, medically high risk they'll have some situations where somebody will be specialed. Now I have a client coming up who's the surrogate delivery, and the intended parents and the surrogate mother have made a really great connection with a midwife and she has agreed already to be on call for them and to come in no matter what time when their baby is born, and Be able to take care of them, so that that is possible in some situations, but certainly isn't the norm. So just want you to be aware of that. Be sure you have an understanding of who would deliver your baby. So some ways to get that continuous support and build those connections are to learn with your partner, prepare with your birth partner, whether that's your mom, your sister. Do some preparation together so that you do have someone who knows you and who cares for you. They might not know they're not a medical professional perhaps, of course, but if they have a solid understanding of the birth process that you've worked on together throughout pregnancy, that is a great person to have. You already have a relationship with them and they can help you, support you through the process.
Speaker 2:
Work with a doula a doula a lot of times covers that gap. Doulas cover a lot of gaps in care where they are a Relationship piece. You make strong connections with your doula. They are there for physical and emotional support, partner support, advocacy, education, understanding and options and so many more things, more benefits of having a doula present. So if you're seeking that connection and that care like like true, congruent cares, what we call it or somebody's always with you.
Speaker 2:
Seek for some doula support. There are lots of places that have volunteer doula programs. If having a doula is not something that may fit into your budget, you can seek support from a volunteer doula program if there are some in your area. You also can reach out to doulas and have just a preparation session. Maybe you're able to afford a preparation session where they can kind of customize preparation for you. They're likely going to know your hospital, your doctor, what to expect from that. They're going to get to know you, your support person and kind of customize preparation for you so that you do go in having some solid tools that are prepared just for you. So there's lots of different ways to access that connection piece and that support, even if we don't know who's going to be delivering your baby.
Speaker 2:
So that's all we have today. Thanks for being with us. Signing off now. This is Angie roger with the ordinary doula podcast with birth learning. Hope that you have the best day, or at least parts of a best day. Not every day is amazing, but please go out and do something amazing today. Reach out to someone else, look for something to inspire you and touch another life, for good Hope to see you again next time.
Speaker 1:
Thank you for listening to the ordinary doula podcast with Angie roger, hosted by birth learning. Episode credits will be in the show notes Tune in next time as we continue to explore the many aspects of giving birth.