Bringing Your Home to the Hospital
Have you ever heard a joke about how uncomfortable the couches are for dad to sleep on in the hospital? It's not just the couches. The fluorescent overhead lighting, the monitors beeping loudly, that classic hospital smell, the thin l&d gown that leaves your whole butt exposed - the list goes on. Hospitals just aren’t top 10 cozy spaces, that's for sure. All these things combined can turn our fight or flight all the way up, making laboring in the hospital difficult. Here’s some advice from a birth doula on making your hospital birth easier.
Oxytocin is known as the “love hormone” or in my world, the “labor hormone”. Oxytocin is naturally released when your body feels safe, by physical touch, or when you orgasm. This (along with sperm softening the cervix) is why a common recommendation to naturally induce labor is lots of orgasms and sex. Similarly, you might feel contractions picking up every time you lay down at night. At our core, we’re all still animals and our instincts are no different than a mama lion. When our Cortisol rises our body knows it's not a good time to give birth and our body will stall labor until we know the baby is safe.
When you go from home to hospital you're introducing a completely new environment. This new environment includes bright fluorescent lighting, a sharp smell of isopropyl alcohol, beeps from multiple monitors, and hospital staff walking in and out of the room. It’s very likely that after this switch your body senses danger and labor slows down. In a study done in 2009, researchers looked at the labor room and how it could be better reconfigured. They removed the overhead lighting, substituting more warm tones. They added additional laboring tools, like a birth ball and stools. They added an array of music options like ocean or rainforest sounds, along with blankets and pillows in the room. And most importantly, they removed the hospital bed, substituting it for a full size comfortable mattress in the corner of the room.
In return, the women admitted to the modified labor room reported spending less than half of the time they were in labor in the bed. Their movement was less restricted, and they were less likely than the control group to need labor augmenting drugs. By changing the room to feel less like an ER and more like a house, women were able to relax more, move more, and have faster labors.
You can mimic these measures in the hospital too! Here’s a list of ideas to discuss with your provider to increase the comfortability of your birth environment.
Bring string lights, battery operated tea lights, or galaxy lighting.
Request the monitors be silenced, and ask they be turned toward a wall or covered with a blanket.
Discuss intermittent monitoring
Ask if a diffuser can be utilized
Invest in a labor gown, or bring comfortable pajamas.
Consider opting for a saline lock instead of an IV.
Bring your favorite blanket or comfort item.
Use a small speaker to play your favorite music.
Request only necessary staff be allowed in during your stay.
Consider hiring a doula for continuous care.
By taking steps to make your hospital environment more comfortable and personalized, you can help ease the stress and discomfort often associated with labor. Remember, your birthing experience is a deeply personal journey, and creating a space where you feel safe and supported can make all the difference. Discuss these ideas with your healthcare provider well in advance, and don't hesitate to advocate for the changes that will help you feel more at ease. Ultimately, a more relaxed and comfortable environment can contribute to a smoother, more positive birth experience for you and your baby.
