Hospital Tour

Yesterday Daniel and I toured the Women's Hospital in Tupelo before our doctor's appointment! Can I just say WOW?! I had a list of questions to help me determine how flexible they really are with natural childbirth, and they passed with flying colors!
Some of the things that really impressed me:
1. Labor and Delivery rooms have in room shower
2. L & D beds have squat stool and bar
3. IV's are not mandatory, so I won't be 'chained' to an iv pole
4. Monitoring is only done for 20 minutes out of every hour, so I won't be forced to stay in bed during labor
5. They encourage immediate breast feeding after birth
6. They encourage rooming in with baby
7. I have heard that I can arrange to have all bathing, etc done in room so the baby never has to leave me!

They definitely seemed to have an appreciation for the fact that women's bodies are designed for birth and don't require intervention! The facilities are really nice and they have a great courtyard and cafe for visitors to use. Daniel and I are going to work on a formal birth plan to discuss with my doctor at our next appointment. This plan will cover specifics about interventions (pitocin, pain relief, episiotomies---all things I don't want), when to cut the cord, and what will happen immediately after birth. A friend who will also be delivering in Tupelo went to childbirth class at Oxford hospital last night and did not get the same responses as above. They require Iv, the require constant monitoring, etc. I feel very relieved to know I chose the right place for us to deliver! As for my appointment, everything looked great. Next month I will have to take the 1 hour GTT again, and fingers crossed, I will pass it!

We are still deciding on names, bedding, etc. I'll keep you posted if we ever make any final decisions!

Below are some photos from my friend, Jenny's baby shower this week.