Welcome back to Your Birth Bestie podcast! This is day two of the special five-day series about overcoming hospital fears to celebrate six months of this podcast. Thank you for being part of this community. Your messages and reviews mean the world to me, and I'm excited to continue providing you with valuable content.

Just a quick reminder, I’m doing a daily giveaway this week to show my appreciation. Each day, one lucky listener who reviews the show and shares their favorite episode on Instagram stories, tagging me @bethconnors_cnm and DMing me a screenshot of the review, will win a $50 Amazon gift card. I would love to hear what episode is your favorite!

Today's topic is probably the most talked about fears I have with expecting moms planning a hospital birth, and that is the fear of medical interventions. 

It’s most common for moms to come to me after having a bad experience at one of their prenatal visits where there provider is recommending tests or procedures with little to know education or support or they are newly pregnant and are reliving their traumatic first hospital birth not sure what they are going to do to be sure they don’t relive that experience.

I first want to say just flat out that yes this is something that you should have on your mind if you’re planning a hospital birth. It’s so common for providers to rush birth along and push interventions that are often not evidence-based, sometimes for convenience or due to “hospital policy”. This is why so many moms fear intervention, because they don’t know who to believe, or what is actually necessary, or what the true risks are to consenting or declining a certain recommendation. This is absolutely a confusing place to be and I’m sorry that you’re probably not getting enough time at your prenatal visits or helpful resources to get all your questions answered. Whether it's the fear of being pressured into interventions you don't want or the fear that you won't receive necessary medical care when you need it, these concerns can be daunting.

And I think it is important to mention that medical interventions can actually be necessary in certain situations to make sure you and your baby are safe; however the fear of unnecessary interventions is also valid. I think the best place to go from here is learning how to find a balance between informed decision-making and trusting your healthcare team.

To help you address these fears, let’s hear from some moms who have navigated this journey recently. All of these new moms recently completed my online course and had their babies this summer!

So first, Sarah successfully had a hospital birth free from unwanted interventions. She said, "I was determined to avoid unnecessary interventions, but had already found peace that if I needed medical assistance it was going to be okay. What helped me was using the prompts in the course to talk with my doctor about my birth plan. We went through a few situations where they might recommend intervening, but it made me feel better once I voiced my concerns and my doctor knew how I felt about my plan.”

This conversation with your provider is crucial to avoiding medical interveniton. I can tell you right now from my experience in the healthcare system, most often doctors and midwives won’t hand out controversial information or options to invite a long conversation. It’s not that they don’t have the answers, it’s that they don’t have the time in the 15 minute prenatal visit to go over these things. This is why knowing that ahead of time and doing your own research and figuring out what you want on your own and why, is so helpful to maximize those appointments. You can go to each visit discussing a new scenario or part of childbirth where you want clarification and present what you want and see if there is any push back. If there is, then you can discuss that with your provider and see how supportive or unsupportive they are and better understand what challenges to your ideal birth plan will come up, if any. The goal is with continuous conversation and preparation you will be more than ready to have your baby in the hospital, with the control you want over your experience.

Even learning when and why certain procedures or interventions might be recommended can ease your anxiety and also allow you to prep ahead for those situations to have the time to make choices, rather than in the moment decisions without any thought. 

Another mom, Lisa, said, “My goal was to learn about benefits and risks of every intervention. My doctor wouldn’t give me the time of day to go over that stuff, so I took it upon myself to figure out what was best for me. Understanding the reasons behind medical decisions helped me to ask questions and make choices I was comfortable with during my labor."

I think it’s absolutely true that when you have knowledge about interventions, you can better advocate for yourself and make decisions aligned with your birth plan.

It's also really important to have a supportive birth team. Whether it's your partner, a doula, or a trusted friend, having someone by your side who understands your preferences and can help communicate them can be incredibly reassuring.

So if you have fear of medical intervention during your hospital birth, here are some actionable steps to consider:

Talk with your provided often and bring questions! Start creating your birth plan early on so you have time at the end of your pregnancy to really figure out the details and what you want. A birth plan is not set in stone, it is 100% fluid and can change at any point if your thoughts change. But having a place to write down your ideas and be a guide for questions to ask during your prenatal visits is something I recommend.

Sign up for  a childbirth class that covers the pros and cons of interventions so you have the information and the confidence to make decisions.

Surround yourself with people who support your birth plan and can advocate for you if needed. When you’re in labor you should be focused inward on surrendering to labor and coping with contractions, that it’s a bonus to have someone else be your advocate and be a second set of eyes and ears to make sure everyone is supporting your wishes.

And remember, it's possible to have a low-intervention hospital birth while being prepared for any necessary medical interventions that may arise. Trusting your instincts, communicating openly with your healthcare team, and staying informed will empower you on this journey.

Thank you for joining me on day two of our five-day series. Tomorrow, we'll tackle another common birth fear: the fear of pain during labor. Don't forget to enter our daily giveaway by reviewing the show and sharing your favorite episode on Instagram stories, tagging me @bethconnors_cnm. You could win a $50 Amazon gift card. See you tomorrow! Bye, everyone!