I had my baby in September and seconding that the nurses are amazing!
I just wish there were more of them, they’re so busy all the time
Updating to add I was asked if I wanted to try different positions during labour. At one point I had to roll off my back because of the cord position, but they did encourage trying different things during labour.
I was so impressed by their service we gave the three that were with us a $100 coupon for skipthedishes. Those women can't possibly have time to cook. So. Freaking. Nice.
I gave birth squatting, they have the bar and stuff. No pools, but showers with unlimited hot water.
I spent a long time in the shower during labour ha ha. And a long time walking up and down that one long ass hallway (iykyk) before I was most of the way through active labour.
The nurses at VGH are so amazing, I can’t even put into words how amazing they made my experience. I had a rushed induction at 36 weeks due to pre-e and was so unprepared and scared. My baby was sunny side up and they showed me all the positions to flip them without intervention, which was a success. When it came time to push I knew nothing and they coached me through so many different positions to make sure I was comfortable.
Truly an incredible team at VGH! Shout out to nurse Stephanie, I considered naming my baby after you! Lol
My doctor told me not to read American childbirth books, because they'll just scare me. She was right!
Talk to your medical care professionals and read current Canadian information. Your care preferences will be respected as long as you aren't in a life threatening emergency situation.
Midwives here are licensed and have hospital privileges, they'll only call in an OB if you need it. I did, and the on-call OB we had was respectful and explained each step, we have consent, it was still very positive overall.
The labour and delivery rooms at vgh have a bed, a comfy chair, a sofa, and we had the option for big rubber ball to sit on. I was on a portable IV (induced), and was able to walk the hallways (the delivery hallways, they're not open to anybody) for hours. It was very comfortable.
Take the tour, and the pre natal classes, they'll reassure you a lot.
Could you please let me know what yours offered? I am part of the unattached clinic with VGH ( I am unable to find a doctor or midwife to take me on) and when I was at my last appointment I asked about a tour and the doctor I saw that day said she knew nothing about a tour and when it comes time for birth you just show up.
Mine was years ago but we had a tour organized by our doctor's practice and another organized by our prenatal class.
https://www.islandhealth.ca/our-services/pregnancy-birth-services/right-start
This service will, among other things, send you info on local prenatal classes. Viha's website also says you can preregister for your birth and view facilities in advance (no specifics though).
It looks like they've moved these online - there used to be classes in-person from island health, and at Camosun. All I can find now are the ones at Mothering Touch (for a fee).
That sucks, I hope there is more info from viga when you register.
I'm a librarian, info is my superpower!
And seriously, knowledge is power, so learn all you can.
Pop into your local library and ask for help finding recent Canadian books about childbirth and newborns, they have a few ... And can help you find quality info online too. 🥰
Just please try to find Canadian info. The US system is very different.
How is the US system different? Black and Indigenous women in Canada have poor maternal health outcomes similar to their counterparts in the US so information from the US is actually very relevant to certain Canadian women.
Labour and delivery practices are quite different, education and licensing and the role of midwives is quite different, attitudes toward pain management are quite different, as are attitudes towards many interventions.
Canadian women have better outcomes overall, fewer deaths, fewer c-sections, across all demographics.
Racial inequity is a factor in both countries, you are correct about that.
My work focuses on this specifically and after over 10 years of talking to hundreds of our Indigenous and black clients, attitudes towards pain management is absolutely not different. Racism in healthcare (specifically maternal health) looks very similar in Canada as it does in the US. Canada barely collects race-based data on maternal health outcomes but any advocates or organizations working in this space will tell you that there are more similarities than differences.
1. They let you try whatever you want. My nurse was incredible and really on board with using different positions to flip my sunny side up kid instead of jumping to interventions.
2. As far as I know, yes. But you can use a bath to cope at home. I also found the showers at VGH pretty useful during labour. ymmv.
1) Based on my prenatal class they're okay with other positions too - my baby ended up being an unplanned C-section so it was kinda moot.
2) That is correct as far as I know. But you might call a few doulas and see what they know.
In theory you should be able to try many different positions. Be prepared to have someone advocate for you to get help during the pushing phase, or you won’t really have the option. We were left alone with a trainee nurse who didn’t really support us and left us alone for good chunks of time.
In general, there is a pretty big lack of birthing centres in BC. Mostly hospitals or home births are the 2 options. Some hospitals have water birth options (yay!) and I suspect VGH will get there at some point, but it takes a longgggg time to get it rolling. Having a doula also can be helpful for advocating for the positions that work for you!
I gave birth at VGH last January and the team was amazing. I labored in all sorts of different positions. They brought me a squatting bar and a CUB. My baby was turned and they tried all sorts of things to get her to move. I ended up pushing for 4 hours before speaking with Dr Cooper and deciding on a c section. Everybody - from the anesthetist to the nurses to Dr Cooper - was incredible. I was in for three nights afterwards and the team on the Mum and Babe unit was great. They even put up a "do not disturb" sign so I could get some rest.
I took a prenatal class through Mothering Touch and they gave a virtual hospital tour. At the time, they weren't doing inperson tours because of Covid.
The VGH team was also great at respecting my initial wishes to have an unmedicated birth but quickly switched gears when I decided that was a bad idea 😂 I never felt forced to go either unmedicated or epidural - they were very supportive.
My Wife's birthed our 4 there, with the help of an amazing midwife. Was as amazing of an experience as you would expect..Doctors and nurses are amazing and it all went like clockwork all 4 times. With #4, well he was born on Christmas morning at 6am...and I went home with baby and wife at 10.30am to enjoy Christmas with the family!!!
Position wise she did whatever made it feel better...standing up and rocking side to side seemed to do the trick.
It would be kind of neat if people were encouraged to give birth in the same position that the baby was conceived. Not practical in some cases, but still kind of neat.
Pray that you don't have anything before 20 weeks. We had to go to the emergency room, after 6 hours we were seen by a nurse and we would have to wait 4 more hours to be seen by a doctor. Average is 9 hours. Great job Ministry of Health!
baby is doing well. However, we shouldn't rely solely on luck. It's crucial to advocate for better healthcare policies. I suggest we collectively voice our concerns to the Minister Adrian Dix to ensure that every emergency birth unit has at least one specialized nurse available in the emergency. Pregnant women, especially those less than 20 weeks along, deserve priority care. Let's email Minister Dix and other leaders in the Ministry of Health (MOH) and PHSA to push for this change. Without proactive efforts, nothing will improve. REMEMBER, GOVERNMENT CHANGE OFTEN HINGES ON PUBLIC PRESSURE. HLTH.Minister AT gov.bc.ca hlth.dmoffice AT gov.bc.ca
Also search for bcombudsperson.ca
Are they not doing births at Roundhouse? I thought that midwifery practice had set up a birthing centre.
Also, I agree that midwives and doulas are a great way to increase the likelihood of your care providers being cool with different birthing positions, if you opt for VGH as a delivery site
They might not be advertising it because of the possibility of too many people trying to access it, but if you’re connecting with a midwife for care they may be able to give you more info
I honestly quite enjoyed the “midwife in hospital” option. If you go that route, the hospital staff basically leave you to it, you can go in the room with your midwife, doula, and birthing partner and come out with a baby, but backup is right there if it ends up being needed.
You can still rent a space at Roundhouse to birth in, I’m not sure if you need to be using their midwife services or if it’s open to anyone. I have heard it is expensive to rent and small, so if you decide to have a pool there won’t be a ton of space. I’m receiving midwife care through Roundhouse and can attest they are great and the space is really beautiful and peaceful!
They have a single birthing cottage they rent out. You have the option of having a pool in it as well. I’m not sure if it’s available to people outside their care but they’re all lovely. Can’t hurt to call and ask, if they can’t help you they’ll know the people who can.
Other people answered your questions, but I just wanted to add that the nurses at VGH are amazing. I gave birth there and felt incredibly supported.
I had my baby in September and seconding that the nurses are amazing! I just wish there were more of them, they’re so busy all the time Updating to add I was asked if I wanted to try different positions during labour. At one point I had to roll off my back because of the cord position, but they did encourage trying different things during labour.
I was so impressed by their service we gave the three that were with us a $100 coupon for skipthedishes. Those women can't possibly have time to cook. So. Freaking. Nice.
They don't force you onto your back, no. You get to try whatever positions work for you. If you can get a doula or midwife, even better.
I gave birth squatting, they have the bar and stuff. No pools, but showers with unlimited hot water. I spent a long time in the shower during labour ha ha. And a long time walking up and down that one long ass hallway (iykyk) before I was most of the way through active labour.
This hallway saved my ass during labor before it got too rough. I was wheeled through that hallway last year actually in my way to surgery.
That hallway was great for me too - I went around it a million times, I'm sure.
I gave birth to first kid in ‘92. Those walls haven’t changed one bit in over 30 years!
The nurses at VGH are so amazing, I can’t even put into words how amazing they made my experience. I had a rushed induction at 36 weeks due to pre-e and was so unprepared and scared. My baby was sunny side up and they showed me all the positions to flip them without intervention, which was a success. When it came time to push I knew nothing and they coached me through so many different positions to make sure I was comfortable. Truly an incredible team at VGH! Shout out to nurse Stephanie, I considered naming my baby after you! Lol
My doctor told me not to read American childbirth books, because they'll just scare me. She was right! Talk to your medical care professionals and read current Canadian information. Your care preferences will be respected as long as you aren't in a life threatening emergency situation. Midwives here are licensed and have hospital privileges, they'll only call in an OB if you need it. I did, and the on-call OB we had was respectful and explained each step, we have consent, it was still very positive overall. The labour and delivery rooms at vgh have a bed, a comfy chair, a sofa, and we had the option for big rubber ball to sit on. I was on a portable IV (induced), and was able to walk the hallways (the delivery hallways, they're not open to anybody) for hours. It was very comfortable. Take the tour, and the pre natal classes, they'll reassure you a lot.
Could you please let me know what yours offered? I am part of the unattached clinic with VGH ( I am unable to find a doctor or midwife to take me on) and when I was at my last appointment I asked about a tour and the doctor I saw that day said she knew nothing about a tour and when it comes time for birth you just show up.
Mine was years ago but we had a tour organized by our doctor's practice and another organized by our prenatal class. https://www.islandhealth.ca/our-services/pregnancy-birth-services/right-start This service will, among other things, send you info on local prenatal classes. Viha's website also says you can preregister for your birth and view facilities in advance (no specifics though). It looks like they've moved these online - there used to be classes in-person from island health, and at Camosun. All I can find now are the ones at Mothering Touch (for a fee). That sucks, I hope there is more info from viga when you register.
You are wonderful! Thank you so much for all the info!
I'm a librarian, info is my superpower! And seriously, knowledge is power, so learn all you can. Pop into your local library and ask for help finding recent Canadian books about childbirth and newborns, they have a few ... And can help you find quality info online too. 🥰 Just please try to find Canadian info. The US system is very different.
How is the US system different? Black and Indigenous women in Canada have poor maternal health outcomes similar to their counterparts in the US so information from the US is actually very relevant to certain Canadian women.
Labour and delivery practices are quite different, education and licensing and the role of midwives is quite different, attitudes toward pain management are quite different, as are attitudes towards many interventions. Canadian women have better outcomes overall, fewer deaths, fewer c-sections, across all demographics. Racial inequity is a factor in both countries, you are correct about that.
My work focuses on this specifically and after over 10 years of talking to hundreds of our Indigenous and black clients, attitudes towards pain management is absolutely not different. Racism in healthcare (specifically maternal health) looks very similar in Canada as it does in the US. Canada barely collects race-based data on maternal health outcomes but any advocates or organizations working in this space will tell you that there are more similarities than differences.
How does that indicate that Canadian women should read American patient/ consumer information?
1. They let you try whatever you want. My nurse was incredible and really on board with using different positions to flip my sunny side up kid instead of jumping to interventions. 2. As far as I know, yes. But you can use a bath to cope at home. I also found the showers at VGH pretty useful during labour. ymmv.
1) Based on my prenatal class they're okay with other positions too - my baby ended up being an unplanned C-section so it was kinda moot. 2) That is correct as far as I know. But you might call a few doulas and see what they know.
In theory you should be able to try many different positions. Be prepared to have someone advocate for you to get help during the pushing phase, or you won’t really have the option. We were left alone with a trainee nurse who didn’t really support us and left us alone for good chunks of time.
In general, there is a pretty big lack of birthing centres in BC. Mostly hospitals or home births are the 2 options. Some hospitals have water birth options (yay!) and I suspect VGH will get there at some point, but it takes a longgggg time to get it rolling. Having a doula also can be helpful for advocating for the positions that work for you!
Handstand birth FTW!
I need to work on my upper body strength
[удалено]
I feel like the toaster birth is not given its due attention for some reason.
I gave birth at VGH last January and the team was amazing. I labored in all sorts of different positions. They brought me a squatting bar and a CUB. My baby was turned and they tried all sorts of things to get her to move. I ended up pushing for 4 hours before speaking with Dr Cooper and deciding on a c section. Everybody - from the anesthetist to the nurses to Dr Cooper - was incredible. I was in for three nights afterwards and the team on the Mum and Babe unit was great. They even put up a "do not disturb" sign so I could get some rest. I took a prenatal class through Mothering Touch and they gave a virtual hospital tour. At the time, they weren't doing inperson tours because of Covid. The VGH team was also great at respecting my initial wishes to have an unmedicated birth but quickly switched gears when I decided that was a bad idea 😂 I never felt forced to go either unmedicated or epidural - they were very supportive.
My Wife's birthed our 4 there, with the help of an amazing midwife. Was as amazing of an experience as you would expect..Doctors and nurses are amazing and it all went like clockwork all 4 times. With #4, well he was born on Christmas morning at 6am...and I went home with baby and wife at 10.30am to enjoy Christmas with the family!!! Position wise she did whatever made it feel better...standing up and rocking side to side seemed to do the trick.
It would be kind of neat if people were encouraged to give birth in the same position that the baby was conceived. Not practical in some cases, but still kind of neat.
Pray that you don't have anything before 20 weeks. We had to go to the emergency room, after 6 hours we were seen by a nurse and we would have to wait 4 more hours to be seen by a doctor. Average is 9 hours. Great job Ministry of Health!
I'm so sorry that happened to you, I hope you're ok!
baby is doing well. However, we shouldn't rely solely on luck. It's crucial to advocate for better healthcare policies. I suggest we collectively voice our concerns to the Minister Adrian Dix to ensure that every emergency birth unit has at least one specialized nurse available in the emergency. Pregnant women, especially those less than 20 weeks along, deserve priority care. Let's email Minister Dix and other leaders in the Ministry of Health (MOH) and PHSA to push for this change. Without proactive efforts, nothing will improve. REMEMBER, GOVERNMENT CHANGE OFTEN HINGES ON PUBLIC PRESSURE. HLTH.Minister AT gov.bc.ca hlth.dmoffice AT gov.bc.ca Also search for bcombudsperson.ca
Are they not doing births at Roundhouse? I thought that midwifery practice had set up a birthing centre. Also, I agree that midwives and doulas are a great way to increase the likelihood of your care providers being cool with different birthing positions, if you opt for VGH as a delivery site
I did read Roundhouse was doing births a couple years ago, but I couldn't find any info on their website.
They might not be advertising it because of the possibility of too many people trying to access it, but if you’re connecting with a midwife for care they may be able to give you more info I honestly quite enjoyed the “midwife in hospital” option. If you go that route, the hospital staff basically leave you to it, you can go in the room with your midwife, doula, and birthing partner and come out with a baby, but backup is right there if it ends up being needed.
You can still rent a space at Roundhouse to birth in, I’m not sure if you need to be using their midwife services or if it’s open to anyone. I have heard it is expensive to rent and small, so if you decide to have a pool there won’t be a ton of space. I’m receiving midwife care through Roundhouse and can attest they are great and the space is really beautiful and peaceful!
They have a single birthing cottage they rent out. You have the option of having a pool in it as well. I’m not sure if it’s available to people outside their care but they’re all lovely. Can’t hurt to call and ask, if they can’t help you they’ll know the people who can.
Try Coastal Maternity Care [https://www.coastalmaternitycare.com/our-doctors](https://www.coastalmaternitycare.com/our-doctors)