Where should I deliver my Baby?

For the last few months, I have been asking this question...Where should I deliver my Baby?

One might think that by the third time around I would be a pro and have fundamental questions like this answered very early in my pregnancy.

Yet here I am, six months pregnant with the arrival of our little boy just a couple months away and still pondering this question. Alas, I think we have finally decided on a plan...But as any mother knows, one's best laid plans for baby's delivery can (and usually do) turn out drastically different.

Mommy at 23 weeks pregnant and two little princesses at my side.
photo taken about 2 weeks ago

First Pregnancy

I remember asking this question with my first pregnancy. Would it just be best to deliver at our local, southern Delaware hospital? What exactly is a birthing center? Should I consider that? My mom delivered me at home...was that an option I liked? And ultimately, which option was best for my baby and I?

In the end, the decision on WHERE was made for us. Almost without option. After my 20 week ultrasound with Adria and the earth-shaking revelation (at least in our little world!) that she had a serious malformation called spina bifida, we were quickly told where we needed to go. Only one hospital in Delaware had the technology and specialist to give her the unique care she would need - Christiana Care Hospital in Newark, which was 90 minutes away.

Secondly, my choice on HOW to deliver was taken away. Because my baby's spina bifida was severe enough that she had a "sack" in which her spinal cord literally protruded from her lower back, a vaginal birth would likely cause further damage to her spinal cord. It was highly advised that I plan to deliver via Cesarean Section.

And that's what I did. In the afternoon of September 8, 2008 Adria was delivered by C-section at Christiana Hospital...with my husband and a host of a dozen or so doctors, residents, and nurses around us. This was a week later than my original scheduled c-section (read more about that HERE) but all went as well as we could hope. The very next day Adria had surgery to put her spinal cord back in place and close the opening on her back.

Adria enters the world!

Second Pregnancy

Two years later, after a major move to an apartment in Indianapolis, a positive pregnancy test and bloodwork showed our second baby was on the way! Through a friend's recommendation, I found a great OB/GYN in this new state and had great confidence in his ability. I went into my 10 week OB visit expecting to discuss more about my options for where to deliver in the area. Instead, I got the news that my pregnancy did not appear to be progressing as it should...tears. A week later, I found myself in agonizing pain with heavy bleeding and knew what was happening. I lost our baby in January 2011, the same week we moved into our new home in Indiana.

Unfortunately, that was not the end of the miscarriage. Two weeks later a dramatic incident occurred during a follow-up visit to my OB. Suffice it to say, the bleeding would not stop! Next thing I knew, I had fainted and was being carried out to the car by my husband and OB, then taken to the ER at the hospital next door.

On February 7...my 29th birthday...I had an emergency D&C (dilation and curettage) surgery at Community Hospital South to remove all trace of my pregnancy.

Third Pregnancy

Despite all the drama, we still wanted another baby and became pregnant again soon after the miscarriage. My pregnancy history was now more complicated with a c-section, special needs child, and a miscarriage on my record... And the question resurfaced, Where should I deliver my Baby?

My OB was very supportive when I asked him about the option of delivering this baby as a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After C-section). Call me crazy, but I really wanted the chance to go into labor and push a baby out like a "normal mom." My c-section had healed well and baby Johanna appeared to be growing perfectly healthy inside of me.

My OB was a sole practice who actually delivered babies at two different hospitals that were both within 15 minutes of our Indiana home. We selected the one we really liked, which was the same hospital where I had surgery earlier that year. That is NOT the hospital where Johanna was born.

Just after noon on December 1, 2011 my water broke while I was walking through Wal-Mart with my Mom and Adria...that was lovely. I went to the hospital and had monitors put on my belly, which is necessary when doing VBAC delivery. However, my OB had asked that I go to my second choice hospital since he already had a mother laboring there and we would likely be delivering around the same time. In other words...if I went to the hospital I really wanted, he might not make it there in time to deliver my baby and another doctor would need to step in.

I followed his advice and many hours of labor plus 45 minutes of pushing later, I successfully delivered Johanna via VBAC around 4 a.m. on December 2 at St. Francis Hospital in Indianapolis.

Johanna enters the world, much to her sister's delight!

Fourth Pregnancy

Now, I find myself back in Delaware another three years later asking the question...Where should I deliver my Baby?

None of the hospitals where I delivered are really options. My birth history is further complicated with this fourth pregnancy having now had a VBAC and wanting to try that again. Some moms think I'm crazy, since a C-section seems "easier"...schedule a date, no painful labor, surgery performed and presto, there's your baby! However, it's not quite that easy and the healing process is rough and can take longer, plus I'd rather not be cut open again if I don't have to. Sorry to be so blunt!

BUT, in "slower, lower" Delaware a VBAC is not an easy option...apparently...even if you've already had one successfully. There are two hospitals in rural Sussex county, but neither offers a 24 hour anesthesiologist and OR staff or a NICU - all preferred when attempting a VBAC delivery.

My local OB was open to allowing me to try a VBAC delivery at Nanticoke Hospital, but he had to advise me that is was not "recommended" at a hospital without those services. It's just 15 minutes from home, my brothers were born there many years ago, and many of my friends have delivered there. However, it seems like it's not going to be the best option for my baby and me.

This week, I finally made the decision to transfer my prenatal care to a new team of doctors in Kent County and make plans to deliver our baby at Bayhealth - Kent General Hospital in Dover, about 45 minutes from home. They offer the full spectrum of services that are advised for Moms with a more "interesting" birth history like mine.

You'll have to stay tuned to see how these plans all pan out a few months from now and what the story around this baby will be! Praying for a smooth and fairly uneventful delivery this time.


P.S. If you're pregnant for the first time, don't let my story worry you too much, all this is not typical. That said, do not be surprised if your "birth plan" goes much different than planned!

P.S.S. If you ever feel like sharing your birth stories, I love to hear them! Maybe it's because we connect as we relive the wild blend of joy and misery than can accompany bringing a new life into the world...