If things go differently as planned…
We all have a plan in our mind about how we hope our birth will go. Some have a more detailed picture in mind than others but everyone will have some thoughts on where and how to give birth. We encourage you to think about your birth wishes, place of birth and to learn more about the different options for pain relief. However, please keep in mind that as we can’t influence how our body will react to contractions, a birth might not go as you might have envisaged it to be.
During pregnancy, labour or birth you may need additional medical care in hospital. This may be during pregnancy when you for example develop a high blood pressure and need medication for this. However it may also be that there is a reason during the delivery that makes extra monitoring safer for you and the baby (when you need pain medication, an induction or if the baby has pooed in the amniotic fluid, for example). This means that we transfer the medical care to (the expertise of) the clinical midwife/gynaecologist. In 96% of the cases, this is no emergency. The biggest reason is because of need of pain relief, or an intravenous drip with oxytocin (the labor hormone) because labor is too slow or because the baby has poo-ed in the amniotic fluid. Only occasionally is it urgent and then we can always go to the nearest hospital.
101+ care
When additional medical care is indicated, this means all care is transferred to the medical team of the hospital and we will not guide you further. However, we want to be there for you at all times and therefore offer 101+ care.
101+ care means that the part of medical care has been transferred to the hospital, but we stay with you to coach and guide you through. A second midwife of our team will take over our shift if necessary so that we can guarantee that we will stay with you. The costs for this are partly covered by the practice. However, since the health insurance doesn’t cover this additional care, we can’t offer this service for free completely. The first hour after the transfer, we are always there for you, regardless of whether you choose 101+ or not. After this first hour, the hourly rate is €200 with a maximum of €800 (even if it takes longer than 4 hours).
An huge advantage of 101+ care is the guarantee of continuously one to one care by your midwife and a familiar face, no matter how your labour and birth will go. This leads to more peace and confidence during labour and birth, which has a positive effect on your birth experience and you will feel more in control over your delivery. Another advantage is that a midwife is medically trained (in contrary to a doula), and can really help you with shared decision making and ensure decisions are medically safe.
Would you like 101+ care? Then you can let us know during the consultation hour or during the delivery.
A marathon
You can compare giving birth with running a marathon; your legs will need to run and your mind needs to adjust if things go differently then expected. Maybe the wind is harder then hoped for, or your shoes are hurting. The same can happen during labour. Mostly it starts in the night which means you will miss a few hours of sleep which can make it harder to cope with contractions. However, when running a marathon there is one thing that really pulls you through, even with blisters on your feet and muscle cramps all over your body: if you receive continuous support throughout the 40 mile run, if people are cheering at every corner of the street, you will feel much more confident to pull through. This is exactly the same during labour. You will have to adjust your expectations and hopes. However this doesn’t mean at all you will have a negative birth experience. Even though you can’t control how well your body will labour or if there will be complications, you can control how to cope with how it’s going.
Support of labour
For many women there is a discrepancy in the confidence they felt initially and how they actually felt as they went through the experience of giving birth. That’s why it’s so important to feel fully supported during labour by your (birth)partner and by us to create a positive birth experience even if things go differently as planned. Want to have guaranteed continuous support of labour by us, even if your medical care has been handed over to the hospital? Read more.
Feel proud
Try not to get disappointed in yourself if things turn out very differently from what you hoped for and expected. Your body has to do the work, to make good contractions and to dilate. By trying to relax as much as possible and continuous support of labour, by your (birth)partner and us, we will pull you through.