Why you should watch “The Business of Being Born”
Every since I saw Ricki Lake/Abby Epstein’s documentary “The Business of Being Born” I’ve been thinking that when the time came, I would seriously consider natural childbirth. Childbirth is not something I had given a lot of thought to prior to seeing the movie, but I was really blown away by how much I didn’t know about the topic. I’m so glad I saw it because now that I’m actually pregnant, I feel empowered by the information I learned. I really bought the movie’s argument that the rising rates of C-sections in this country could be the end result of aggressive medical intervention in what should be a natural and fulfilling birthing process. It’s a very slippery slope from epidural to C-section: epidurals slow down labor, doctors and hospitals want to speed up labor, so they administer pitocin, which creates more intense and frequent contractions, which often leads to fetal distress, which leads to a C-section, which is not only major surgery, but leaves us women open to the chance of deadly infections. But the most compelling argument of all is watching the almost orgasmic after-labor bonding between mother and child that apparently is the result of the natural oxytocin release brought about by vaginal delivery. You just don’t get that high unless you do it the old-fashioned way.

Maybe I’ll feel differently when I actually start feeling those contractions months from now, but right now, the way I see it, I might be able to deal with the pain of natural labor if it means I can avoid the risk of a C-section. I know you can’t predict situations that arise that necessitate a C-section (the filmmaker herself ends up getting a C-section bc of complications), but I don’t want it to because I felt pressured into it.

St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital: Why it’s at the top of my list
In the movie, St. Luke’s Roosevelt (SLR) is presented as Manhattan’s most natural birth friendly hospital. NY Presbyterian Weill Cornell and NY Presbyterian Columbia both have two of the best NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) in the country, but they have a reputation on the mommy boards for being heavy on interventions. And SLR’s Level 3 NICU is nothing to scoff at, so the fact that SLR also has a Birthing Center really makes it the only choice in my book.

The St. Luke’s Roosevelt Maternity Tour: When & Where
Even so, I thought it would be a good idea for Manhattan Daddy and me to go on a tour of the maternity ward. The only way to get tour dates is to call 523-6091 (they get 60-100 calls a day, so it may be busy but keep trying) and sit through a very long message with pen and paper handy and jot down all the dates and times offered for the next three months. The message also instructs you to meet the group in the right hand side of the hospital lobby and cautions that if you’re late, the tour will leave without you and you won’t be allowed up for security reasons. No need to RSVP.  Just show up.  If you’re reading this, I’ve done you the favor of listing the dates from this week’s recording for you:

Jan 4 – tues – 6 pm
Jan 19 – weds – 6 pm
Jan 21 – fri – 6 pm
Jan 25 – tues – 6 pm & 8 pm
Jan 28 – wed – 6 pm
Jan 31 – mon – 5:30 pm & 7:30 pm
Feb 1 – tues – 6 pm
Feb 2 – weds – 6 pm
Feb 3 – thurs – 6 pm
Feb 22 – tues – 6 pm and 8 pm
Feb 23 – weds – 6 pm
Feb 28 – mon – 5:30 pm & 7:30 pm
March 1 – tues – 6 pm
March 2 – wed -6 pm
March 8 – tues – 6 pm
March 15 – tues – 6 pm
March 16 – weds – 6 pm
March 21 – mon – 5:30 pm & 7:30 pm
March 29 – tues – 6 pm

What You Learn On The Tour
We showed up 15 minutes early and entered the hospital lobby and it was quite obvious we were in the right place. The entire right side of the lobby in front of the cafe entrance and where the gazebo is looked like a pregnant women’s convention. I felt pretty self-conscious because I was one of the only women who didn’t have a belly out to…there. The lobby was pretty full to begin with, but as more couples trickled in, the men started giving up their seats to the newly arrived pregnant women. Very sweet.

A little past 6 pm, a woman announced that the tour would begin and led us to the elevator, and we took turns going up to the 14th floor, where Jo Leonard, an older, slender blond woman who would be our tour guide for the night greeted us and instructed us to proceed to the conference room straight ahead and sign in on the clipboard (be sure to sign both sheets – I forgot to sign the little one and had to go back and sign it later) and take the handouts (there were three – one explaining childbirth options, one explaining the private room cost, and listing 27 courses the parent family education department offers to expectant parents).

What a crowd. It took a while for everyone to get settled; preggers got the chairs of course. There were small bottles of water, juice and some snacks. Jo and Elaine, the tour hostess, said there were 88 people there–their largest tour group so far was 93–so this was one of the largest groups, so we had to take the tour in shifts, so the entire tour took almost 3 hours! But it was very informative and you’ll know everything you wanted to know about the hospital, including great tips like bring your own pillow and birthing ball for optimal comfort.

The first part of the tour is a thorough explanation of the information on the handouts and a Q&A. Then you get taken to the birthing rooms, the postpartum recovery rooms and finally, the Birthing Center.  Those who have further questions return to the 14th floor conference room for a final Q&A. This is also when Jo hands out the list of midwives and OB/GYN who deliver in the Birthing Center.

Essentially, you have two birthing options (Jo talks about one more – the option of laboring, delivering and recovering in the same room, but that option is rarely if ever available):

1. You labor in the traditional Labor & Delivery area, where there are about a dozen rooms, and recover in a private (will cost $850/night after insurance) or semi-private (2 women to a room and pretty close quarters) recovery room.The L&D rooms are your standard hospital rooms, but there are one-person tubs with waterjets in the very small bathrooms. During labor, only your partner and one other person is allowed in the room with you. You can request special menus (ex. kosher, vegetarian). The average postpartum stay is 2-days, 3 if you had a C-section or other complications. The 11th floor has both semi-private and private rooms; the 12th only has semi-private rooms. In postpartum rooms (either private or semi-private), you’re allowed one partner and two visitors, so if you have more visitors, they will have to take turns. There’s no great place for visitors to hang out because the lobby is closed from 10 pm to 6 am. Partners are only allowed to stay overnight if you’re in a private room. If you can afford one of the seven private rooms, you also get other “amenities” like a plasma TV, bed for both mom & partner, fridge with juice and water, high tea every afternoon, gourmet meals, the NYT with breakfast, movie rentals, free parking and a concierge. To get a private room, you have to request one when you arrive, give them your credit card number, and if there’s one available when you’ve finished delivering, it’s yours. But if some other woman came in later than you but delivered before you and there’s only one room available, she’s going to get it.
2. You labor and recover in the Birthing Center, where there are only 3 rooms, and you can stay for 12-18 hours after you deliver to recover, but then you have to go. On the plus side, there are no rules (within reason?) here (although supposedly water births are not allowed) and if you want to birth naturally, no interventions are allowed, though they will offer you stadol and demerol to relax. The beauty is you can always change your mind and move to L&D to get that epidural (and recover in postpartum after). Your partner can stay overnight with you and there are spa-sized jacuzzis you can use to labor in. Plus the rooms are deliberately designed to look less like hospital rooms and more like standard bedrooms, including a double bed. This is the cheaper option, as there are no epidurals or anesthesiologists or other interventions involved. It’s also the option for people who “don’t like hospitals” according to Jo.To labor here, you have to use a midwife or OB/GYN with SLR Birthing Center privileges, so you have to ask your doctor if they do or not. You also have to qualify to use the Birthing Center – for example, by having a low risk pregnancy – so from what I’ve read it’s easy to get disqualified from using the Birthing Center, even if that’s your plan, but if you end up in L&D, you can still have a natural childbirth, if you make that clear to your OB/GYN or midwife. Moms also have to take two 2-hour classes given back to back by week 35:  Intro to the Birthing Center and Early Discharge from the Birthing Center.

Whew! Lots of info, right? Hope I saved you some time by providing you with this info. Email or comment if you have further questions for me. I’m glad I got this out of the way. The tour confirmed by desire to give birth in the SLR Birthing Center. Now, I just have to find a midwife or doctor who I like and who delivers there!