The more I read from L&D nurses blogs, the more I realize they are so torn. Of course they want the mom to have a great birth, but they are also beholden to the hospital and the staff over them. Sometimes it is hard to keep everyone happy.
When you go to the hospital you do not get to choose who is in your room. You are thrust into a conveyor belt mentality. Hospital care is institutionalized care.
I have had 3 hospital births. The first was an emergency cesarean, so I can’t really comment on it. I feel it saved Devon’s life. I was 34 weeks pregnant and it was a true emergency. So I was greatful for the intervention.
My next hospital birth was good. I think had I had more support and more positive nursing staff I maybe could have gone un-medicated as had hoped to. But really it was a great VBAC in my mind and a lovely birth.
My 3rd hospital birth I had a doula, to help really create the environment and support I wanted. I understood nurses do not have the time to really “help” during birth. I had a great hospital birth, with only a heplock. I felt supported by my OB and the nurses and my DH and doula.
Since then I have seen many births as a doula and read MANY birth stories. I have seen things that surprise me and read things that shock me. It made me realize that hospitals really are just institutions and birthing women are just numbers. I have been to only one homebirth, but it was amazingly different. I know that if I have another baby, it will be at home.
So the L&D nurses, what are they thinking? I will warn you, if you are trying to GIP (gestate in peace) these blogs can be upsetting. But if you are wondering, where should I have my baby? It might be worth reading some of these blogs to see from an insider what hospital births are like and the limitations of them.
There are many more, but this is just a sampling of some L&D nurses blogs. It just reinforces my desire to birth at home. If a mom plans a hospital birth, a doula is a really great way to add some continuity of care and another witness to the birth.
Enjoy Birth's Old Blog :) 
Thanks for sharing. Please keep getting the word out. That middle post had me in tears.
BTW, did you ever post the survey results about LDS and breastfeeding and faith and birth choices?
I am a daughter of a labor & delivery nurse and sometimes I wonder why life as a nurse could be so hard. My mom works night shift so she only works about three days a week. You see, I always thought that it would be fun to be a labor & delivery nurse. I soon learned that being a L&D nurse wasn’t all it was worked up to be. It wasn’t about holding new borns and bringing a new face into this world for someone else. My mom is the president of the baby death team. They have a certain name, but I can’t remember what it is called. Anyway, so I guess I just never thougth that they really didn’t have a WONDERFUL job just like everyone thinks.
I worked as a Labor and Delivery nurse for 17 years. For the most part I loved my job. I loved the one on one time I shared with my patients. I hated to chart. I would often get yelled at by my head nurse for talking too much to my patients. She never quite understood that for me the patient came first and the charting came last. I wanted my patients to have the best possible care. If I could do it all over again I would have become a nurse midwife. I am presently looking into becoming a labor doula. I look forward to starting my own business someday.