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I have given birth twice, the first time with an obstetrician the second with a midwife. I never imagined that there would be so many differences in the delivery process. Below are my observations that I believe every mum to be should consider!

Birth 1
I had a healthy conception and pregnancy with no foreseeable problems. My intention was to wait and give birth when baby was ready, with inducement to occur only if baby was overdue. My mindset was to have an epidural because secretly I feared a natural birth. First time labour is such an unknown, I wasn't sure if I could do it. I was lucky enough to have my first contraction on the day I was due. However, the contractions occurred quickly and within 1 hour of my first contraction I was 2 mintues apart. When I arrived at the hospital it was 2am. I was told that the anaesthetist was going home and that if I wanted an epidural I'd better decide immediately. I really didn't have much time to think. The fear of not having significant pain relief, and the fact that my labour occurred so quickly and hence intensely, scared me into saying yes.

I quickly asked for the hospital midwife for advice. At the time I didn't realise that midwives in a private hospital do not have the authority or permission to aid in the birthing process. They mostly aid the obstetrician. "You'll probably give birth quickly she said, you are 7 cms but I am not sure" The anaesthetist inserted the epidural while I was contracting inconsistently, 2 minutes apart sometimes 1 minutes apart. Talk about risky. As the pain subsided, so did the contractions and I watched the monitor attached to me and realised I had just slowing my labour down.

The obstetrician was called. He was at home being early in the morning. Being a private hospital in Sydney, there was no doctor on duty. I was 10 cms and ready to give birth. The midwife called again. "Where are you? She is ready to go"

When he finally arrived, he quickly got himself ready and did what he had to do. I am actually very fond of my obstetrician, funny, witty, and calming. He told me what to do, pulled out the forceps, and side cut a double episiotomy. Baby arrived a little distressed because he was waiting to arrive a little too long, but all went well in the end.

What it interesting is my next birth. On the surface the above birth went very well and I received professional and experienced assistance to the best of everyone's abilities and resources at the time. However, somewhere in my subconscious was

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