Today we visited the place where, barring any traffic delays coinciding with a fast labor, Nugget will be born and get a real name! My mom went through the first twinge of labor to holding me in her arms in 4 hours flat - so it's possible given my genes that I could give birth in the car on the way.
The birth center is in the Alta Bates Summit Hospital in Berkeley. I've mentioned my apprehension about hospitals, and this still isn't my ideal (after all, birthing at home with a portable hospital parked in my driveway just isn't realistic - and we're just too far from a hospital if anything were to go wrong), BUT I am comfortable with our decision now that I've seen the birth center and heard their philosophy and policies about birthing.
They seem to share the general philosophy of our midwife, which is no unnecessary interventions, and to always try the least invasive, most natural interventions first if they become necessary. For example, IV's are NOT routinely given to healthy laboring mothers if not having an epidural or IV drugs. Episiotomies are also NOT routine. The labor/delivery rooms are all private, and they have a rooftop garden in which to wander around while laboring, tubs for laboring in particular rooms (and either showers or regular tubs in the other rooms), and are amenable to what seems like many different labor and delivery positions, including squatting with the squatting bar - which is supposed to be best for opening the pelvis and minimizing tearing. I was VERY happy to hear about the squatting bar since we learned about this method in birthing class and it seems to make the most sense, given gravity and positioning of the baby.
I am allowed to have up to 4 visitors/support people in the labor/delivery room, including the time of birth, and unlimited visitors after birth. And if we already had children, they would be allowed to watch the birth as well, provided they had their own support person to look after them.
I was also happy to hear that they had no restrictions regarding videotape, since we plan on buying a tripod for our video camera in order to catch the whole thing on tape. Don't worry, no one will be required to watch it - including Nugget's future significant others or anybody that would be equally embarrassed by it (i.e. Sully). I'd just really like to see myself birth a baby from another angle when I'm not experiencing the pain.
So, overall, I'm very pleased with our decision and feel MUCH better now that we've seen the place. Now here's to actually getting there before the baby comes (i.e. Berkeley is about 45 minutes from our house when there's no traffic)!
Other highlights include the Whole Foods grocery store across the street and Barney's and Zachary's, considered the best burgers and pizza in the bay area respectively, only a couple blocks away.
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