Seeking doctor/midwife for natural birth in DR

~PM shalena....type SKing...she will be able to assist you....

There are excellent GYNs in Santiago, and many speak English, so Don?t worry too much about poor language skills. I found that when I was pregnant the more firm I was about what I wanted, the more likely the doctro was to support me. When you?re wishy'washy, they push for the Csection. I ended up with two emergency c'sections but overall, my GYN was willing to support a natural childbirth. You won?t find a midwife, but there is a doula floating around the missionary circuit, I will try to find out her info for you
and Shalena is great, but she won?t be able to help you find a dr. here becasue she never gave brith, but she is a OBGYN nurse and can help you with that type of information

I am bumping this just to give a little information. I have exchanged PMs with Anneca77 and she has a good plan. This is a plan I would give to expats who live in the DR and want a natural birth or Midwife but so not have that option due to DR constraints.
I have 4 children, only one was natural and delivered by a Midwife. But here is my advice......
The later that you check into the hospital, the more likely it is that they will not give you pain medication. If you get to a hospital at 8-9 centimeters dilated and refuse an Epidural, they should NOT offer you IV pain meds that close to delivery. If your doctor does, immediately ask for another doctor....he/she is not thinking of your child's safety. Even medical students know that IV pain mess given with an imminent delivery (<2hrs) may mean (more likely than not) respiratory depression in your baby. This means your baby will come out limp, with very little to no muscle tone, and will make little to no effort to breathe on its own. This will cause the need for interventions by a Neonatologist and possible intubation of your baby until he/she can breathe on its own. Again, if you are very close to delivery, 8-9 centimeters and you feel pressure in your bottom and your doctor offers you IV pain meds, dismiss them.
If you can find a doula or Midwife in DR (there aren't any Midwives until I get there!), let your doctor know that you plan to go to the hospital as late ad possible to increase your chance of laboring naturally. The doula or Midwife can labor with you until you decide to go to the hospital. The problem with a doula is that they can't (shouldn't) be checking you whereas a Midwife can. A midwife can tell you when you are 8 or 9 centimeters and can go to the hospital. A Midwife is also trained to know if and when something is wrong and its best to go to the hospital, also we all know that Midwives can deliver babies so in case you have a precipitous (very fast!) labor and delivery they can deliver you in the case that you are unable to get to the hospital in time. NO MIDWIFE IN DR SHOULD BE PLANNING HOME BIRTHS WITH YOU, MIDWIVES ARE NOT YET RECOGNIZED IN THE DR.
Right now, there aren't any anyway but in the future, someone like myself (or a doula) could labor you in the comfort of your home until the last moment and then accompany you to the hospital where the doctor can "catch" your baby. That way you are not in an uncomfortable labor bed for hours or being coerced into pain medication when your pain is at its worse. Just my 2 cents.....

SHALENA

There is an old thread about this stuff ("stuff" 'cause I am a male and do not know from nuttin' about this).
Go do a bit of a search. It seems there is a woman who teaches natural childbirth here in Santiago. And I would imagine that between you all and Shalena, things will work out for the best.

Good luck and congratulations...

HB

I checked and could not find it.

However, if you click Lamaze you will get some info, and I am sure, really sure that if you go to one of the Ob/Byns at Corominas and ask about this woman, you will get information on her. I seem to remember that she taught her classes on Cuba St., near Corominas...

One of the threads that came up was 8 years old...

HB

SKing said:

Right now, there aren't any anyway but in the future, someone like myself (or a doula) could labor you in the comfort of your home until the last moment and then accompany you to the hospital where the doctor can "catch" your baby. That way you are not in an uncomfortable labor bed for hours or being coerced into pain medication when your pain is at its worse. Just my 2 cents.....

SHALENA

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Interesting ! For my second child, I stayed home because I didn't want to stare at blank walls for hours in a labor bed. By the time, I got to the hospital, I was fully dilated (the nurses and staff couldn't believe it; one even asked me if I was in the military ). I had my daughter within about an hour and half after I got to the hospital. I was NOT asked if I wanted an epidural, but I thought it was because they thought I could go without it since I had labored home.

Africaida said:

Interesting ! For my second child, I stayed home because I didn't want to stare at blank walls for hours in a labor bed. By the time, I got to the hospital, I was fully dilated (the nurses and staff couldn't believe it; one even asked me if I was in the military ). I had my daughter within about an hour and half after I got to the hospital. I was NOT asked if I wanted an epidural, but I thought it was because they thought I could go without it since I had labored home.

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When my first wife was pregant with my oldest son her water broke so I phoned the hospital to let them know we were on our way. The nurse asked how far apart the contractions were, then told us to take out time, shower, have coffee...etc. By the time we got our stuff together and drove the 15 miles to the hospital my wife was at 6 cm and when they asked her if she wanted an epidural she replied " Nope, I want to feel every bit of this " . I wish she would have taken it. She ripped half the hair out of my chest, partial dislocated my should, and called me every name in the book. When I told her to calm down, she told to shut the f-ck up, ...etc. Hour later our son was born.
The second kid wasn't as easy but she still wouldn't take any pain meds. Shalena I wish you the greastest sucess in becoming a mid-wife. My grandfather delivered my mother and all her siblings himself. He was a farmer and didn't trust hospitals.

Africaida said:

Interesting ! For my second child, I stayed home because I didn't want to stare at blank walls for hours in a labor bed. By the time, I got to the hospital, I was fully dilated (the nurses and staff couldn't believe it; one even asked me if I was in the military ). I had my daughter within about an hour and half after I got to the hospital. I was NOT asked if I wanted an epidural, but I thought it was because they thought I could go without it since I had labored home.

Click to expand...

Actually, you can get an epidural even while the baby's head is sitting in your vagina. If you can sit still to.get it, you can get it. I have had done patients go natural all the way until they felt that head and then refuse to push and demand an epidural. It is IV meds that cause the most damage very close to delivery, although the epidural has its cons also.....

SHALENA

Hillbilly said:

I checked and could not find it.

However, if you click Lamaze you will get some info, and I am sure, really sure that if you go to one of the Ob/Byns at Corominas and ask about this woman, you will get information on her. I seem to remember that she taught her classes on Cuba St., near Corominas...

One of the threads that came up was 8 years old...

HB

Click to expand...

I would love to meet this lady, let me know what you find out or I will try to find her when I an there in November

SHALENA

bob saunders said:

When my first wife was pregant with my oldest son her water broke so I phoned the hospital to let them know we were on our way. The nurse asked how far apart the contractions were, then told us to take out time, shower, have coffee...etc. By the time we got our stuff together and drove the 15 miles to the hospital my wife was at 6 cm and when they asked her if she wanted an epidural she replied " Nope, I want to feel every bit of this " . I wish she would have taken it. She ripped half the hair out of my chest, partial dislocated my should, and called me every name in the book. When I told her to calm down, she told to shut the f-ck up, ...etc. Hour later our son was born.
The second kid wasn't as easy but she still wouldn't take any pain meds. Shalena I wish you the greastest sucess in becoming a mid-wife. My grandfather delivered my mother and all her siblings himself. He was a farmer and didn't trust hospitals.

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Thank you so much Bob. I am learning so much, I have tons of experience on the hospital side but am learning actually Midwifery without all of the technology or the mess.....delivered a baby Friday with a 1st year resident. When she was done it was like Jason vs. Freddy Kreuger in that room. Midwives (experienced ones) can deliver most babies with minimal blood loss and usually minimal to no tears. Can't wait to learn all the tricks!!!

SHALENA

SKing said:

Actually, you can get an epidural even while the baby's head is sitting in your vagina. If you can sit still to.get it, you can get it. I have had done patients go natural all the way until they felt that head and then refuse to push and demand an epidural. It is IV meds that cause the most damage very close to delivery, although the epidural has its cons also.....

SHALENA

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No wonder my nurse told me I was her dream patient, lol. I could never be a nurse and I respect the patience they have.

Happy National Midwives Week!!! Midwives to DR soon!!!

SHALENA

@Shalena, I definitely wanna meet you when you're back in the DR, too! I've never looked into midwifery with my first (and only thus far) little one, but we're hoping to try for another baby soonish (isn't half the fun just getting there, though ) and I'm already looking into birthing options in the DR. I'll be in touch soon, and I second, third, fourth and so on....congrats on taking that next step!

That would be great Lolitula! We are opening our birth center hopefully in Fall/Winter of 2012 in Santiago. We hope to be a flagship center so that other Midwives will come and open Birth Centers in other areas of the country. There is interest, they are waiting for us....we will be the guinea pigs LOL.
We will have family centered birth (family allowed!) in a home like setting with experienced Midwives and Midwife students. Our greatest advertising will be word of mouth. I am sure that if you experience 1 birth with us you will cone again and again.
I must tell you, if you have followed me on this site, I am a very controversial person. Rough a lot of times! Don't let that scare you....I am excellent ay what I do and all of the compassion that I lack on this site I bestow upon my patients. I have plenty of references.

Our Birth Center will be beautiful, comfortable, and medically capable. I guarantee you will love it. Once we are up and running, I will put an advertisement here on the site with photos.
Imagine laboring in a beautiful room, being able to eat and drink, having one on one care with a Midwife....with your esposo, suegra, mother, or whoever you may want at your side!
Can you tell how excited I am! Let's check out the infant and maternal mortality rate in Santiago 5 years after our Birth Center opens!

Thanks, as things get nearer I'll have more details, you will surely be invited to open house!
Thank you for your support!

SHALENA

A birth center would be great in the DR, i am a IBCLC, and birthed a baby at home and in a birth center, i much prefer a home birth...however a birth center is wonderful too. Cant wait to hear more about it. Do you have a website or a opening date? IT would be great to spread the word.

Would some of the midwives/doulas be willing to travel to do a homebirth? Are you guys familiar with lotus births?

We have been told that there is a law in the Dominican Republic that prohibits anyone without an active medical license to birth babies. We did not know that as Dr. Guzman was asked that on this site and we were told that there was not. I am working with the National Director of the Ministerio de Salud now to see what we can do to get this law changed as the country wants Midwives and have even been considering starting a Midwifery school in the Capital. The Director asked meto be part of the group that is now working on this in the Capital along with the PanAmerican Health Organization. I see hope but I think that it will be a slow process, knowing the pace of things in the Dominican Republic. I will be speaking with them this week to see what the next “strategy” is, hopefully I can keep this on the front burner and not have it pushed back only to resurface many years later. Believe me, I am on it…..


SHALENA

SKing said:

Our greatest advertising will be word of mouth. I am sure that if you experience 1 birth with us you will cone again and again.


SHALENA

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Hmmmm... again and again? No thanks, one daughter for me was plenty... lol

Great initiative, fully support this, and sincerely hope you get everything sorted out before the next elections...