Hospital Visitors
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
We don’t have any family that lives nearby. Everyone lives in different states, and the majority of our family members don’t even live in a place that would be considered a reasonable driving distance. For the most part I feel sad that we don’t have family near us, but I’ll admit to you that it has its perks.
I know there are some women who fill their hospital rooms with family and friends while in labor, and I also know that there are plenty of women who would rather not have an audience for the labor experience but who just can’t deny their family members the experience. For me, it wasn’t even an issue. I didn’t have to hurt anyone’s feelings by refusing them access to the birth of my babies because everyone was elsewhere. I can’t even imagine having people there during such a painful and emotional time. I couldn’t even talk when all the contractions were coming full force, and I have a pretty good inclination that anyone in the room other than me, my husband, and the medical staff would have annoyed the heck out of me.
If you’re pregnant and you’re wondering whether or not you should have a veritable party in the delivery room or not, try to lean toward the decision that will ultimately make you more comfortable. Maybe your parents’ presence has a calming effect on you, or maybe your best friend has the great talent of lifting your spirits. Or maybe you’re like me, and you would just rather do this exhausting and sometimes-gory task without an audience. Just don’t allow anyone to bully you into allowing them access to the room if you aren’t really that comfortable with the idea.
When you’re in labor the most important thing is to set things up to where you will be as comfortable as possible. If you don’t want visitors to show up until after the baby is born, then tell them and stay firm in your decision. Believe me when I say labor is hard enough without also having to deal with a parade of visitors who will inevitably stare at the monitor and whistle over how hard your contractions are coming.
Kimberly says...
So true! My sister had: her partner, our mother, myself and a few of her friends in attendance when each of her 3 children were born. Sadly, this put some pressure on me to have a raucous party for my upcoming first. But I had to be firm (something I’m not good at) and I felt I hurt everyone’s feelings when I said I just wanted it to be my husband and me. I’m sort of annoyed that it’s become so popular to invite a crowd to come and witness such a private moment, because it puts strange pressure on those of us who then have to UN-invite the throng of well-wishers. Though I’m happy that my sister was able to have her births go the way she wanted, I wish people were as satisfied with my decision for them not to be there.