I am 13 weeks pregnant with our first child!!! My husband and I plan on having our baby at Klinik Im Park in Zurich. We want to make sure we'll have the greatest chance possible of having a natural, non-medicated birth there before we register in several weeks' time.
If you gave birth at Klinik Im Park, I'd love to hear about your experience.
What was the care from the midwives like during labor? At what stage did your doctor arrive? What type of medical interventions (for example, fetal monitoring, episiotomy, oxytocin or pitocin drip) were used? Did you feel involved in the decision making? Did you feel your labor was allowed to progress naturally and at its own pace? Were you able to move around and change position?
Based on our visit, Klinik Im Park seems to be very pro-natural birth, but all the same, I'd really love to hear firsthand what other's personal experiences at Klinik Im Park have been.
Private hospitals are known to have a higher rate of medical intervention and c-sections in general. But since you will bring your own ob/gyn it will depend mainly on his/her attitude.
I would suggest to visit the Paracelsus hospital in Richterswil if you really want to give birth as natural as possible. It is an anthroposophical hospital with great staff and a very nice atmosphere. See
First you should make sure with your doctor that your hip bones are enough wide to allow a baby to pass. My family doctor told me years ago that I would have problems to give birth naturally because of it and when I told that to my Gyn/Ob, she dismissed it like a stupid useless piece of information.
Guess what happened? The baby couldn't passed and multiple medical interventions were made and it almost finished tragically.
For this pregnancy, I have a doctor well aware of the situation and who listen to ME. So make sure your doctor is listening to you, sharing with you and is there with you as a team mate. If you are not happy, change your doctor.
Next thing, look for a device called Epi-No. It helps you to stretch the birth canal to prevent episiotomy. It gets great results from the use of it and do reduce the chance to have an episiotomy. If you have a complementary insurance, they cover half of the cost.
At the Klinik im Park they do encourage you to make your own decisions and plan for a birth as natural as you may want it.
But it is your own doctor who has his or her limits and proceedures so choose a doc you feel very comfortable with.
I had all my wishes for a natural birth respected and also my changes of mind as things got more complicated and I gave up some of my idealistic plans, respected too.
No episiotomy or anything pushed on me I couldn't handle. It was a really positive experience.
When I hear about what is normal proceedure in many places I thank myself I was so lucky at getting everything the way I wanted it, without having to fight for it.
I never had to let my baby out of my sight even for a sec- unless I had wanted to, which I didn't.
I would, however, sound a note or caution and just suggest that you have a back-up plan ready that you share with your gaene - i.e. if X happens do A, if Y happens do B etc. Just in case. As "natural" as child birth may be, it is not without risks.
I have had a natural birth in Zurich not in 'Klinik im Park' though. We didn't choose to go to a private hospital because almost everybody said that if your due and it's the weekend they either get the baby early or try to prolong it because they don't work at the weekends...I'm not sure how true that is but we decided for a state hospital and were very happy. I was able to decide everything, whether I want a bath, sit on a ball, hang on a string whatever!!! My husband was allowed to stay with me all the time. They even build him a bed because they said we should try to get some sleep, my water broke but it took some time for the contractions and they just said it's better to stay to see what's coming next. We got food and drinks and really everybody was nice and friendly. We were in that room for more than 24 hours nobody rushed me or whatever. I could decide on my own and everything went fine. I'm rather small and very thin, although at that stage I was massive but still no problems with the hips etc. ok our baby was small like her parents usually nature takes care of this. Don't worry too much about PDAs etc. if you don't want them it's fine but if you medically need them it's fine too.I would go to the hospital on one of the openening days and then ask them all your questions and considerations and then you can decide where you want to go maybe have a look at a few if you have the time or have a look at the 'Geburtshaus' I think there is one in Wiedikon! Enjoy your pregnancy and all the best!
oh and I went home the next day just because I couldn't go home the same day as it was already quite late. If you want to do so you need to find a midwife, who is coming around for like 10 days to check you and the little one. If you have any more questions feel free to write to me.
Do they have a birthing pool available at Klinik Im Park? Best thing ever to take the edge off the pain naturally!
I think your overall birthing experience will be dictated to a large degree by the attitudes of your lead maternity carer, so make sure that whoever you choose is in tune with what you want.
I can't overemphasize the importance of spending the next 27 weeks educating yourself. Not to collect scary data, but to empower yourself by learning more about how your body works, and techniques to help you through this experience (breathing, stretching, visualisation).
I found a great yoga class where we spent a lot of time learning self-help techniques, which made such a difference for me. I learnt things about labour that I hadn't known for my previous 3 pregnancies (I know, how is it possible to do something like that 3 times and still not have a clue? )
Anyway, best of luck. Enjoy this phase in your life. It's pretty special, and you don't get to experience it for long!
I went to natural birth classes. It was all about giving natural birth and how wonderful it is. Almost to the point of being superior.
And then the actual birth came along. It was a long birth and after awhile I was grateful for the pda. And then it progressed into an emergency c-section. It was a let down and a relief at the same time.
My advice is to focus on the natural birth classes but be mentally ready for all other alternatives too.
Congrats on the pregnancy, and CONGRATS on chosing the natural birth option. I feel the birthing process is one of the most wonderful and empowering moments a women can experience!
You may want to consider a birthing house, my second daughter was born in Wald, at a birthing house there. It was wonderful, and I really have nothing to complain about. though i must add, my labour was relatively short, 4.5hrs.
Here is the website for a birthing house in Zurich,
Sorry the site is in German, though many mid-wives speak English, its worth a visit!
The mid- wives are extremely caring, much like your own mother! The rooms are great, and usually the midwife that sees you when you arrive to give birth, stays with you until the baby is delivered.
all the luck!
oh yes, and recommended reading, Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way , great for the Dad to be as well, in every chapter.he has a bit dedicated for him.
That's why I'm having a hospital birth instead of a home birth. Better to have what you need when you need it than to have to make an emergency transfer.
Thank you, SusieM!! Yes, they do have a birthing pool, but only one birth room has one and the other does not. I am planning to start prenatal yoga in two weeks at Birthlight in Zurich. They are reputed to be very good.
As others have pointed out, it sounds like my doctors attitude is the most important thing. So we'll see at my next appointment if she's receptive to my wishes. If not, I think I'll switch to a midwife for my prenatal care and forego the 5 star hotel treatment at Klinik Im Park for a midwife attended birth at Triemli.
Too bad I didn't realize this conundrum would come up when I signed up for semi-private cover. Semi-private doesn't cover any of the natural birthing places. I visited Delphys and I love their philosophy and atmosphere, but it would be very cost ineffective to deliver there. Ahhh, I guess the decision continues...
I'm 33 weeks pregnant, so cannot comment on the actual birth just yet, but can backup the good things you have heard about Birthlight. I've been going there for about three months now, and feel that the practice has contributed to my physical and emotional well-being during pregnancy, as well as given me a variety of techniques to try during labor. We'll see how that goes!
There are a few different teachers, so I recommend going on different days to get a feel what sort of class you prefer. After trying a few, I find myself purposefully going on certain days to get certain teachers.
This is the best advice so far on this thread. Too many women have high expectations of a natural birth then when intervention is needed they somehow feel like a failure. It is important to remember the ultimate goal is to have a safe birth with both the mother & baby fine afterwards, how you get to that point is not really important in the big scheme of things.