Self-Test: Which birth location is right for you?

Not sure which birth location is right for you? Take this completely unscientific and grossly overgeneralized survey to see if your personality is best suited for a hospital, birth center, or home birth.  If you’re on the cusp, you could go either way, so be sure to read all the results.

1.       Your idea of a heavenly day is:

a.       Hiking in the mountains

b.      Getting pampered at a spa

c.       Dinner and a movie

2.       Your office is holding a potluck. You:

a.       Create the sign-up list, organize RSVPs, and cook two healthy homemade meals – just in case someone forgets their dish

b.      Whip up some of your famous gluten-free oatmeal cookies

c.       Pick up a store-bought lasagna

3.       You find a strange mole on your shoulder. You:

a.       Research skin conditions on the Internet, then apply a homemade salve

b.      Keep an eye on it, vowing to see your doctor if it gets worse

c.       Call your dermatologist – he’s on speed dial

4.       At the grocery store, you:

a.       Always buy organic fruits and grass-fed beef even if it costs more – you’ll just cut back in other areas

b.      Always buy organic fruits but sometimes buy conventional beef (let’s be honest, the grass-fed stuff can get expensive!)

c.       Buy mostly conventional products with a smattering of organic goods ever mindful of the cost

5.       Which television show best represents your personality?

a.       Little House on the Prairie

b.      Buffy the Vampire Slayer

c.       Sex and the City

6.       A friend makes a snide comment about your new haircut. You:

a.       Think: “Who cares? What does she know?”

b.      Wonder if maybe you went a little too dark but decide to stick with it

c.       Feel awful – next time you won’t let your stylist talk you into a new ‘do

7.       You hear a strange noise in the middle of the night. You:

a.       Ignore it and go back to sleep

b.      Think it’s probably nothing but get up to investigate

c.       Call the police

8.       You and your partner/husband get into a fender-bender on the way to the store. Your husband:

a.       Makes sure you’re okay, then gets out to survey the damage, exchange contact information with the other driver, and call your insurance company

b.      Calls a friend to take you to your doctor for a quick once-over

c.       Calls the paramedics – you can never be too sure

9.       When you had to do group projects in school, you were generally:

a.       The self-appointed leader

b.      One of the key team members doing much of the work

c.       A contributor, but you let others take the lead – they probably know more than you do anyway

10.   Which extreme sport would you be willing to do?

a.       Skydiving

b.      Bungee-jumping

c.       Uh, no thanks, I don’t do extreme sports.

Scoring

Give yourself 1 point for every “A” answer, 2 points for every “B” answer, and 3 points for every “C” answer.

Results

10-16 points:  Homebirthing Hero

You’ve got that do-it-yourself, self-confident spirit that’s just right for homebirth. You’re comfortable going against the grain – less than 1% of births take place at home, so you’d better get used to being an oddball - and you can handle a little criticism from friends without questioning your ideals. You favor a natural birth experience, and you’re suspicious of modern medicine’s approach to many ailments. You’re not easily alarmed by the unexpected. You're okay with "roughing it." You like to be in control, and you don’t mind putting in the research and legwork to ensure success. You also recognize that your ideal birth experience may cost more out-of-pocket than the other options, but you’re willing to sacrifice for it. Your husband/partner is calm and collected under pressure with a similar non-alarmist approach and an ability to focus on practical logistics, which is vital when birthing at home. You understand that homebirth involves some risks, but you believe the outcome is well worth it.

17-23:  Birth Center Bound

You want a natural unmedicalized birth experience with a strong support team, and you want the freedom to move around, to labor in the water, and to avoid unnecessary interventions. You’re open to new ideas but cautious, willing to take some risks, but nothing crazy. A hospital feels wrong but a homebirth is a little too kooky for your taste – maybe next time. A birth center provides a calm, nurturing environment for unmedicated birth without having to do all the prep work. It’s that happy space between homebirth and hospital, and since you need to drive there, it feels a little more normal than just plopping out a kid in your living room. You’re also cost-conscious, and there’s a far better chance of getting insurance reimbursement for an accredited birth center than a homebirth, which is nothing to sneeze at. Your partner has the same cautiously optimistic approach to birth – he’ll thrive in a birth center where he can support you emotionally without having to worry about logistics.

24-30:  Happy in the Hospital

When it comes to your birth, you’re not taking any chances. So many things could go wrong, and you don’t want to lose any precious seconds on a transfer from home or birth center to the emergency room. You’ve read tons of pregnancy books and can rattle off dozens of potentially harrowing birth calamities – shoulder dystocia, failure to progress, postpartum hemorrhage, cord prolapse….why take the chance?  You may or may not want a natural birth but you think you can achieve your ideal experience in the hospital where at least you’ll have all the latest high-tech gadgets within grabbing distance if things don’t go as planned. You have a lot of faith in the medical establishment, and you’re not apt to question authority. You might be really, really nervous about the pain of childbirth and not sure you can handle it. During labor you want to be able to sleep, chat with friends, post Facebook updates, and not stress. You care about delivering a healthy baby, that's it. The birth experience is secondary.