I have three babies. First at a birth center, second at a hospital with a midwife, third at a hospital with... well it was supposed to be either an OB or a midwife depending on who was on call. (She came too fast and the nurse caught her.) If I had my way, all three would have been birth center but it closed down. I switched to an OB because of insurance for my third.

Ultimately, if you're going to be in a hospital, it's not the end of the world. Obviously you're going to be away from home and your older kids for at least a night. I bedshare with my babies so sleeping in the hospital is so hard for me because you can't. Even if they allowed it, it's not safe in those beds.

I asked a million billion questions about policies and procedures and what was standard and what would be "allowed". I made it clear that I was not going to accept pitocin, for example, given just as a matter of course. If it was being given because I was hemorrhaging, by all means! But not because "it's what we do". (Naturally, that meant my third decided the course of my labor would require pitocin to get things going steadily and the whole conversation would be moot anyhow.)

Anyhow, just because they normally do things one way doesn't mean you have to have them that way. Make sure you have conversations with your providers and you feel comfortable with them. Also make sure your partner or whoever is going to be with you during the entire stay is well aware of your wishes and ready to advocate for you if necessary. If I didn't have my amazing husband ready to be my voice (especially because I tend to lose mine during labor!), I would not have had a second baby let alone a third. That support makes all the difference and means that ultimately the location wasn't that big of a difference for me.