My first official appointment at the birth center went very well. I was pretty excited. The midwife I saw (there are 7) was very young and very giggley. Almost everything I said made her laugh. She was pretty nice and I could tell she was new.
My mom and son were with me, which was a good thing because they decided to do the glucose test and some bloodwork right then so I needed to walk to the lab, drink the glucose drink, then wait an hour to get my blood drawn. Then back to the birth center for my Rhogam shot.
My mom also got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time, which was nice for her because she's never heard it before. I don't think she ever even got to hear mine (not sure if they did that 30 years ago)
Anyway, I'm pretty pleased with the change. I've also enrolled the three of us (Joanne & my mom too) in a hypnobirthing class. I think it's going to be a really good thing for me and am feeling really glad that we were able to find one we could all attend.
Yay for being able to take steps in the direction of having the birth I really want!
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Birth Center it is...
I'm completely exhausted today from getting up at the crack of dawn to report for jury duty and then book it back home to make the 2 hr drive to visit my mom and have us all attend the birth center information session. Then back home again and off to work tomorrow! Very sleepy!
The short of it is, the birth center is exactly what I want. Nothing routine, all natural, do-what's-best-for-mom-and-baby style. No routine IV's, in fact, no IV's at all....eat and drink what you want, deliver any way you want....it's like dream come true. Which makes me kind of sad, because should it really be the case that someone is relieved to find a birthing place that treats childbirth as something natural?
The short of it is, the birth center is exactly what I want. Nothing routine, all natural, do-what's-best-for-mom-and-baby style. No routine IV's, in fact, no IV's at all....eat and drink what you want, deliver any way you want....it's like dream come true. Which makes me kind of sad, because should it really be the case that someone is relieved to find a birthing place that treats childbirth as something natural?
Monday, March 12, 2007
I just can't go there!
First, let me start by saying that I really do love my ob/gyn. She's helped us so much in this journey and I feel that she stands out amongst her peers in being supportive about our wishes for a natural birth. It was she who suggested I look into Hypnobirthing (which I have and am totally going to get on board with).
That being said, there are 4 doctors in her practice. Which means that there is only a 25% chance that she will be the one to deliver my baby. I also know that one of the other doctors has said out loud "I just don't get women who don't want the epidural." And the other two, I'm just not sure I've been around enough to know how they truly feel.
Coupled with the stat sheet I received a few days ago with astronomically high rates of medical interventions performed on normal childbirth in their affiliated hospital, I'm just in a bind.
Some of you may question the logic in someone like me, who needed medical help to conceive being so adament on childbirth as a natural, normal, to be minimally interferred with process. Does it make sense? I'm sure there is a perfectly valid way to explain it...but I can't put to words what's in my heart.
I could not have conceived without help...therefore I had no option but medical intervention to help me conceive. However, most childbirths can happen without this kind of intervention and almost all need fair less routine medical help than they are actually provided with. That's pretty much the foundation of how I can rectify this oxymoron of a philosophy.
A 32% c-section rate!? A 94% IV rate? A 70% epidural rate? My son (born in 2005) was one of only 6% of natural births at this hospital? I just can't get my mind around how it can possibly be the case that 1/3 of all women are so malformed that they need a c-section or that 94% of women are so dehydrated that they must have an IV. When does the "preventative" line cross the "invasive" line?
Before panic sets in...I do know that there are other options for me. I wanted a homebirth and know full well that in low-risk pregnancies (which mine has been and should continue to be) it is just as safe for mother and baby, if not a little safer due to the decreased risk of contracting an infection. That being said, insurance won't foot the bill and Joanne isn't really 100% comfortable with the idea (which I've mentioned before in my posts).
A birth center was the compromise we came up with and I think now, in earnest, I need to face reality that I'm likely not going to have the best birth for my baby at my local hospital where he can be brought into the world on his own accord and direction.
I've made the appointment to tour one of the two in my state. (This one is in the next town over from where my parents live so it is convenient). I'll be sad at having to tell my doctor I'm switching...but I really think this is going to be the best option for me and my baby.
That being said, there are 4 doctors in her practice. Which means that there is only a 25% chance that she will be the one to deliver my baby. I also know that one of the other doctors has said out loud "I just don't get women who don't want the epidural." And the other two, I'm just not sure I've been around enough to know how they truly feel.
Coupled with the stat sheet I received a few days ago with astronomically high rates of medical interventions performed on normal childbirth in their affiliated hospital, I'm just in a bind.
Some of you may question the logic in someone like me, who needed medical help to conceive being so adament on childbirth as a natural, normal, to be minimally interferred with process. Does it make sense? I'm sure there is a perfectly valid way to explain it...but I can't put to words what's in my heart.
I could not have conceived without help...therefore I had no option but medical intervention to help me conceive. However, most childbirths can happen without this kind of intervention and almost all need fair less routine medical help than they are actually provided with. That's pretty much the foundation of how I can rectify this oxymoron of a philosophy.
A 32% c-section rate!? A 94% IV rate? A 70% epidural rate? My son (born in 2005) was one of only 6% of natural births at this hospital? I just can't get my mind around how it can possibly be the case that 1/3 of all women are so malformed that they need a c-section or that 94% of women are so dehydrated that they must have an IV. When does the "preventative" line cross the "invasive" line?
Before panic sets in...I do know that there are other options for me. I wanted a homebirth and know full well that in low-risk pregnancies (which mine has been and should continue to be) it is just as safe for mother and baby, if not a little safer due to the decreased risk of contracting an infection. That being said, insurance won't foot the bill and Joanne isn't really 100% comfortable with the idea (which I've mentioned before in my posts).
A birth center was the compromise we came up with and I think now, in earnest, I need to face reality that I'm likely not going to have the best birth for my baby at my local hospital where he can be brought into the world on his own accord and direction.
I've made the appointment to tour one of the two in my state. (This one is in the next town over from where my parents live so it is convenient). I'll be sad at having to tell my doctor I'm switching...but I really think this is going to be the best option for me and my baby.
Friday, March 02, 2007
I've been a bad bad blogger...
I can't believe how much time I let pass before I posted. It seriously has only felt like it's been a couple of weeks!
I've been feeling really well in terms of the pregnancy. I haven't gained that much weight yet but I did manage to gain the bulk of my total (7 out of 11lbs) in the past month. I guess that happens sometimes when you don't gain a lot in the beginning. Despite the modest gain, I feel like a stuffed pig most of the time and that I'm swelling all over.
Well meaning people have been chipper to report that "I'm not gaining in the belly, I'm gaining all over." Of course I smile but part of me just wants to cry! Where's my nice fat baby belly???
Our little guy has been very active (despite the anterior placenta which I was told would make me feel less movement). This is definitely a mover. He twists and turns and it's now at the point when I've seen the movement in my belly just by looking a couple of times. We may be in for an active child!
I've been feeling really well in terms of the pregnancy. I haven't gained that much weight yet but I did manage to gain the bulk of my total (7 out of 11lbs) in the past month. I guess that happens sometimes when you don't gain a lot in the beginning. Despite the modest gain, I feel like a stuffed pig most of the time and that I'm swelling all over.
Well meaning people have been chipper to report that "I'm not gaining in the belly, I'm gaining all over." Of course I smile but part of me just wants to cry! Where's my nice fat baby belly???
Our little guy has been very active (despite the anterior placenta which I was told would make me feel less movement). This is definitely a mover. He twists and turns and it's now at the point when I've seen the movement in my belly just by looking a couple of times. We may be in for an active child!
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