The continuing saga of my decision to use a midwife for the birth of my child...
Nine years ago, my best friend gave birth to her first child. She planned to have a natural birth with an OB/GYN, and I am ashamed to admit that I scoffed at her decision. Ultimately, she had some pain relievers, but most of her labor was unmedicated. After the birth of her second child with a midwife in a birthing center, I heard more in depth the differences between the two births. I was surprised to hear how differently she was treated by the OB versus the midwife. Essentially, the OB had let her suffer for hours with a slight complication that could have been easily remedied early on. The midwife, when encountering the same complication, took care of the issue within a couple of contractions. I was stunned at the lack of sympathy and care she was shown during her first birth.
Which brings me to my own experience. After Nathan and I discussed our desires for this pregnancy and birth, we had pretty much decided on going to the Vanderbilt midwives. However, because of some medications I was taking at the time, I wanted to get in to see my OB/GYN as quickly as possible so that I would have some guidance on whether or not to continue my meds. I have been seeing this OB/GYN for years and really do like him. However, he has said some things in the past that has made me question using him for a birth. He told me, many years ago, that if I ever had children, I would have to have a Cesarean section (C-section) because my pelvic opening was too small. This made no sense to me then or now. How can you know if one object can pass through another without seeing the first object? Plus, I have known other women who were told the exact same thing by a doctor and those women gave birth vaginally.
Anyway, I made an appointment with his nurse for my first prenatal visit. When I arrived, the waiting room was full (as usual) and loud. I remember thinking that this environment was not going to be conducive to a calm, happy pregnancy for me if I had to face this noisy, crowded waiting room every month. After I was called back, the nurse got my vitals, did a pregnancy test just to make sure and then started recording my history. Of course, the first thing they ask is the first date of your last menstrual period. This information is used to calculate your due date. For those unfamiliar with this formula, the logic goes like this: it is assumed (based on nothing but an assumption) that a woman ovulates 14 days after the first day of her period. The date of ovulation is considered the date that the baby was conceived. A baby gestates for generally 38 weeks from the date of conception. So, if you take the first day of the last period and add 40 weeks (38 weeks gestation + 14 days to ovulation) you get the baby's due date.
To be continued...
Nine years ago, my best friend gave birth to her first child. She planned to have a natural birth with an OB/GYN, and I am ashamed to admit that I scoffed at her decision. Ultimately, she had some pain relievers, but most of her labor was unmedicated. After the birth of her second child with a midwife in a birthing center, I heard more in depth the differences between the two births. I was surprised to hear how differently she was treated by the OB versus the midwife. Essentially, the OB had let her suffer for hours with a slight complication that could have been easily remedied early on. The midwife, when encountering the same complication, took care of the issue within a couple of contractions. I was stunned at the lack of sympathy and care she was shown during her first birth.
Which brings me to my own experience. After Nathan and I discussed our desires for this pregnancy and birth, we had pretty much decided on going to the Vanderbilt midwives. However, because of some medications I was taking at the time, I wanted to get in to see my OB/GYN as quickly as possible so that I would have some guidance on whether or not to continue my meds. I have been seeing this OB/GYN for years and really do like him. However, he has said some things in the past that has made me question using him for a birth. He told me, many years ago, that if I ever had children, I would have to have a Cesarean section (C-section) because my pelvic opening was too small. This made no sense to me then or now. How can you know if one object can pass through another without seeing the first object? Plus, I have known other women who were told the exact same thing by a doctor and those women gave birth vaginally.
Anyway, I made an appointment with his nurse for my first prenatal visit. When I arrived, the waiting room was full (as usual) and loud. I remember thinking that this environment was not going to be conducive to a calm, happy pregnancy for me if I had to face this noisy, crowded waiting room every month. After I was called back, the nurse got my vitals, did a pregnancy test just to make sure and then started recording my history. Of course, the first thing they ask is the first date of your last menstrual period. This information is used to calculate your due date. For those unfamiliar with this formula, the logic goes like this: it is assumed (based on nothing but an assumption) that a woman ovulates 14 days after the first day of her period. The date of ovulation is considered the date that the baby was conceived. A baby gestates for generally 38 weeks from the date of conception. So, if you take the first day of the last period and add 40 weeks (38 weeks gestation + 14 days to ovulation) you get the baby's due date.
To be continued...
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1 comments:
Unknown said...
I feel like I'm famous or something. Thanks for the shout-out; plus, it will all be worth it if I have saved you even a moment of the discomfort I had in the hospital with Trin!