The week after returning from France, I started researching birthing options and prenatal care. I had heard of birthing centers, but didn’t know specifically what set them apart from hospitals. It seemed more appealing than having a baby in an institution ridden with germs and sick people though, so I started looking up birthing centers around town. Apparently they are popular and super busy, it was quite a pain to get a hold of anyone and I was a bit worried about being thrown in with the masses.
Then, on a recommendation from a friend, Chris and I watched the documentary The Business of Being Born, thanks to the instant streaming capabilities of Netflix. EXPECTING OR NOT, EVERYONE SHOULD SEE THIS FILM. I wasn’t looking forward to it, envisioning lots of screaming and gory footage, but this was far from it. It was engaging, enlightening, empowering, and really educational. Labor and delivery is portrayed in mainstream media as downright hellish. And yes, it can certainly be that way, but this taught me that knowledge and preparation can go a long way. Knowing your options and having a plan helps immensely with staying in control and avoiding future regret.
As we both have very strong opinions about the hospital industry (only strengthened by this film), Chris and I agreed that it would be ideal for us to avoid the hospital unless I needed surgery or someone’s life was in danger. After looking at the other options, I learned that there was not much of a difference between giving birth in a birthing center vs. at home with a certified midwife. Both situations involve the same exact providers, medical equipment, resuscitation supplies, etc., except in homebirth those things come to you. Also, with both the birthing center and home, if you or the baby is suspected of having any complications, you are transported to the hospital. After some deep consideration, it made more sense for me to labor at home so long as we could find a good midwife that I felt comfortable with. The day of the labor, we could always arrange for a hospital transfer if a medical need arose. So Chris and I interviewed some certified midwives and at the end of the week we decided on a really sweet lady named Brielle: http://www.moonstonebirth.com/faqs.htm
Brielle has been really great so far and I’ve had two appointments with her since our initial meeting. She’ll be providing comprehensive prenatal care including basic lab work and monthly prenatal visits until 28 weeks, bi-weekly visits until 36 weeks, weekly visits until birth, and one home visit at approximately 36 weeks. She’ll also provide clinical, emotional, and physical support during labor, birth, and the immediate postpartum as well as six weeks of postpartum care and breastfeeding support. She has extensive experience working as a doula and incorporates that in her practice. If for some reason I need a hospital transfer, she will accompany me and take over that role.
Before all this I wasn’t quite sure what prenatal care involved. My mom didn’t go to the doctor until her eighth month of pregnancy, even though she was 35 and I was her first child. But she didn’t smoke or drink and she was fairly healthy, and everything was fine. I did end up being breeched and required birth by C-section, but that wouldn’t have changed with more prenatal doctor appointments.
I learned that for a healthy, active person, there really isn’t much involved other than some initial blood work plus blood pressure and urine checks once a month until you’re closer to your due date. I had already started on a prenatal supplement (New Chapter Organics, completely vegetable based) and I’ve always been pretty active, so I wasn’t worried. I also learned that everyone has the option to test their unborn baby for birth defects, but I found out that those procedures are not risk-free. On top of that, if the little one does have a potential problem, there isn’t much a doctor can do besides have you wait, take more tests, or remove the baby. If you’re like me and determined to not willfully terminate a pregnancy, the tests (which aren’t always accurate) could cause needless anxiety and lead to accidental injury/death of the baby. All in all, I came to the conclusion that there was no benefit for me to run these tests before birth since babies can’t be treated until after they’re born anyway. So why subject your body and theirs to harm in the process?
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