Yesterday, I went to my monthly appointment. I went with a list of about 25 questions for the midwife. Several of her answers were rather disturbing. Here were some of the questions and answers.
Q: How often do you find that first-time mothers require an episiotomy?
A: Not often. We midwives try not to preform episiotomies if we can help it.
Awesome! At this point I'm feeling pretty good.
Q: What are the possible dangers of having frequent Doppler/ultrasound checks?
A: There are none. I would read up on it, if I were you, but it's just ultrasound waves, so it should be harmless.
I actually had read up on it and we also discussed it in our last Bradley class and according to what I've read and what the Bradley instructor said, it can be harmful to single celled organisms (i.e. my other eggs). So now I'm getting a little skeptical.
Q: I have some numbness on my upper abdomen (I pointed it out for her). Is this normal?
A: Oh, yes. It's quite normal. I had it when I was pregnant. It's just stretching. It may come and go.
She is the first person that I've asked that actually said it was normal. When I told the nurse before the midwife came in, she said she'd never heard of that in her 17 years of nursing. I've also asked several mothers and people who have recently been pregnant, and no one has said they had it. So are we (the midwife and me) the only normal people I know?? Again, I'm skeptical.
Q: Does the hospital require any standard procedures, such as IVs or electronic fetal monitoring?
A: They don't require IVs. That will be up to whoever is delivering your baby. You can have intermittent monitoring, where you would wear the electronic fetal monitor for 15-20 minutes of every hour. They like to have a record. You can refuse it, but then the nurses are very uncomfortable and are more likely to overreact if anything goes slightly wrong. The cable is six or eight feet long, so you can still move around.
Whose comfort is most important here?? Mine - I'm having the baby - or the nurses? And from everything I've read, having a record just means that they are more likely to jump in the intervention bandwagon at the first possible sign of problems, because then if something does go wrong, I will be less likely to win any lawsuits if they "do everything to save the baby" (i.e. Cesarean).
Q: Does the hospital allow eating and drinking?
A: When you're in active labor (more than four centimeters dilated), you won't want to eat or drink. Your digestive system slows down. And most women who eat get nauseous and throw up. It's allowed, but most people don't do it.
I'm sorry, but if labor is truly labor, and I'm working and burning calories, I will want to eat. Your digestive system slows down when you run a marathon too, but I still eat. And I had my best time during the marathon where I ate and hydrated throughout the entire marathon, rather than waiting until my body was depleted toward the end. And if I can't last more than four hours (sometimes two hours) right now without eating, I'm certainly going to want to eat during labor, unless I just happen to pop that baby out in less than four hours, which is highly unlikely.
Q: Provided there are no complications, can I have skin-to-skin contact with the baby right away before he is taken to be cleaned/examined?
A: Yes, unless there is meconium in the amniotic fluid or some sort of respiratory issue.
Okay, that's good
Q: Is there a time limit on labor?
A: No, there's no time limit. You can labor for 30 hours if you want as long as you're progressing. But if you get to, say, six centimeters and stay there for five hours, something is wrong. That's not normal, so something will be done.
Hmm...that seems like a bit of a contradiction. There's no time limit, but if I stay the same for five hours something is done? That sounds like a time limit to me.
Q: If the baby is breech on my due date, do you automatically schedule a Cesarean?
A: We don't automatically schedule one. There are things we can do to try to turn the baby. But if you go into labor and the baby is still breech, you will be sectioned.
According to our Bradley instructor, there is only one doctor in all Atlanta that will attempt a vaginal breech birth. That doctor is not a Kaiser doctor.
Q: How far past my due date can I go?
A: Two weeks. Then we will induce.
So, what if my due date is off? What if I would have gone into labor at 42w 1d? This baby better come early!
I was very discouraged when I left the appointment. I think I will just stay home until I start pushing...then if there are complications, we'll be on our way to the hospital anyway. Besides, some women push for hours. A 20 minute ride to the hospital shouldn't be a problem, right? :(
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