little feet, big sky

Today’s appointment went well. :-) My weight gain is good, my BP is good and the baby’s heartbeat was pretty good, too! Answers to my questions:

• The Farm may have unusually low c-section rates depending on the type of care they give, or the type of clients their practice attracts.
• Indigestion tips pending.
• Prenatal swimming is a good idea, but hard to find in our area. The best thing is to look for a prenatal swimming class, rather than a general water aerobics class.

I’m 23 and 5/7 weeks pregnant and the hardest thing about being pregnant so far has been… other people.

I knew I didn’t want a hospital birth even before the spouse and I started trying. I’ve never been in a hospital for more than a few hours in the ER for an ear infection and I had no intention of starting now. I knew I wanted a midwife, but it wasn’t until I got pregnant that the hub and I started to talk about a homebirth. A few weeks looking around on Google and making a few phone calls turned up some interesting information: no birth centers within safe driving distance. So we started shopping for midwives and found one that we liked, met her and happily signed up for a midwife-assisted homebirth.

I knew this was going to be an unorthodox decision among family and friends, but I had no idea just how much. Perhaps if this was our second child, or just not our first, I wouldn’t have been swamped with other people’s opinions. Most people, primarily other mothers, would instantly exclaim “Just get the epidural – don’t wait!” To this I would often smile and half-joke “Well, I’m having a homebirth, so that’s a no-go for me!” Their expressions were often comical, somewhere between confusion and disbelief. I guess for most, homebirth is just not in their vocabulary.

Even my mother had a strong negative response. Her reaction was as if I’d just stated that I planned to find a barn in the mid-West to have my baby when I go in labor. It’s more than a little frustrating, because if you look at the numbers, homebirth is safer than a hospital birth if you’re not a high-risk pregnancy. And in all honesty, few women are truly high-risk. Doctor-assisted prenatal care has nothing on my midwife. :-) I’ve had monthly prenatal visits (my home or hers) for well over an hour each. I have my pulse & BP checked, urine for protein, prenatal blood screening, ultrasounds at 8 and 20 weeks, and an AFP screen. Plus, I have her home and cell numbers for any questions or concerns. Bloating like mad? One email gets me a reply with tons of natural tips and solutions. Funny pain in the side? A quick call to her cell gets a warm, friendly explanation and advice. The thought of going to to a doctor for prenatal care sounds like a nightmare!

The average c-section rate in hospitals in the U.S. is about 46%. My midwife’s is under 15%. I believe the best way for my child to be born will be quietly and gently at home, surrounded by his or her loving parents, two qualified and experienced midwives, and a doula. He or she will be gently dried off and half-wrapped in a blanket to keep the skin-to-skin contact that newborns find so soothing. The midwives will assess the baby and me to make sure we’re doing well and we will be left alone to enjoy the new addition to our family.

If you’re newly pregnant, or planning on it, I highly suggest two books: Immaculate Deception II and Misconceptions. If you’re the too-lazy-to-read type, then netflix The Business of Being Born.

$9.99

Oooh.. We have our monthly appointment with our midwife, D, today! I always get excited for these, though the verdict is always (thankfully) the same: all is good, healthy baby, healthy mom. Even thought I can reach D anytime by email or phone, I try to stockpile more of the questions I’d like to talk about in person for our appointments. Today’s questions are:

• I read/heard that the Farm in Tennessee, which has been doing “homebirths” for thirty years or so, has a c-section rate of under 2%. Most midwives are between 7% and 18%. Any theories as to the discrepancies?
• Natural tips for indigestion/acid reflux? I’ve noticed smaller portions & drinking water more frequently helps.
• I’m curious about taking pregnancy swimming classes – any obvious precautions I need to take?

That’s all I can think of so far. Sometimes I get a few more burst of questions on the drive over, but I’ll be sure to post back here with some of the answers I get. :-)

I’ve been knitting up a storm lately, and have been making little “mini-layettes” of booties, hats, diaper covers, and kimono wraps. I’ve used patterns from around the web, but my favorite baby knitting book is the one above: Natural Knits for Babies and Moms by Louisa Harding. The patterns are simple and easily varied, and simply elegant.

I was talking to my sister on the phone this morning and she started to suggest babycenter.com for a list of things to get before the baby comes. I checked out lists on various sites months ago, but there’s so much to keep straight when you’re preggers that I’m constantly glad for my 40 Weeks + Pregnancy Organizer.

We have a midwife, and are going the home birth route, but aside from the “pre-hospital checklist”, there’s nothing in there that doesn’t apply to us. :-) There’s three pages of shopping lists (though the authors state upfront that you don’t need everything on the list), lists for items borrowed, gifts received and so on. There’s food tracking charts, fetal kick count charts, weight charts and more. There are even pretty good interview pages for doctors, midwives, pediatricians and childcare. Oh and for insurance, for when you call up your insurance to see what you’re covered for. Admittedly, the pocket in the back is a bit small, but I haven’t had much to put in it yet, so I’m not complaining. Honestly, this would make a great gift for a friend or couple that’s recently announced they’re expecting. :-)