Last time was home-schooling. Now we're on to home-birthing.... ha.
So I started going to an OB at the beginning of this pregnancy. Got a great recommendation from a friend. Did the lab work, had my first ultrasound...the whole bit. Neil went with me to the ultrasound/appointment, and after the appointment, he was like "She seems like a great doctor, but she just talks so fast, and I just don't think I got any questions answered that I expected to have answered today...I just felt really rushed."
Neil hasn't really been to a lot of OB appointments in the past...and I kinda got used to how they went, and didn't' really have super-high expectations. No biggy. He seemed kinda bothered by it though. He also was like "the hospital she delivers at is 45 minutes away? umm...Pam, I really don't want to deliver a baby on the side of the road. I would have no idea what to do."
so, I told Neil that I would try to get some recommendations for some doctors in town that delivered at the hospital that's only 15 minutes away.
I got some recommendations, and I was planning on calling and making some consultations.
Then, I was talking to a girl at church, who was due to birth baby #2 in just a couple of weeks. She mentioned in the course of that conversation that she was planning on having a home birth. This was only the second time I had met someone who had done a home birth (the last one being a week before having Balian), but for some reason this time it just kinda caught me off-guard and really made me think...
I have never even considered planning a home birth. I always said "oh, I could NEVER have a home birth...way too scary."
But somehow, I found myself waking up that night, thinking about the possibility of that very thing.
Neil was in Korea at the time for his reserves 2-week training/deployment and he called me the next night. I just mentioned to him the conversation I had with the lady at church, and at the word home birth, he immediately said "YES! I want to know everything there is to know about having a home birth." I was totally in shock. apparently Neil had been thinking about home birth for a while, but was just waiting until I warmed up to the idea. ha! never would have guessed that one!
So...I started my research. Being the research-loving person that I am...I did a LOT of research! And I'm still researching!
It's amazing how much information you can find on this stuff. There's been documentaries done "The Business of Being Born" and "Orgasmic Birth" (which they probably just titled that way to get people to watch it...) and there's all kinds of research that has been done about how our country compares to other developed nations as far as c-section rates, infant and maternal mortality rates, and how that all has to do with OBs and hospitals vs. midwives and non-hospital births (birthing centers and home births). The more I read about the model of midwifery care, the more comfortable I felt with the idea...and not only that, but I also started to really LIKE the idea...and started getting excited about it. what?
I called two different midwives to set up consultations. That in itself was amazing. The midwives themselves answered the phone, set up the consultations, asked me some questions, and asked if I had any questions. I was probably on the phone with each midwife for anywhere from 15-20 minutes...and all of my questions at that point (do I even qualify for a home birth? what about precipitous labor? what about GBS? do you do stitches? how do you handle the possibility of hemorrhaging?, etc.) were totally answered by the time I was off the phone. Not only that, but each midwife explained that they would take me on a tour of the birthing center, and afterward we would have question and answer time to get to know each other better...and that this would probably take about an hour or so.
seriously? you're going to take an hour to answer all of my questions and show me how you're going to take care of me? You mean I'm not going to be waiting for an hour, and then getting about 5 minutes with you where I feel rushed and unsure about if I have any questions?
well, after my two consultation appointments with two different midwives, Neil and I are SOLD with the amazing level of individual care - and of course, the more wholistic approach to pregnancy and childbirth in general.
What? I don't have to be strapped to a bed with IVs and monitors? I can move around as much as I want, get in the bathtub if I want, have a water-birth if I so desire, eat and drink during labor, and have a home-cooked meal and an herbal bath with my baby after it's all said and done? I can breastfeed ASAP and have breastfeeding support at my fingertips as well as more post-partum care that includes baby care as well? (2 days, 2 weeks, 6 weeks, more in there if needed...some even do up to 12 weeks).
Anyway, we're super-excited. Now, we just have to decide WHO to use. And considering how great both options are, it may be a pretty difficult decision. we'll see!
