Midwifery

This week I watched a documentary I had been wanting to watch for a while, The Business of Being Born by Ricki Lake. I also read Ricki Lake's book that kind of goes hand in hand with her film. Both were very, very good.

*Another disclaimer... I am making no judgement on women who used a regular OBGYN or had any kind of medical intervention what so ever. I'm just expressing my thoughts on my own personal journey. It is a very personal decision that we each must make for ourself based on what is best for our own families*

I had always been attracted to the thought of a midwife. And after watching the film, it really confirmed this thought. The most important thing being midwives, who are still highly educated and trained, is they have a greater trust and respect for the bodies own natural ability to birth. Where as doctors fix problems. They are not accustomed to letting the body work naturally.

Not being able to conceive naturally was difficult to accept. The conception of our baby was highly controlled, very medical, and obviously required intense intervention. I think that is the reason, I so strongly want the pregnancy and birth of our baby to be as natural as possible.

*Another disclaimer... I also understand that 'things' happen. The best plans for a natural birth can end in a c-section... and in the end its most important that mom and baby are healthy. So while I may be planning one thing, I also understand the unforeseen happens. Believe me, I am a realist these days.*

However, I wasn't ready to say, after Dr. Shamma I'll be seeing a midwife. The reason being Dr. Powell. She was such a huge blessing in finding the root of our infertility. When we found out the IVF was going to be our only option, she looked me in the eye and said, "I will deliver your baby." How great would it be to truly have her delivery this baby. But, she is also a surgeon. She is a doctor who is trained to intervene and fix things, sometimes maybe when they aren't really broken. I thought that if I can express to her how important it is to me to have the best chance at a natural childbirth, then maybe she'd understand and be slower to intervene. But even then, hospitals often say you can have whatever kind of birth you want, including a water birth, but one thing leads to another, people start pushing you one way, and your desires are out the window.

I will be released from Dr. Shamma in about three weeks. So I went ahead and called Dr. Powell's office to get on the schedule for my first appointment with her. I was not pleased. The receptionist explained to me that my first two visits will be with these two different people. Then after that I'll be rotated throughout all the doctors for the following appointments. That way who ever is there to deliver won't be a stranger. Um that is not OK with me. And that will only increase the odds of intervention. Sure, Dr. Powell and I might be on the same page, but that doesn't mean the other three or four doctors are. This did not sit well with me.

The next step was to call our insurance company and get a run down of the maternity services covered. What do you know? Midwife services are covered the very same as OBGYN maternity services. This makes me happy. Now don't think that I am instantly thinking about doing a home birth. We'll have to see how the pregnancy goes. But having a midwife delivering in the hospital means that I'd still have the opportunity to birth the way and in the environment I choose, including in the water.

Now we still have 31 weeks and so much depends on how things go with the pregnancy. I may hit 30 weeks and realize I don't have a choice, but to see an OBGYN and deliver in a hospital. But at this point, I would like to proceed with a midwife. I want to have a trust and relationship with the ONE person who will be attending my birth.

Fortunately and surprisingly, Midland, Saginaw, and Bay City have several great midwives with great reputations who have attended massive number of births.