Two Fridays ago now, I met with Dr. Stempel for another prenatal appointment. The usual things were checked: my blood pressure (normal), my weight (144--normal), my pee (normal). I was given the results of my most recent TSH and T4 bloodtest and told that the numbers were good--not too high, not too low. He measured the height of my uterus and then searched for the baby's heartbeat. It took a little looking, as the doctor started in the middle of my belly, which is where the baby usually hangs out at my visits. We heard nothing. Then the doctor moved the Doppler to the left side of my belly. Again, nothing. I told the doctor, half-laughing, that I had just felt him moving quite a bit before coming to the appointment. "Oh, he's there," Dr. Stempel replied, moving the Doppler to the right side of my belly, and sure enough, there were the sounds of the steadily beating little heart. The baby was hunkered down to one side, close to where his placenta attaches to the wall of my womb. His heartbeat was 150 beats per minute--perfect.
After the brief exam was over, I talked with the doctor for several minutes as I had come prepared with some questions for him. My main concern was getting a referral to the group of nurse-midwives who routinely help women with waterbirth at Emanuel. Dr. Stempel confirmed that yes, I was still a candidate for waterbirth, (although he expressed again his wonder at why I would ever want such a thing). I told him that I was trying to decide between a waterbirth at Emanuel and one at Andaluz (the very beautiful birthing center that Michael and I toured when I was around 16 weeks pregnant).
We then had quite a discussion about why Dr. Stempel thinks giving birth to my baby anyplace other than the hospital is unsafe, and, as he hinted rather obviously, would be taking chances with the health of my baby. He referred a couple of times to how "you wouldn't ride in a car without your seatbelt, would you?" I agreed that I would not, but didn't remind him there are still risks to riding in a car, even when wearing your seatbelt.
He told me some other things, which I'm not going to mention here, about Andaluz. For one thing, I only know his side of the story and for another, I know that as a medical doctor, he is perhaps a bit predisposed to thinking birth anywhere outside the walls of a hospital is unsafe.
What it comes down to is that it is my decision, ultimately, and I need to be where I feel the most comfortable. What is tough is not letting the opinions of others (especially medical personnel, whom I tend to let intimidate me), influence me too much. Sadly, I have been more of a "pleaser" in my life than a girl who stands up for what she believes in no matter what. Having this baby may just be that most important thing in my life that pushes me to grow and change . . . and really, if not now, then when?
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There is so much 'evidence' either direction. I often wonder what, exactly, is each specific Dr's and/or hospital's track record for births and types of complications...
ReplyDeleteHere's an article I highlighted that suggests midwives are being harassed in Oregon - specifically the Andaluz midwives!
http://diigo.com/0mool
Carrie,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing the article. The more I think about it, the more I think the division comes from two very different types of training and thought process . . . and fear on the part of the medical doctors. Isn't there a saying about how we fear what we don't understand? "The Business of Being Born" is a great documentary on the subject. In it they talked with 3 or 4 medical students and asked them if they had ever witnessed a "natural" birth. None had. They had only seen medicalized births and so anything else seemed foreign to them. I think it's sad that women are made to feel afraid or feel like they are putting their baby's health at risk if they are not in a hospital. SO much good could come of the two sides just working together for increased good outcomes for moms and babies.