So, I started care with hospital-based midwives who I really like and respect, but we switched to a HB midwife because of the hospital's no-waterbirth policy, the overzealous peds. teams who too often take babies away from their mamas and too often prescribe prophylactic antibiotics, and the unrestful mama-baby unit. Plus, I felt like the end of my first pregnancy with them was more managed than I wanted, I narrowly avoided a pit. induction, felt like I had to bust a move to get labor going instead of just letting things happen, and I really want to have a more mellow, low-stress, spontaneous start to labor and birth if it's possible. Is that too much to ask?
I felt like I should let the hospital midwives know my new plans. I am about 25 weeks along now. They have been generally supportive but have already recommended that I come in for an AFI check at 41 weeks because of my "advanced maternal age" - I am 35, or just barely 36 if baby comes after 39 weeks - and they have offered shadow care as an option. I had borderline low amniotic fluid with the first pregnancy at my 41 weeks postdate check, which precipitated this pressure for baby to evacuate the premises sooner rather than later. As far as I know, I am NOT high risk - no GD, no high blood pressure, not overweight, not under a lot of stress, singleton pregnancy, non-smoker, etc.. The ONLY 'risk factor' I have is that I am 35 years old.
So GAAH!
I was trying to be an honest, above-board patient with them, let them know what's going on, but I just DO. NOT. WANT. to repeat the way my last labor went down. Not that it was bad - I had a lovely, unmedicated hospital birth and the midwife was wonderful and hands-off, but now I feel like I am sort of caught in their net. I am "on the radar" and if I DO obey and go in for a 41 week check and the AFI should be <8, my HB midwife will be remiss if she doesn't transfer care, and if I DON'T go in, I am being irresponsible as 'geriatric mothers' are more likely to have problems with placental insufficiency, and if anything were to happen that could have been prevented by an earlier delivery in a medicalized setting...
I don't want to offend them, I don't want to jeopardize my working relationship with them (either in terms of working at that hospital as a doula or if I had to transfer for maternal exhaustion during the birth), but I also don't want the end of my pregnancy meddled with by the medical establishment - it's what I am trying to get away from...
Sage advice, anyone? Aside from drink about a gallon of water in the few hours preceding the AFI check if I do go in for it...
I know they are just concerned and trying to do best-practice medicine, but I just don't feel like my body is my own, like this is a "you really need to do this for the health of your baby", rather than an offer of "if you want to do this, it is available." It makes me feel like I don't REALLY have a choice, and like it's not something that they offer with the "talk with your HB midwife about whether it's something you want to do."
I felt like I should let the hospital midwives know my new plans. I am about 25 weeks along now. They have been generally supportive but have already recommended that I come in for an AFI check at 41 weeks because of my "advanced maternal age" - I am 35, or just barely 36 if baby comes after 39 weeks - and they have offered shadow care as an option. I had borderline low amniotic fluid with the first pregnancy at my 41 weeks postdate check, which precipitated this pressure for baby to evacuate the premises sooner rather than later. As far as I know, I am NOT high risk - no GD, no high blood pressure, not overweight, not under a lot of stress, singleton pregnancy, non-smoker, etc.. The ONLY 'risk factor' I have is that I am 35 years old.
So GAAH!
I was trying to be an honest, above-board patient with them, let them know what's going on, but I just DO. NOT. WANT. to repeat the way my last labor went down. Not that it was bad - I had a lovely, unmedicated hospital birth and the midwife was wonderful and hands-off, but now I feel like I am sort of caught in their net. I am "on the radar" and if I DO obey and go in for a 41 week check and the AFI should be <8, my HB midwife will be remiss if she doesn't transfer care, and if I DON'T go in, I am being irresponsible as 'geriatric mothers' are more likely to have problems with placental insufficiency, and if anything were to happen that could have been prevented by an earlier delivery in a medicalized setting...I don't want to offend them, I don't want to jeopardize my working relationship with them (either in terms of working at that hospital as a doula or if I had to transfer for maternal exhaustion during the birth), but I also don't want the end of my pregnancy meddled with by the medical establishment - it's what I am trying to get away from...
Sage advice, anyone? Aside from drink about a gallon of water in the few hours preceding the AFI check if I do go in for it...
I know they are just concerned and trying to do best-practice medicine, but I just don't feel like my body is my own, like this is a "you really need to do this for the health of your baby", rather than an offer of "if you want to do this, it is available." It makes me feel like I don't REALLY have a choice, and like it's not something that they offer with the "talk with your HB midwife about whether it's something you want to do."
