UC mama's, introduce yourself!!

[mwright]

I've noticed a couple have joined and it would be neat to get to know you, being we are in the same ddc!! :

Are you doing UP? Have your UC'd before? What made you decide to UC? Do you have support outside of MDC?


I'm planning a UBAC! My dd was a planned birthcenter birth with a midwife but due to "interventions" I lost my dream birth and ended with an unwanted C-section. I am doing all my own prenatals. I have a local midwife I can go to if i want any testing done. She is willing to come and sit in a seperate room if I want her there. And she will do a post partum/ baby well if I want one as well. Lots of options at this point.

Tell me more about your experiences!!

[JorgieGirl]

I'm not officially UC'ing, but my MW's live 45 minutes away and my DD came in 4 hours, so I am planning for a UC since it's definitely a probability. I wouldn't mind going full UC but DH isn't comfortable with it. I hope no one minds if I follow your journey's since I want to be prepared in case I wind up with one. Very best wishes to you all!

[Tizzy]

I'd really like another UC, DH wants more assistance (mainly with cleanup) so I'm hoping we can compromise with a doula

[Jlcampbellkidz]

totally planning an UC this time.

Birth History for me:
#1 totally medical OB PROM then PIt, EPIDURAL, aLL the works and narrowly missed a c-section.
#2 Midwife in a hospital, my 9lb 7oz girl NO Tares
#3 Homebirth, 4 hours from first contrax to holding in my arms
#4 Midwife in the hospital (was on heprin for antiphospholipid antibody)

I am a student midwife and doula and feel confident that we can do this without extra hands. However, I am seeing a midwife for prenatals do to my antibody issues and will have a midwife within 5 min. of my home if I decide I want or need help. Will have a doula that is also a birth assistant and who had her own unnasisted birth early this year.

My Reasons: I view birth as a passage. a spiritual journey, an intimate time between my family and I and just dont see other hands, eyes or opinions being involved. Praying whole hearted and will listen to what God wants.

Hoping this thread will keep up and others will join in.

[PinkPantherDiva]

Are you doing UP? Yes I am. I'm not following any routine like they do at the Dr's office. I'm going to buy my own strips. When I was pg with #2, our MW gave me a few to do at home myself.

Have your UC'd before?This is our 1st.
My 1st was a hospital, pit induced horrible birth experience.
Our 2nd was a homebirth with a doula and MW. I wanted to UC then, but dh said he wasn't ready for that yet.
Here we are now, and I am so excited. I also feel very blessed to have Dh's support.

What made you decide to UC? I want to bring this baby into the world in our home, with only family around. It feels right in my soul, and I'm at peace with our decision.

Do you have support outside of MDC?
I joined the free birth yahoo group the other day. I am also on the My Best Birth website, and I have a few friends back in MN who have had a Up/UC
Of course my wonderful husband

Can't wait to get to know you all better. HH9M!

[mwright]

Yay! :

PinkPantherDiva: Where do you get your strips from and which ones? I saw them on inhishands.com but there is a load to choose from.

[PinkPantherDiva]

Thats where I'll probably order from. I'm not sure of the test I used back then, but I'm thinking of going with the ones with the bottle above them, so you can match the test with the colors on the bottle.
I'll probably ask around first. This is all so exciting!

[teale]

DH and I are talking about UC, but not sure that we're ready for it at this point. I'd love to know more about it and hear from those Mama's who have BTDT.

[gillibean]

I UC'd last time and will likely UC this time as well.

With my first two I had midwife-attended home waterbirths. I would have liked the same thing for #3 but we moved to a small isolated community with no midwives. I talked to the local hospital about using a tub/water for birth and I just wasn't comfortable with going there and having to go by their rules so I bought a birthing tub and stayed home. It was wonderful. I did miss the emotional support that I got from my midwives but I wouldn't have received that support at the hospital anyway so I'm glad I stayed home. We're still in the same town so I'm preparing for UC again this time.

[Jlcampbellkidz]

I have a background in childbirth doula/student midwife so I feel prepared for the actual birth. What I have questions about is after. Like Filling for SS, and birth certificate. And my kids as well as this babe will be on medicaid. what do they expect as far as birth info. Anyone have answers to any of these. I know it probably varies from state to state. Im in Texas

[indignantgirl]

Two time UC'er here, going for my third. I haven't had a totally UP yet, I don't know if I will this time either. I don't do regular visits with anybody, but I have a midwife friend who lives out of state but does a few checkups when we visit each other. It's nice to have a brain to pick if I have questions, she's a large part of why I felt prepared to UC, she let me in on all the trade secrets.

My DH is very supportive, most of the family is supportive too. Well...the first time we didn't tell them until later that we "planned" to UC. We waited until they got used to the idea that it WAS unassisted before telling them that it was on purpose. I had the midwife friend drive down after the births to do all the midwifey stuff, and that made all the family feel good about it, I think.

What's funny is my FIL kept asking, "But what are you going to do if the midwife doesn't get there in time? What if she doesn't make it? What will you do?" I think he had an inkling of what we were planning.

[Jlcampbellkidz]

This is so exciting. I've been in 4 different due date clubs over the years and this makes five. None of them have ever had this many women UC. I am excited about the support that we can provide for each other. :

[KSDoulaMama]

Hi UC'ers...

I am not sure what my plan is just yet, but I may very well be UCing. I KNOW that I want to have a homebirth, and I've known that for a long time. I would love to have a midwife as I do enjoy being cared for and it would be really nice, I think, to have a supportive, outside individual whose only job is to care for me. We do have a midwife in mind, and she is fantastic. We have been in contact with her for a few months since I am a birth and postpartum doula/lactation specialist and so we are in the same field. The problem is that she is 4.5 hours away from us--- we live in a very small town in southwest Kansas. She lives in Colorado Springs. She has attended births in our town before, but with that distance there's no guarantee when she'll arrive. And we just found out my insurance will not cover her, so I'm not sure if I want to pay $3000 out of pocket for a support person who may not show up, KWIM? She is very pro-UC and I'm sure that if she were there she'd be as hands-off or hands-on as we want/need her to be. But that is an option. Another option is that a friend of DW's will be graduating from midwifery school very soon and serendipitously happens to have the month of May off and may be able to hang out with us in Kansas waiting for the babe. That would also be wonderful- and more cost effective.

However, we are totally cool with UCing, and I think that might just be the way it is. DW and I both trust in the process of birth and she is really supportive trusting of my need to birth at home where I feel safe and where my birth will not become a medical procedure. We really appreciate the idea of birthing at home where we have the intimacy to do things as slow or fast as we need, to be in our comfort zone, and to bring our baby into the world in the most peaceful way possible. I am excited at the prospect of doing it "unassisted."

We have mentioned this to our friend/housemate (who is an OB nurse at the hospital) and she is supportive (and would probably actually be at the birth.) She does have more of a medical point of view on birth but I know that she would respect how we want to do it. (Plus, she does have some valuable knowlege about birthing.) Our midwife is totally pro-UC. I have not mentioned it to either of our mothers since I want to have a clearer idea of what we will actually do before I have to potentially try to make them comfortable with UCing, haha. I'm hoping my MIL will be able to be present for the birth and my mom can show up a week or two after. (They both live out of state.)

Anyway, I am sure this is long enough now. I'm excited at how many UCers there are here, too!

[PinkPantherDiva]

Wow, you have a lot of support. Best of luck to you in whatever you decide

[Kontessa]

This is me, not one giving a UC intro sadly. I would be, but alas, we are a military and having moved to where we are now a year ago, we still do not have support we can count on and when I asked DH about about UC he flat out said we need a midwife as there is a possibility he might not be here for this birth either and he wants to have help.


This is birthing #6 for me and I am starting to wonder if I will ever get to UC. My biggest concern with UC is getting stitched up as I tend to need one or two as I push for a very short amount of time.

Anyway, I hope it is ok if I lurk as I am a bit green you all get to do this!

[Batia]

Hi Everyone!!

I will be UCing this time around.
My birth history is:
#1 vaginal birth in hospital
#2 homebirth with midwife
#3 unplanned unassisted; midwife ended up being out of town for birth
#4 homebirth with midwife
#5 unplanned unassisted; midwife lived an hour away and didn't make it in time for birth
#6 & 7 planned csection for twins due to position
#8 planned UBAC
#9 planned UBAC
#10 planned UBAC
and this one will be another planned UBAC!

I am so excited to be her with you all!!

[indignantgirl]

Welcome, Batia! That's an amazing and IMPRESSIVE birth history! I'd love to have 10 someday.

[PinkPantherDiva]

Wow Batia, nice to have you here!

[preggymeaggy]

ok...I am not a UCer..at least not yet! I really love the compassion, assistance, and womanly unspoken communication that goes on with a midwife during labor. Perhaps UC will be for me later on...as I aspire to become a midwife.

I just wanted to come here and ask if any of you had read the latest article in Mothering? About the couple in Vermont, that had an UC, deep in the woods of VT? It was a beautiful story, told from the perspective of the man. I really liked it!

[thefreckledmama]

Are you doing UP? No, I'll be seeing my OB throughout the pregnancy.

Have your UC'd before? No, I've had three previous hospital births.

What made you decide to UC? This is actually an option that has recently come up for consideration in our home. Originally I wanted to have either a HB or BC birth with a MW, but our insurance doesn't cover any of that, and right now we're unable to afford paying for a midwife and BC or HB out of pocket. I had briefly thought about UC myself, but put the idea aside since my husband wasn't even 100% comfortable with the idea of a MW assisted HB. Now it's actually my husband who brought up UC as an option for us.

Do you have support outside of MDC? Eh, not really. I have a few acquaintances that I'll be able to be open with about our intentions, but my friends and family at large will more than likely be kept out of the loop. My MIL is a VERY medical minded RN, and my best friend/SIL already voiced her concern with a MW assisted HB. I'd just assume not invite negative thoughts and feelings to the party.