I have never posted in homebirths before, although I have read about alot of births I wish I had had! I know there are alot of mixed feelings about ultrasounds and I thought I would share my experience as a heads-up to other women.
I chose not to have an ultrasound during my pregnancy because I had heard so many stories about false diagnoses of later problems and felt confident that I could deal with any possible problems after my baby was born. At 37 weeks my midwife was worried that the babe wasn't growing fast enough and asked me to get an ultrasound. Faced with the prospect that something was wrong, I immediately lost my cool, thought the worst and ran for the ultrasound clinic. They told me everything was fine, and then called up my midwife to tell her everything wasn't fine. She sent me to a consult at the hospital where they told me the baby had intrauterine growth retardation, was likely under 4 pounds, was probably a dwarf and needed to be induced right away!
Even though in my regular life I am extremely suspicious of conventional medicine I immediately accepted this doctor's analysis without question. Two days, alot of cervadil and pitocin and fetal monitoring later, my dd was born: 5 lbs 15 ounces. Perfect for 37 weeks. My midwife happened to be attending another birth up the hall and came in right on time to catch the baby (Lucky, because the doctor and nurses were nowhere to be found...good thing I gave birth in a hospital, eh!)
Dd is now 19 mos and for her first year she has exactly the same growth pattern as she did when I was pregnant with her. She would grow very quickly for a while and then stop for a while.
So ultrasounds are not always right and neither are doctors.
Thanks
Jessica
I chose not to have an ultrasound during my pregnancy because I had heard so many stories about false diagnoses of later problems and felt confident that I could deal with any possible problems after my baby was born. At 37 weeks my midwife was worried that the babe wasn't growing fast enough and asked me to get an ultrasound. Faced with the prospect that something was wrong, I immediately lost my cool, thought the worst and ran for the ultrasound clinic. They told me everything was fine, and then called up my midwife to tell her everything wasn't fine. She sent me to a consult at the hospital where they told me the baby had intrauterine growth retardation, was likely under 4 pounds, was probably a dwarf and needed to be induced right away!
Even though in my regular life I am extremely suspicious of conventional medicine I immediately accepted this doctor's analysis without question. Two days, alot of cervadil and pitocin and fetal monitoring later, my dd was born: 5 lbs 15 ounces. Perfect for 37 weeks. My midwife happened to be attending another birth up the hall and came in right on time to catch the baby (Lucky, because the doctor and nurses were nowhere to be found...good thing I gave birth in a hospital, eh!)
Dd is now 19 mos and for her first year she has exactly the same growth pattern as she did when I was pregnant with her. She would grow very quickly for a while and then stop for a while.
So ultrasounds are not always right and neither are doctors.
Thanks
Jessica
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