reasons to call midwife

[crsta33]

I'm not really sure what warrents a call to the midwife. I agonize over calling anyone for anything most of the time (it's got to be a mild form of social anxiety or something...I think I need more therapy).

This morning my belly feels sore and a little tight. One of the bullets on the "call immediately" list is for a rigid, painful abdomen. I don't think what I'm experiencing qualifies, in fact, I think I have gas/consitpation issues and that if it were something more serious it would be more obvious. The baby seems to be okay in there, he was active through the night and I drank some juice and laid down to "listen" to him a few minutes ago and got a few good kicks.

I feel like I'm overly worried about everything this time. I dreamed last night that I met a doctor who felt my belly and told me I was due any day and that my baby would weigh 11 lbs!

Can someone help me find some peace and calm in this hormonal storm of mine? I'm also on my own today...dh left for school before we got up and won't be back until we go to bed. My mom is 3 hours away, and I keep an extra toddler during the week, she got here a few minutes ago and will go home around 4. And my midwife is out of town on Tuesdays. I pick the worst possible day to be worried about what's going on in there.

Christa

[averymybaby]

I say if it's nagging you, call. Trust your isntincts - something was telling you to look at that list of when to call, yes?

[BensMom]

I'd say call before you get worked up into a frenzy. When I had my lack of movement scare, I didnt call right away because I felt like it would be silly. I thought I had it all under control, didnt want to worry DH, etc etc. By the time I broke down and called, I literally fell apart, from holding it together inside for so long. The longer I waited, the more tension built up and the more stressed I got.

If your MW is out of town, is there a backup you can call?

[bec]

I agree with the others. Most likely, it is nothing, but a call would make you feel better, so do it. After all, you are paying them a lot of money to give you prenatal care. A big part of that is doing the hand holding for nervous mommies! Besides, the stress of worrying is going to be more detrimental in the long run than what you are actually worrying about, in the first place! :LOL


Bec

[MelW]

I agree with the go ahead and call- especially during daytime hours. Your concerns are totally worth checking in with your midwife about.

You would not believe the kinds of things that people call doctors and hospitals about- even in the middle of the night. Some of my favourite calls from doing telephone triage:
My due date is today/tomorrow/etc. When will my labour start?
I lost my mucous plug- when will my labour start?
Yesterday I ate some soft cheese, and I just read about listeria on the internet- can I come in and get the baby checked out (this was at midnight)?
The baby is kicking lots and hurting my ribs and I can't sleep- what can I do about it (this was at 3 am)?
And so on...

So you can see that she's probably used to getting called about much less important things and WAY more inconsiderate times of day- you won't be bothering her, you'll be helping yourself to be reassured (and maybe preventing a call to her in the middle of the night!). She can talk through it with you, and hopefully ease some of your stress.

Take care,
Melanie

[crsta33]

I ended up not calling, though when my dh got home he agreed with all of you and said I should have. I just felt silly for calling for what was probably gas and didn't think she'd tell me to do anything differently than I was doing.

I took a bath at some point and pooped a little and felt better. I didn't worry over it all day, and it definitely improved as the day went on.

I don't know why I'm so opposed to calling someone, even though I know I won't be bothering them. Thanks everyone for the support and encouragement though. I just hope that if at some point I really do need to call that I won't agonize over it.

Christa

[flapjack]

I think if self-help doesn't work (bath, massage, sleep,etc) then ring. I'm a big believer that if your body needs medical attention it doesn't ask politely, it screams and shouts until you listen and this normally involves pain, but it's better safe than sorry.