I have a doula for our upcoming April birth who I really, really like and respect. She's attended over 300 births all over the area, she does hypnosis for pain relief, and she seems *really* excited to work with us since we're already "on the same page" and need a lot less education about birth choices than I guess her typical client. ;-) She has nice things to say about the practice we're currently planning to birth with.
We had an annoying appointment with one of the midwives in the practice (there are four; it's a hospital-based practice) which, depending on whether this midwife was on-target or totally off base, may lead us to investigate other care providers and delivery locations. At issue is me refusing the GTT and instead opting to check my sugars 4x/day at home; one MW was fine with that plan, another (the one we saw on Tuesday) said they'd have to transfer my care if I don't get the GTT, because I'm a VBAC. (Yeah, because THAT makes sense, but anyway.) I'm planning to call the "lead" midwife after the New Year and double-check this, but if it's true, I have a tough choice or three to make:
1) Take the GTT anyway to stay in their care
2) Choose another hospital practice (which would be an OB; I know who my first stop will be already)
3) Reconsider homebirth (I've talked to an HB midwife practice that's highly recommended and seen an OB who is willing to be back-up care, but didn't pursue it further as I realized I felt more comfortable with a hospital environment)
So, I want to ask my doula for advice. After all, she knows practically every freakin' practice in the greater metro area, and has seen people through sooo many births that she's probably seen all sides of GD and has a feel for it. BUT, she is not a medical practictioner and cannot give me medical advice. I totally get that... would it be putting her "on the spot" too much to ask her for a more personal opinion on my next steps and options? What do you folks who are doulas think? Would you be bothered by such a question, and is there a way to ask it that would feel less like "overstepping" the birth support role you're trained and experienced for?
We had an annoying appointment with one of the midwives in the practice (there are four; it's a hospital-based practice) which, depending on whether this midwife was on-target or totally off base, may lead us to investigate other care providers and delivery locations. At issue is me refusing the GTT and instead opting to check my sugars 4x/day at home; one MW was fine with that plan, another (the one we saw on Tuesday) said they'd have to transfer my care if I don't get the GTT, because I'm a VBAC. (Yeah, because THAT makes sense, but anyway.) I'm planning to call the "lead" midwife after the New Year and double-check this, but if it's true, I have a tough choice or three to make:
1) Take the GTT anyway to stay in their care
2) Choose another hospital practice (which would be an OB; I know who my first stop will be already)
3) Reconsider homebirth (I've talked to an HB midwife practice that's highly recommended and seen an OB who is willing to be back-up care, but didn't pursue it further as I realized I felt more comfortable with a hospital environment)
So, I want to ask my doula for advice. After all, she knows practically every freakin' practice in the greater metro area, and has seen people through sooo many births that she's probably seen all sides of GD and has a feel for it. BUT, she is not a medical practictioner and cannot give me medical advice. I totally get that... would it be putting her "on the spot" too much to ask her for a more personal opinion on my next steps and options? What do you folks who are doulas think? Would you be bothered by such a question, and is there a way to ask it that would feel less like "overstepping" the birth support role you're trained and experienced for?
