I can have a home birth!

[2xshy]

I just met with my doula and we spoke about how i'm pretty unhappy with having a hospital birth and that i'm nervous about the interventions which may be pushed on me. Anyways she told me she could get me a midwife.
Where i live it's very hard to get midwives and homebirth is technically illeagal. To get a midwife you have to pretty much call the moment you get pregnant, which i would have done but i was living in another province. Anyhow she has worked with this midwife before, she is a liscensed MW in the US but married a canadian and moved here, long story short she's an underground midwife. I'm a bit nervous because it seems so sudden but this is really what i have been hoping for all along and it's just put in my path. I feel this is most definitly the right thing. I am going to contact her later this afternoon and take it all from there. My doula told me she has a birth pool i can use so i can have a water birth too. I am so excited.

Oh and to top it all off i called my mom and told her our descion and despite being nervous for us she is fully supportive of it, which really helps because her and I are very close and it means a lot to me to have her on board.

Sorry if this is written all choppy i'm very excited though!

[GISDiva]

That's fabulous, I'm so happy for you! I hope everything works out and enjoy that pool!

[mama_ani]

Wow!! What a quick change of place to birth!
Enjoy the pool!

[Meksmama]

How exciting! Thats great news!

[chely7425]

That is awesome news!!

[paphia]

How wonderful! I hope you have a great homebirth!

[2xshy]

thank you

I'm really happy about this, I will meet with her on wendsday and see how it all goes. I'm fairly certain i'll feel confidant with her as my doula works with her and I trust my doulas opinion very much.

I'm unsure what to do about the doctor i have now. I am going to keep my apt with her this week, which is wendsday morning and i'll schedual the apt for the week after aswell, in case something happens.
But i wonder can i just drop her at 38 weeks without raising any questions? I will ask the MW this, if need be i dont mind going to a couple more apts so not to draw attention to us and the just happen to have the baby at home. I guess this stuff i need to get figured out pretty soon.

[paphia]

It's okay to drop your OB but if your MW is underground she probably doesn't have an OB backup, so you might want to just keep your OB appointments and not mention that you're seeing your MW and having a homebirth. That way if you do need to transfer for some reason, you'll have an established care provider.

It only gets sticky if you go past dates or your OB wants to induce for some reason and you have to keep canceling appointments or not showing up for your induction, etc.

[2xshy]

Thats what conclusion i came to. In the event i had to transfer i would hate to show up at the hospital and them wonder why i have just skipped the last few weeks of prenatal apts, and think i'm being negligent or possibly get the MW i'm working with in legal trouble.

I'm due on the 7th, if i follow my LMP and the possible dates of conception. I do however have an ultrasound that dated me april 12th from very early on.
( i know early ultra sounds are more accurate but i'm fairly sure my dates are accurate now)
The ultrasound was done in another province from another provider, so i can always pull those out and hopefully buy myself another 5 days... maybe. That's my plan anyways.

[Jennisee]

Congratulations!

[celestialdreamer]

I'd ask the MW what to do about the OB appts. I'm sure she will have a good plan for you! Congrats!

[cmi]

I just watched Business of Being Born last night and am happy you found an alternative to the hospital! I feel really lucky to live in a crunchy town where there is a group of three midwives that do home births, and a group of midwives at the hospital who seem to generally be less interventionist than most doctors. I am surprised at how difficult it is to have a natural birth in the rest of the country. Best of luck to you!

[splath]

That is so wonderful! Congrats!!!!

[harmie0515]

How exciting that things are falling into place like this!

[kjoy2]

How was your meeting with the MW? Everything looking good for HB?

[2xshy]

It went really well. I met with her and my doula who will still be my doula but also the MW assistant. I have a lot of faith in them and i'm really looking foreward to this.
I have an apt with her monday, which will likely be a couple of hours so we can get to know each other more and iron out all the details.
I feel like i have so much to get done. I unpacked my hospital bag this afternoon, that was nice. I'm glad i will have 3 awesome supportive women with DH and I while I labor and give birth as opposed to having people in and out at the hospital.

Truthfully i am still nervous about it all, but i really believe that this will be so very worth it. And I think i'll be nervous no matter where I go, i were in the hospital i'd be worried they'd give me the "chop chop" as DH refers to surgery.
So it's all a go, i just need to stay pregnant a little bit longer to get a little more ready.

[lobster]

Congratulations on getting your homebirth!

I'm just wondering where in Canada you are that homebirth would be illegal? As far as I know, homebirth is legal in this country.

[limette]

Isn't it illegal in one of the Maritime provinces? Nfld or something?

[2xshy]

i'm in quebec.
the only way to have a MW here is through a birth center..

theres this article on it
http://www.hour.ca/news/news.aspx?iIDArticle=275

its a bit old but the law hasn't changed.


I find it absurb to have to follow a law that was only put in place temporarily.

[lobster]

Oh man, I didn't realise that homebirth midwives were illegal in Quebec! That's awful! The good news is, they can never make homebirth itself illegal, because there will always be women who can't make it to the hospital in time even if they want to - but making it illegal for midwives to attend homebirths is just outrageous.

Best of luck with your homebirth - I'm so glad you found someone willing to attend you despite the risks. There is nothing in the world like birthing your baby in the comfort of your own home