First mw visit!!!

[kathywiehl]

Today I finally had my first prenatal with my midwife and her two assistants!!! It was wonderful- we talked about nutrition and a little about the birth and basically just got to know each other. She gave me a book that she had put together outlining different herbs, natural ways of relieving common pg discomforts and much information on how the body works and certain things to avoid. It was wonderful. She also gave me a copy of Birthing From Within, which I was planning on buying anyway.

Also, I was pleased to see that they also provide 12 hours of postpartum doula care as well as 2 home visits after the birth, at days 1 and 3. I'm very excited about this and I am so happy that I finally made a decision!

[aja-belly]

awesome! sound like you get alot of out there practice!

did you have an exam or did they use the doppler? did you have to give blood or pee in a cup? i have my first midwife appointment tuesday.

aja

[Awaken]

Kathy, wow, that is really great! The support afterwards sounds terrific!! I am so glad it worked out.

For my 1st appt I did have to pee in a cup (you check your urine every time but the 1st time it is a complete urinalysis), gave blood, and had an internal exam- I think that was the smear for std's, and she tried w/ the doppler but I was only 9 weeks so we couldn't hear anything.

Aja- hope all goes well on Tuesday!!

[kathywiehl]

Nope no exam, no bloodwork because I had it done at the OB a few weeks ago. We are doing dual care so that I can have a backup to call in case I need to transfer to hospital. I did have to pee on a stick and they looked at everything and it was fine. No doppler yet, I guess she felt that the hb couldnt' be picked up yet. No big deal though, I'm not as scared as I was last week cause my fatigue came back, lol!

She is a traditional community lay midwife. Nothing medical about her at all. She gave me a list of bulk herbs to buy and a recipe to make my own pregnancy tea, which I am supposed to drink a quart per day. Also, I'm supposed to take alfalfa tablets instead of prenatals because they have all the same nutrients but are better for you. The book she gave me with all of their recommendations is very interesting, some things I hadn't heard of before.

Aja, I'm not sure what to tell you to expect for your first mw appointment. I saw CNMs for my last pg in PA. They pretty much operated like a doctor's office except you weighed yourself, checked your own urine and wrote on your own chart what the results were. The visits were an hour long and you saw one midwife each time.

The midwife I saw yesterday holds prenatal appointments in her house. One assistant checked my blood pressure and another checked my urine after I peed on a stick. The midwife sat on the bed with me and asked about my medical history, previous pregnancies, etc. Very different from the CNMs in PA that I went to.

[NiksMom]

Kathy,
That's really interesting about the alfalfa tablets! I didn't know that at all!
I'm so glad you had such a wonderful appointment!

[paniscus]

Kathy - that sounds like an awesome practice! I was hoping for something like that but I think the mw's I am going to are like the CNMs of your first birth.