Homebirthers- are you getting an early ultrasound? Bloodwork?

I want to be a homebirther, I didn't know about the midwifery conference! That could make things just a little more difficult.

I haven't heard back from the homebirth midwives yet, I called about a week ago, and I know for a fact they have several people due right about now, baby season is in full swing around here. (How long do you guys think is reasonable to wait? I figured I would call them back and leave another message tonight.)

Tomorrow, at 6w2d I am having an early U/S. It's important for my peace of mind, I've had three early, early losses, all around 4-5 weeks, so this is the furthest I've ever made it, and it's important because I need to confirm that it's a intra-uterine pregnancy and find out if there's one or two, because of the IVF.

There is mounting evidence that repeat ultrasounds are not completely benign, but I don't think it's fair to liken it to x-rays. X-rays are known to be harmful, period. Ultrasound is known to be safe, but lately concerns have been raised. Personally, I think it's a lot of hype, and I won't hesitate to have medically warranted ultrasounds done all through pregnancy.

At a minimum, I'm planning on six weeks, twelve weeks, and 20 weeks. If I make it to 42 weeks, I'll have one then to check the placenta.

I do draw the line at the "mall ultrasounds" those video things with the really high resolution that are operated under dubious conditions. I know that sonographers are well-paid and have excellent benefits, so it's unlikely a kiosk in a mall could be competitive with that, so I'm dubious about the training, qualifications, and experience of the people running the machine.

In my less-sane moments, I remember that I have a relative who is a sonographer, and maybe I could go live with her and she could bring a machine home from work and scan me every night. Then I remember that I could just rent a doppler.

With DS, we didn't use doppler until I was in labor, have any ultrasounds, or have any tests besides the pee test at each mw appt and the GBS test at 36 weeks. My last pg, I had an u/s at 10 weeks to confirm a suspected m/c. Before that, I hadn't done any testing or monitoring besides taking HPTs.

This time, I'm being a lot more "interventionist" than the last two times due to my loss, but most people would laugh if they heard me use that word to describe what I plan on doing:

• I did have two blood tests done at 12 and 15dpo to see if my betas doubled but mostly to check my progesterone since I'm pretty sure my loss was due to low progesterone. Levels were fine so I won't be checking again.
• I'm going to let my mw use the doppler at my 12 and 16 week appts before we switch back to the fetoscope at 20 weeks. I just can't fathom waiting until 20 weeks to know for sure that there's a little beating heart in there.
• I'm still not having any ultrasounds unless medically necessary.
• I think I'm going to decline all testing this time, including the pee sticks at appts, though I'm still considering the GBS test because it would really simplify things in case of a transfer.

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Excellent point!

I am going to get the GBS test for that reason. It's much better to have the test on file so you can prove to the hospital that neither you nor your newborn need their stupid antibiotics. It also helps because they then know that you've had what they consider "adequate" prenatal care.

I've heard the trick is to make sure you test negative the first, and only time, you take the test. I'll be doing the Hibiclens/garlic/whatever trick going into the test, just in case. Many hospitals have a rule that a positive test is always a positive test, so if you test positive, it doesn't matter if you later test negative.

I haven't decided for sure on HB - with our midwives, we have the choice of home, birthing centre or hospital. DS was born at the birthing centre and I loved it so we may repeat that, or maybe home this time. Either way, all of our care is through a very wholistic, naturally-minded birthing centre and I probably won't see a doctor at all for my entire pregnancy.

I won't have any early ultrasounds, but that's fairly standard here for pregnancies with no known complications even if you're with a conventional doctor. I don't think I'll be able to resist the 12 or 20 week scans though. I did full bloodwork early with DS and again recently at my annual check up so I don't feel the need now. I'll definitely say no to the GD test. Our midwifery practice advises against it anyway, unless you have strong risk factors. And this time I'll insist on having the GBS swab test around 32 weeks, then again at 37 or so. Last time I tested + at 37 weeks which left me no time to treat it. DH was pretty insistent on the antibiotics and will be again this time too (I was undecided so his vote tipped the scale), however he and our midwives are fully supportive of being proactive and trying to clear the bacteria if I test + again. I wish I'd known more about that the first time around.

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Sorry, I just want to clarify what I meant. What I meant was back in the day everyone thought xrays were fine during pregnancy but then it was discovered they were super dangerous. I am just wondering if it'll be like that say 5, 10 years down the road with ultrasounds. Right now we might think it's safe but maybe they're not as safe as we think? That's all I meant

If it gives you piece of mind than by all means get one at 6 weeks, I'm wishing you TONS of sticky baby vibes!!!

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It really will depend on your midwife. For me, it was something I knew I wanted to minimize when I was interviewing midwives before I even got pg with DS. So, I chose a mw who I knew was fine with a very minimal amount of intervention and monitoring. I also wanted to make sure the person we hired was familiar and comfortable with using a fetoscope since, due to the prevalence of dopplers, some never learn how to use it. I ended up with a mw who trained with mostly Amish mothers and who is used to women who want very little monitoring.

If I didn't know the mw well yet and didn't have a lot of others to choose from, I would just say "No, thank you" and leave it at that to gauge their reaction.

The only ultrasound I have ever had during pregnancy was at 41 weeks with ds1, to check fluid levels as I was refusing induction. Refusing a routine ultrasound was my first "crunchy" parenting decision... and I did it based on ACOG recommendations. Routine ultrasounds in low-risk women have not been shown to improve outcomes for baby, but DO increase the chance of interventions, such as induction and c-sections. So, I passed.

For my homebirths, I peed on a stick to check keytones, etc. at every appointment and I get my iron checked. I do not do bloodwork, glucose, or GBS testing.

I would get an u/s for medical reasons or if I was very unsure of my due date or if I was measuring large and suspected twins. Yes, I know eventually the mw would be able to tell there were twins, but I would rather know sooner than later.