So I had another Doctor's appointment yesterday and I tell you, it's amazing how one visit with an overzealous OB can knock down what took you weeks, or maybe even months to build up. What am I griping about? It's the idea that many OBs just aren't Natural Childbirth (NCB) friendly. It's so amazing that in this day and age we have to fight for something that has gone on since the beginning of time... naturally!
Why am I so cranky? Well...
1) I am not dilated at all yet, despite being halfway through my 38th week of pregnancy. But after speaking to my Doula, now I'm annoyed with myself because if the average baby stays in until 40 weeks, so what if I'm not dilated yet? Thank you Doula Shanon for knocking my head back into place! The baby's head is very low, and my cervix is soft, so in actuality I AM making progress and I need to stop fretting.
2) My OB said he was concerned that I gained 7 lbs this week instead of the average 2-3 lbs so he scheduled me for a sonogram next week to make sure my baby isn't becoming a "Maury Baby". You know what the "Maury Baby" is.. it's the 100 lb baby that gets fed pizzas and spaghetti for breakfast. In any event, all that did was put a little fear in the back of my head that I might have a massive baby shooting out of my crotch, which did not fair well for me or my "bubble of peace" that my Doula keeps trying to help me stay in.
3) My OB seems to have changed a bit... or maybe he's just showing his true colors. Initially when i first "hired" him (which is what it really boils down to) he swore up and down that he respected my wishes for a NCB and was all gung ho about it - in the beginning. But recently, he's been doing a lot of epidural and induction talk which is very off-putting! At every visit he throws in the "and don't feel as if you have to be a hero.. you can get the epidural and go from excruciating pain to reading a magazine in minutes!" Ya doc, not to mention the 4 inch needle in my spine, the lack of mobility, the constant fetal monitoring, the catheter in my bladder... shall i go on? That is just SOME of what occurs right alongside the epidural, but NO of course he won't mention those little juicy tidbits of information.
So with all of that, I came out of my appointment nearly in tears because I felt that A) I'm going to be pregnant forever and B) My doctor isn't supporting me. And that is NOT how you should feel when you're days away from delivering your baby. But after speaking to my hubby (who is sooo amazing with how supportive he is) and after speaking to Doula Shanon, I now feel that I am back on track. And all my OB did is give me more gumption to have my NCB and be extra smug about it to him afterwards, tee hee.
The one thing I'm certain of is that if we're blessed with another baby, I will be searching for a great MIDWIFE, and OBs will not be in my field of vision at all. Do you know that you could have a Midwife patient in one room and an Obstetrician patient in the very next room, but they both are given totally different "rules" of laboring? Most Midwives will allow you to have clear fluids such as water, or chicken broth, during labor. Guess what Obstetricians allow you to have? Ice chips... That's right, ice chips. What's the difference between the Midwife patient and the OB patient? They are both in the same hospital. Both could be low risk pregnancies. The difference is the mentality that OBs have of wanting to control everything, bill insurance for as much as possible, and make it "easy" for themselves and their staff. Ugh.. don't get me started!! I've learned so much during this pregnancy. I've gone from being 8 weeks and saying that I would be making a bee-line to the anaesthesiologist at delivery, to now at 38 weeks wanting to avoid the anaesthesiologist like the plague! In any event, I now feel as if I have regained control and am looking forward to meeting my little pumpkin! Even if he IS a hefty sized pumpkin. :)
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