Decisions
8:07 AM Edit This 2 Comments »
We met with Dori last night, and for the most part it was great! We get along great and we had a really good time. I am sooo excited to have her as our doula.
I am not, however, excited about the hospital. This makes it sound as if she's trying to get me to change; she's not, though. She says that this is my birth and I can do whatever I want! Which is good. But I only get one shot at this birth (with this child, anyway), and what it boils down to is that I have to have a serious discussion with Dr. Graves about what we want and what we don't want. Dori said that she has seen doctors that have agreed to the birth plan and talked with their clients, then they will turn around and do something that they didn't want (for example, break their water instead of letting it break by itself, which wouldn't be the end of the world, but why would I want a doctor who doesn't listen to what I want?). The hospital that I am going to is a good one - they have a NICU and they know how to take care of their patients (medicated ones, that is). The c-section rate at Suburban is about 34%. Natural births is 2%. The hospital that people go to to have natural childbirths is just across the river - Clark Memorial Hospital - and 30% of their births are unmedicated. Plus, they have midwives available for you to deliver your baby. They also have bathtubs in every room that you can labor in. Only problem is is that Dr. Graves doesn't have privileges at this hospital. So ... I have some decisions to make.
It's not like I'm trying to be a hippy or all "drugs are bad" ... it's just that I want a really healthy and alert baby when he is born, and I want to do it all by myself (meaning, without drugs). And like I said, I only get one shot at this, and I just have to talk to Dr. Graves. I trust her, and I've been going to her for 6 years, but if she says that some of the things I want to do are not negotiable (like pitocin to make the uterus contract after the baby is born, or to be able to ambulate while I'm laboring), then I may have to find someone else.
Argh. This is a bit stressful and I was awake at 4am last night thinking about it.
But in other news, pizza night at Zarek's is canceled tonight because his mom is sick.
Seth, Jeanine, and Liam arrive tonight - yay!!!
And that's all for now. :o) Any advice welcome!
I am not, however, excited about the hospital. This makes it sound as if she's trying to get me to change; she's not, though. She says that this is my birth and I can do whatever I want! Which is good. But I only get one shot at this birth (with this child, anyway), and what it boils down to is that I have to have a serious discussion with Dr. Graves about what we want and what we don't want. Dori said that she has seen doctors that have agreed to the birth plan and talked with their clients, then they will turn around and do something that they didn't want (for example, break their water instead of letting it break by itself, which wouldn't be the end of the world, but why would I want a doctor who doesn't listen to what I want?). The hospital that I am going to is a good one - they have a NICU and they know how to take care of their patients (medicated ones, that is). The c-section rate at Suburban is about 34%. Natural births is 2%. The hospital that people go to to have natural childbirths is just across the river - Clark Memorial Hospital - and 30% of their births are unmedicated. Plus, they have midwives available for you to deliver your baby. They also have bathtubs in every room that you can labor in. Only problem is is that Dr. Graves doesn't have privileges at this hospital. So ... I have some decisions to make.
It's not like I'm trying to be a hippy or all "drugs are bad" ... it's just that I want a really healthy and alert baby when he is born, and I want to do it all by myself (meaning, without drugs). And like I said, I only get one shot at this, and I just have to talk to Dr. Graves. I trust her, and I've been going to her for 6 years, but if she says that some of the things I want to do are not negotiable (like pitocin to make the uterus contract after the baby is born, or to be able to ambulate while I'm laboring), then I may have to find someone else.
Argh. This is a bit stressful and I was awake at 4am last night thinking about it.
But in other news, pizza night at Zarek's is canceled tonight because his mom is sick.
Seth, Jeanine, and Liam arrive tonight - yay!!!
And that's all for now. :o) Any advice welcome!
2 Observations or Opinions:
We'll talk tomorrow! :)
I wish we were a little closer to talk about this on the phone or in person. I think that you should do what is comfortable for you, but don't forget that the doctors are there for a reason. They know what they're doing and know when you need something. And the better you know that doctor, the easier it will be for you to discuss these plans (and kinks in them) with them.
When I had Sophie, they broke my water. Granted, I didn't have any feelings about that one way or the other, but it turned out to be a good thing because there turned out to be meconium in the uterus. They were able to clean that out to keep Sophie healthy during labor. It was a good choice on the doctor's part that I wouldn't have had a clue about if consulted. I ended up with a C-section and lots and lots of drugs. Sophie was as healthy and alert as I could have hoped, even after all of those drugs in my system. I wish I hadn't have needed them, but I did, and it wasn't horrible. I wasn't as alert as I would have liked to have been after the birth, but Sophie was healthy, and it was an uncomplicated birth. My doctor also left it to my decision to keep laboring (after almost 24 hours of labor) or have the C-section, so trust in a doctor you know is important.
Again, you are in a very different place than I was (I wanted an epidural and never really made a birth plan except to say that I wanted drugs if at all possible!), but you should really talk to your doctor about her views about your very specific requests for your birth plan, tell her you're thinking about going to a different hospital with a different philosophy, and find out what her specific percentages of C-sections vs. vaginal births are.
Also, you'll want to find out whether she'll be the one for sure delivering your baby. I only had a 50-50 chance to have my doctor since she had a partner that was also on call 50% of the time. I had a friend who had a one in seven chance to have her doctor because there were so many doctors in the practice. If there's a good chance she won't be the one to deliver your baby, then it might not be a bad idea to go to a different hospital with a different philosophy, but you'd want to get to know some of those doctors before going over there.
If you have any questions about my very non-natural birth, you have my email! :-)
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