Andrea’s Weblog

I’m relieved that we’ve finally decided who is going to help deliver the baby. I had an appointment with the midwife group at the Medical College of Georgia which went pretty well. Our main goal is to have natural childbirth without unnecessary interventions. This would happen in a homebirth situation, but we’re not quite ready for that step.

The midwives have their own practice at MCG, but turn you over to the OB on duty should you go beyond their comfort level. That is one of the main downsides, because you’d be getting an OB you’ve never met taking over your labor. The other big downside at this point in time is that there are only two nurse-midwives. While they search for a third, if you go into labor on a weekend you have to see the OB because there are no midwives on duty. We’re hoping that it doesn’t take them 20 weeks to find a new midwife.

On the upside, the midwife Jane said a lot of things I wanted to hear. She said that only a few of her patients end up delivering in stirrups–the majority deliver squatting, on their side, etc. This was the one thing that worried me about sticking with my OB. I know he would be fine with natural labor, but when it came time to push, the hospital staff would be clueless on how to assist me if I’m squatting or on all fours. Also, she said you don’t break the water of someone wanting natural labor because it only interfears with normal labor. Take that Dr. Christie!
Jane also said she recommends certain foods and drink during labor. Yippee! No 24 hour fast during a marathon! A midwife will also be in the room the whole time during active labor. She said they do aromatherapy, energy work and play music. Sounds a lot better than your normal hospital birth!

I noticed right off that the staff in the midwives office was a lot friendlier and eager to get to know us. Elizabeth was welcomed in their office–as opposed to the OB’s office which has a sign saying not to bring children because they can get pregnant women sick. Jane really listened while Frank and I went through our lists of questions for her. When it came time to listen to the baby’s heartbeat, she rubbed my belly (nobody’s ever done that beforeexcept maybe Frank) and talked a little about his position. She even asked Frank to put Elizabeth up next to me so she could have a better view. I think all of us felt comfortable and at ease with Jane. I think we’ve found a good match!