Well I am 17 1/2 weeks pregnant! It actually feels like it has gone quickly, which has been good up until this point, since I'm dying to reach the halfway point and find out if we are having a brother or a sister, but honestly I hope the second half of the pregnancy slooooooows down because I'm not exactly ready to have another little baby around quite YET! Scary. So the next 5 months can take their time haha.
The last post I wrote about the baby was right after I visited the birthing center I was considering delivering at up in Denton. At the time I had really mixed emotions about hospital vs birthing center, and I was feeling very conflicted and confused. Furthermore, my mom and mother-in-law were both pretty skeptical about the safety of a birthing center, so that made me feel uneasy about. So I decided to embark on a really serious quest for information about birthing center safety. I read articles published in medical journals, I called the birthing center and spent about 30 minutes getting my questions answered about their own safety records, and I solicited feedback on birthing center experiences from just about every internet chat board I could find!
All of the evidence I gathered supported the conclusion that birthing centers are absolutely as safe as hospitals when it comes to delivering babies. Mother and infant mortality rates are exactly the same (obviously more babies/mothers die in the hospital because this is where high risk cases are taken, but the studies account for only healthy moms and babies), and in fact the c-section rate for this particular birthing center is 3-5%, where the local hospital c-section rate is 35-50% (it varies by hospital)!! This birthing center transfers about 8% of it's birthing mothers to the hospital at some point during labor, the VAST majority being first time mothers. The reason for transfer is usually that mom cannot get the baby out on her own and needs either forceps/vacuume/c-section, in which case she is taken (in her own car, non-emergency) to the hospital, which is 6 minutes away, and where a back-up doctor is ready immediately for assistance and/or surgery. My midwife said they have only had 1 emergency situation where mom had to ride in an ambulance to the hospital because the baby's heart-rate was faltering during birth, and the outcome was c-section and healthy baby. That is their only emergency in the 4 years that they have been in operation. After birthing over 3000 babies, this midwife is extremely adept at identifying cases that need to be in the hospital, and at identifying possible problems during the labor. She is not a risk taker, and she will advise hospital transfer if anything seems to be out of the ordinary, which I think accounts for their excellent safety record.
Every birthing center is different when it comes to their ability to handle emergency situations. Well Inanna is certainly the best equipped out there that I have researched, which is a huge comfort. My midwife explained that it is basically the equivalent of a level 1 hospital, meaning they have all the drugs and equipment to stabilize mom or baby, they have oxygen, anti-hemmorhage drugs, and the ability to intubate. In fact, my midwife teaches infant resuscitation classes at the local Denton University.
After doing all of this research, I decided that my final decision would rest on having my first appointment there, and just seeing how I "felt". I knew rationally that it was safe and perfect for me, but all that flies out the window if you don't feel good there. As a further measure, I brought my mom along to the appointment because she was my biggest skeptic and I wanted to get her read on the place and the midwife. Immediately when we walked in it felt good, and everyone was so friendly and welcoming to my mom and I. I got right in to see Jean, my midwife, and instead of having me sit on the examination table, she had me take a seat on her loveseat, and we just chatted. I loved her demeanor - very professional and doctor-like, but at the same time she was open, chatty, and friendly. I got to test my own urine for proteins and glucose (using little test strips like you would for a hottub),and weigh myself; just all very hands on and fun (sorry if that is TMI for some!). She went over lots of stuff about diet during pregnancy, she explained the quad-screening which I could elect to have at this point of my pregnancy, and discussed my previous birthing experiences and what I could expect at Inanna (basically no drugs or induction unless medically necessary) to make sure I was aware and comfortable with that (YAY I completely am). Finally I got to hear a happy little baby heartbeat (in the 150's) and my tummy is measuring right on schedule. Honestly, I couldn't have felt happier about the appointment and Jean, and I felt 150% ready to sign on the dotted line and deliver my baby there.
Then.....there was my mom. She had asked tons of questions during the appointment, mainly about safety and hospital transport, and many of the answers I've already outlined above. One thing that Jean said that I think stood out to both of us, was that the two Denton hospitals (and she thought Lewisville as well where I delivered Pierce) do not staff anesthesiologists (or obstetrical surgeons in some cases) 24/7 in their hospitals. If you need a spinal or epidural for c-section at 2 am, they often have to call someone in. Even in a hospital, between the time your doctor or midwife decides you need an emergency procedure, there may be some lag time before the procedure can begin simply because of staffing reasons, at certain times of the day. At the birthing center, if a transfer is required, the back-up physician is called ASAP, you are transported, and he is ready and waiting for you when you arrive at the hospital 6 minutes later. I think hearing that scenario put some things in perspective for me, and for my mom.
By the time we left, my mom was in full agreement with me that the birthing center was a great choice,and she felt really comfortable with their safety precautions and procedures. Yay! I know I don'tneed anyone's approval or support (except for my husband), but it felt really good to get my mom's support on this one. We both loved Jean, and her overall perspective on what childbirth is (not a disease or a medical procedure, but a perfectly designed process that God created to bring a baby into this world). Her credentials are impressive and she has been delivering babies in hospitals and birthing centers and homes for decades. I trust her completely and feel that she is safety minded and cautious.
And I am excited to report that I have an ultrasound scheduled for Monday Sept 20th at 10 am, and we should be able to find out the gender of the baby at that time!
Also, Jean told me one interesting little factoid that I thought I would pass on. She told me this story after finding out I was a meteorologist. She used to teach graduate level midwifery classes in Dallas, and one of her masters students needed a thesis idea. She had often suspected that there was a correlation between storms and going in to labor/water breaking, but there isn't a lot of data in literature about it. So she set her student up with a PhD candidate in atmospheric science, and he provided her with barometric (pressure) data for a certain span of time, which she then compared to birth rates in the vicinity. She found a highly significant correlation between low pressure (that accompanies a storm) and women giving birth. I thought that was pretty cool! So I am going to be hoping and praying for a big storm come mid-February so I can evict this baby haha.
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