Midwife? What happened to the hospital?

In the first post, I casually mentioned that we had chosen to get our prenatal and birth care through the Birth Center of Gainesville. Here I'll explain a little bit more in detail the reasons behind this.

The history of obstetrics, especially in the US, is fascinating*. Midwives, grannies, and other such sage-femme have aided women in giving birth at home (either in the house or quite nearby) since the beginning of mankind. To be certain, it is uneasy work giving birth to a human baby through these little hips suited to walking upright, though notions of how it should be treated have shifted dramatically in the past century and a half. After English settlers arrived to New England and set up shop, they existed for a century without any medical schools. Because of this, colonial Americans were going back to Europe to be trained as physicians, then bringing those skills to the colonies. This was great, though combined with the smear campaign against midwives as "witches" and doctors' meager  experience with live birth, these changes effectively had women checking into "lying-in" centers and hospitals. For some statistics: in 1900, 95% of US women gave birth with the aid of a midwife at home. In 1945, half of US women were giving birth in hospitals. In 1960, that number had reached 99%. Now, it hovers around 95% after the natural birthing movements of the 1970s and 1980s.

Maternal deaths in the ages of midwives hovered around 1% or much less, depending on the culture. In early US "lying-in" centers, they reached as high as 5% (on average, some hospitals were much higher) due to misunderstandings of disease and how it is spread. This is not to say that giving birth in a modern hospital is terrifying or even dangerous. In fact, it is quite safe, and can be comfortable. However, the road to modern obstetrics and the loss of trained midwives has taken its toll on our culture and how we think about birth. My insurance covers it "as any other illness."  Some doctors continue to see birth as a condition that must be overcome with medical aid; it is far from that. 

*Most of my numbers and facts have come from Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born by Tina Cassidy.

So, how can we use that information to make the best decision? This time, I started with stories. Stories?

Whether you are a humanist, a Christian, a communist, or even a "Birther," you have to know that womens' bodies were designed to be able to give birth. In general, women give birth through a series of hormone signals, muscle contractions, some will power, and a little bit of magic. Therefore, it can't be all bad. The first thing I wanted to do was find the positive birth stories - not the tragedies, not the horror stories, not the "barely remember it" ones. There are very positive birth stories from women in all walks of life, giving birth in many different ways both in hospitals and elsewhere. Women feel empowered and in awe after giving birth in positive environments.

In my reading, I have come across some factors common to all the positive birth stories. Here they are:

- the woman and her supporters believe that she can do it, and that her body is capable
- the environment was relaxing and supportive enough to allow labor to progress
- very few interventions were needed

So, that is what we want. We'd like to have a supportive environment in which I (Alison) am supported in my capacities, and where I can relax. We'd like enough time, and intermittent (rather than continuous) monitoring, by a single person. We'd like short recovery time and unlimited bonding time. We'd like to honor the midwives throughout history and here in town. Most of all, we'd like the least distress and the best chance for little baby Rickshaw who will challenge and delight us. And we think these things will be most possible at the birth center.

♂ ♀ Ultrasound scheduled! "What" are we having?

We have an ultrasound scheduled for the week of July 4th at Shands Womens Center. Most of our enthusiastic family and friends ask us when we will find out the sex of our baby. So the answer is .... maybe in a month, or maybe in 6 months! We are still thinking about all of the reasons why we should or should not find out the sex.

Because we try to be thoughtful, we feel like there are so many factors going into this decision.  Here are just a few:
Should we use all the technology available to us?
In this "Information Age," is information really going to help us?
Will we feel more "in control" of things if we know?
Will it be easier to think of names?
Can we start to bond with a baby of unknown sex?
Shouldn't we buy baby things that go with a specific gender?
Won't there be enough surprises without throwing this in?
Do people label a baby by sex too much, i.e. "What are you having?"
Can we deal with the suspense?
Will our families want their say?
Are we leaning toward wanting a girl or boy already?

You might think: "Who cares what our culture says?  Do what you want!"  But the choices we make now affect the culture of the future.  For example, choosing to give birth at the birth center in some small way supports midwifery everywhere. We have more influence than we know.  Or you might say: "That's the cultural norm.  It will make everything easier."  But what about raising a family will be made easier by knowing the sex of a baby 5 months earlier?  I haven't figured that one out yet.

What do you think?

Welcome to the Second Trimester

As of today I am 14 weeks and a few days along.  We had our second appointment this morning, and everything checks out.  The midwife explained to us about some screening options they offer, as well as workplace hazards (i.e. going to the slaughterhouse to collect tissues) and how not to get a headache.  We heard the baby's heartbeat again, and it is going strong about 150 bpm. 

12 weeks along

13.5 weeks along

Thank you to those of you who have offered me maternity clothes, baby toys and supplies, and your hand-crafted gifts.  It was quite the shock packing for my conference a couple of weeks ago and finding that only a few things still fit!  Consignment shops and friends to the rescue, and I have some very cute things to wear with an expanding midsection. 

Nick and I recently took a trip up to Atlanta and then to Nashville for a variety of reasons which included these: an engineering conference, a Peace Corps awards ceremony, seeing friends, and a conference presented by Bishop N.T. Wright.  Quite the busy week!  We made it back and have been sleeping ever since. 

Dinner in Nashville at Hog Heaven, home of white barbecue sauce.

I've had a few baby dreams so far.  Mostly I'm just going somewhere with a baby or doing something mundane, but one dream gave me the opportunity to find out the sex of the baby at just 13 weeks.  I was about to discover it using the special procedure when I awoke to find myself in an Atlanta hotel with a full day of technical presentations lined up.  Maybe in my upcoming dreams ...

Fetal Heart Sounds and our Fake Baby Name

Today we had our unofficial second appointment just to be able to hear the fetal heartbeat.  After a few minutes of poking and prodding, we heard it!  The heartbeat was very clear, and about 150 beats per minute (typical of this stage).  We are now 12 weeks along, and finishing the first trimester.  That means the queasy stomach and fatigue should ease soon! We won't have the ultrasound to find out the sex for a couple more months, probably early July. 

Lots of people want to know what names we are considering, if any.  To be honest, we haven't even thought about it yet!  While playing trivial pursuit a few weeks ago, Nick asked me a question about a duo of brothers (probably the ominous pink category, which is always most difficult).  I had no idea what the answer was, so I made up some names: Rickshaw and Henry Snow.  We both laughed quite a bit at the name 'Rickshaw,' and how funny it would be to give that name to a baby.  After that we started to refer to the baby as Rickshaw, and so far it has stuck.  Remember, it's just a fake name!  Coincidentally, while talking to Jill, she mentioned that a restaurant just opened up near her office: Rickshaw Dumplings.  Fate?