It’s hard to believe that I am now “term” with Dax. We will get to meet him whenever he’s ready to meet us — which could be in a few days or several weeks from now. I’ll let him decide what’s best!
I just had a prenatal visit with one of the popular midwives at my clinic and I have to say that she is fantastic. All the doctors there are good, but she takes the extra effort to be very positive and encouraging. Rather than indifferently reviewing my vitals, she says that they look “wonderful,” and that makes me feel wonderful, probably making my vitals even better by reducing stress! Also, she explains what she’s doing rather than just doing it. Today she showed me how to gently feel Dax’s head near my pelvis and where to find his heart beat with a stethoscope when I said that I had had trouble at home with a friend’s stethoscope. She took the time to ask me what we wanted to happen at the birth and after, taking notes, and then lent her sincere personal confidence that I could have a natural, unmedicated birth. What a simple and invaluable thing to say!
support a midwife
If we had been able to financially, I know now that I would’ve opted to pay out-of-pocket for the exclusive care of midwives for a home birth. In a low-risk situation, pregnancy is not a “medical condition.” What I found myself wanting more than my blood tests and my blood pressure readings was the counsel and experience of a woman who knew what I was going through. Most midwifery practices visit your home and take a full hour for each prenatal visit — not for medical reasons, but to establish a good rapport, trust, and to talk about the pregnancy and birth of your baby. To read more about midwifery and childbirth, I strongly suggest reading Ina May Gaskin’s Spiritual Midwifery
I feel very lucky that I have access to midwives at all through Medi-Cal in Northern California. While I have yet to have a truly negative experience with the OBs on staff, I still get a little giddy before an appointment with my favorite midwife, because I know that it’s going to be an educational and empowering experience. After my appointment today, I (carefully) hopped on my bike again (still bicycling!) and went swimming and the positive experience I had had gave me extra motivation. I didn’t push it any harder than I usually do — I do gentle laps for 10-25 minutes, whatever my body/Dax says works, followed by 15 minutes of stretches in the deep end, and a nice back float for a few minutes with my eyes closed, oh to float — but I just felt stronger and happier than normal. Blessed! Pregnancy can be so trying between emotions and cravings and peeing and odd discomforts and pains and sleepiness, but the positive moments are amazing. (Like when I talk Greg into a foot massage!)
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