We went to the Midwife Meet 'n' Greet and tour at St. Joe's last night. It was great. There was quite a crowd but Jon and I managed to get a couple of questions in. What were they? Jon asked about the accessibility of doctors/surgical staff if the natural birth plan goes awry for some reason. I asked about how the room/staff accommodate the various positions that women labor (I was envisioning kneeling on the cold hospital floor in a pool of blood and needed someone to help me with that).
The midwives all seemed great. They seemed to be very relaxed and had pretty great senses of humor. They also made it clear that if you had a conflict in personality with a particular midwife they would try to get someone else in. That amazed me; not that I have those...personality conflicts.
We learned that about 30% of women come in intending to have waterbirths (we're interested, but not determined) and of those, about half succeed. In order to get into the tub you have to meet a bunch of criteria and be dilated to 5 cm. Meconium is the most frequent culprit in preventing a waterbirth, according to Chris, our tour guide. We really dug her, so we're going to seek her birthing class[es] out when it becomes time.
Overall we are feeling pretty damned good about St. Joe's. I have my last appointment with my OB on the 27th and I'll go to the Mac/Groveland Healtheast clinic for my 24 week appointment and from there forward.
I felt really proud about being pregnant last night. I know it's their job, but they were very welcoming and calming and supportive. I'm not feeling freaked out about having this kid...at the moment.
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Yay, not being freaked out!
ReplyDeleteI bet there will be a lot more fun parts on this journey.
I already told you I'd totally get a midwife for the next one if I can birth vaginally. Ask them if they've ever heard of the angry nurse "Rose."
ReplyDeleteI think you'll love St. Joe's. If I ever have another kid in the cities, it will be at St. Joe's. I didn't have Rosemary there, but I sort of wish I did. Have you seen The Business of Being Born? I cannot recommend it enough.
ReplyDeleteI actually went out and bought it! It is a fantastic movie. I have to admit it freaked me out in some respects, but it was really beautiful.
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