i had a few thoughts;
1. i love, love, loved my midwives in canada. a friend and i often joked after we had had our second babies that we dreamed of getting pregnant again just to see and hang out with our midwives. they were so attentive and caring but also thorough and careful. i always got the sense that they truly loved what they were doing and really took part in my joy. {they inspired me to one day consider going back to school for midwifery!} my midwives taught me that i can have the birth i want and that sometimes you need to fight a little bit, but it can {almost always} be done. yes, by the very nature of birth, it is unpredictable and things happen, but it shouldn't stop you from exploring every option until you've exhausted all measures within the boundaries of what's safe, keeping in mind what's best for mother and for baby. in my case they booked me not one, but two appointments with two different doctors until i got my prescription for the antibiotics i would need due to me being GBS+ with jude. the first doctor declined to give me a prescription but the second agreed and i was able to get the antibiotics administered from the comfort of my own bedroom to have an amazing second home birth.
shortly after giving birth to jude at home
my midwives also taught me that i have choices. i can choose to say no to the tests and procedures i do not want. they taught me to educate myself and figure out what i want, rather than just blindly follow what someone else says i should do. when i made up my mind on certain things, they supported me and informed me more fully if they didn't think i had considered all the facts. they taught me that it's okay to ask questions and make sure i know as much as there is to know {or as much as i want to}.
my midwives were protective of me and my needs; i remember after i gave birth to noah, my sister was the first to arrive and one of the midwives opened the door and asked {somewhat sternly, apparently} who she was before she let her in. i appreciated that. my sister, on the other hand, was expecting someone who was older to be my midwife and thought that my friends had beat her to meeting her nephew and was a bit ticked off!
my first home birth. holding noah in the comfort of my own bed.
2. i am thankful this is my third birth. i am more confident in my body's ability to do what it needs to do. i am more confident of my rights as a pregnant woman. i don't "know it all" and so of course i will always listen to my healthcare provider and take his/her advice/recommendations under consideration. but i'm not just going to go along with what they say. i know that i have a say in things. i also know the general flow of care that happens during prenatal care. this pregnancy has been a lot more "hands on" for me. i have had to go and get my scan {ultrasound} booked and taken care of. i have had to carry around my paperwork - which hasn't been bad, it's just amazing i've remembered to bring it to every appointment thus far! with my midwives, they booked everything for me. it was so great and worry-free. it just makes me so incredibly thankful for the care i received from my midwives in guelph.
my only regret would be that i didn't get any pictures with my midwives!
so i split up this post so it wouldn't be one huge long monster blog post. stay tuned for more tomorrow!
*as always, i love to hear from you, your experiences and dialogue with you. if anything i've said offends or strikes you as incorrect or needs clarifying, please don't hesitate to comment! i understand that the nature of our choices as women and mothers can sometimes cause tension or judgement and that's not my intent at all. i just wanted to share some of my thoughts and reflections on my personal experiences.*
check out part TWO here.
check out part TWO here.
Hmm ticked is a strong word...haha but I hope your midwives take it as a compliment that they looked young and fresh after being with you the whole time ;) Your experience with midwives has given me some high standards/expectations, here's hoping "that day" I'll find a midwife who can meet them!
ReplyDeleteHaha...maybe you weren't "ticked"...surprised? :)
DeleteI love that you were the first one there but didn't think you were.
I love that he surprised us all with a fast birth.
Whenever I hear/think of midwives I think of you. Don't give up on the dream of midwifery, I think you would make a great midwife and the women that would have you at their side would be fortunate to have you there. I also always think it's pretty great that you have had home births the way that you wanted, and enjoyed the birthing process.
ReplyDeleteAlthough we have had very different births/pregnancies, I appreciated your strong stance of birthing the way that YOU want to do it, and what is right for you and baby. I know that you will have that this time around too. :)Looking forward to part 2.
(Oh man, among many other things, the paper work with a hospital birth was the worst... I would never have remembered it if it weren't for Nick. Good job keeping on top of it.)
Thanks, Bekki. I appreciate your sweet words and encouragement.
DeleteI have always loved hearing other people's birth stories and perspectives and I have appreciated hearing your experience/take on things as well. It's so good to have had friends who can contribute to my view on all things birth-related with their variety of experiences. It only adds to the richness of the grand story and miracle of birth!
(Look at me, waxing all poetic!)
no baby yet?? - hopefully soon - thinking of you!
ReplyDelete