Midwifery 101

We've officially decided to go with a home birth with a midwife.

Quit freaking out, it's really not that weird.

Why would we go this route?
There's a few reasons, but short of writing a dissertation, I'll give you the brief: 1) I don't believe that pregnancy is a sickness or some sort of "condition". It's a natural event that has been occurring for hundreds of years all around the world. Our bodies are made to do this, and in most cases, should do so without much trouble. (Just wait, I'll get into the details in a minute). I'm also the kind of person who doesn't take medicine unless I absolutely have to. I'm not one of those weirdo scientologists or anything. I just figure that God gave me an immune system (or reproductive system in this case) and I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and let it at least TRY first. If, that cold or flu is unusually persistent, sure, I'll take some Sudafed. But I'll see if my body can do it on it's own for a few days first. (I believe that your immune system is like a muscle and not using it makes it weaker). The same philosophy goes for pregnancy. Let's not go to the hospital (which is pretty extreme if you stop to think about it in any other scenario) and see what happens first. 2) I don't want to stay over night or take medicine anyway, so why not just try it in the comfort of my own home first? I don't have to listen to beeping machines, the smell of iodine, random people looking at my crotch, and being in that white and highly uncomfortable environment. Why should Andy have to sit in a stiff chair for hours, when he can sit next to me on the bed, and heck, even grab a Twinkie out of the pantry if he gets hungry?

But what if there are complications? I have a sister who....[insert awful pregnancy story here]...
We had an orientation with the midwife prior to making a decision. While I thought the idea of a midwife was fun, when I was finally pregnant and the decision really was here, I had second thoughts. I mean, what if something goes wrong? Will the baby die? Will I die? So, I admit that I went to this orientation conflicted. On one hand, I liked the idea, but on the other hand, my motherly instinct kicked in and I began to worry (which, by the way, is pretty out of character for me...I'm not much of a worrier). I asked all these questions, and left the orientation pleased as punch and feeling 110% comfortable with midwifery and home birth. I'll give you the bullet points just because it's easier:

• She shows up with everything but the kitchen sink. No, she doesn't just walk in with two towels and a catcher's mitt. She has a doppler for monitoring the heartbeat, IV bags in the case you need fluids or even blood. She can do her own episiotomies (?), and a whole slew of other equipment.
• She has performed over 500 births. Of those, no dead babies and no dead moms. 2% have ended up needing C-Sections, and 8% needed to go to a hospital after all. She has four doctors that she uses in the case of emergencies. She's been doing this for 25 years and is certified by the medical board as a licensed midwife.
• You go to a midwife more often throughout your pregnancy than with a doctor and those visits are usually longer and more exhaustive. She's looking for more detailed information, since there isn't the "safety" of a surgical room down the hall. So, most times, she actually knows ahead of time if you're even a candidate for a home birth. Women's bodies are supposed to follow a pretty standard route through pregnancy, so it's pretty obvious if something isn't progressing as it should (if you know what you're looking for).
  
• And, just as a side note, we have known her and her husband socially for about three years. So, it's not like we just opened up the yellow pages and this is a complete stranger. They were in a couple of our Bible studies, and they live on the airport that Andy's business is located. Andy sees them at least weekly, and they've been to our house for dinners and bbq's over the years.
  

So, see? It's not that crazy weird. There's definitely an "escape route" and her track record is darn good. Think about it: FIVE HUNDRED births! That's a LOT of babies. She's certainly not a novice at this whole thing. She comes to the house two weeks before the due date to check the place out (although she's already been to our house), and drop a bunch of stuff off. And then she comes back 24 hours and 48 hours after you have the baby to check on you and the kid. Dad gets to "catch" the baby (if he wants), which is pretty cool...although Andy said it kinda scares him, so he hasn't decided if he wants to yet. :)

Anyway, that's the deal. I know some of you are probably still completely unconvinced, but that's okay. You can have your own babies however your little heart desires. For us, this is definitely more our style, and we're both totally at peace with it. If it weren't so weird, I'd say you should all come over and watch just to prove it, but I don't need you all to know me so well. Christmas would be really awkward afterwards, don't you think?

P.S. Some of you have said you don't know how to comment, but want to. You can just select "Anonymous" and then type a comment...just make sure you sign your name so I know who it is. That way, you don't need a blogger account.