South Carolina Babies

Stress over prenatal care and delivery/labor.

Before I write this ladies, I want you to know that I have heard it all.  From comments like I should have never gotten pregnant at all to comments that it is too bad, no one will respect my beliefs.  I am still confident that options are out there. 

I did not plan my current pregnancy, mainly for the reasons that I am about to tell you about. I do not agree with blood work.  We all know that pregnancy is a pile of prenatal tests, much being blood work.  I was aware of all the tests that doctors like to perform during pregnancy and made my mind up many years ago that I would not have children.  Surprise!  My body decided I would have a child.  So here I am in a big predicament.

I will not consent to blood work or to a pap smear during pregnancy.  The blood work is a personal choice due to many factors, not just one factor.  The pap smear, I believe is dangerous to women regardless, but especially during pregnancy is unnecessary.  Doctors have understood this, but the blood work, not so much understood.

Here is the problem.  I want to have a natural childbirth, outside of a hospital.  Big problems arise when my resistance to blood work causes the midwife I saw to tell me she can either not help me with prenatal care and delivery or I have to give up my values in order to reach my dream and vision of a great delivery. 

Ladies, anything you have on this topic would be so helpful to me.  I am so stressed and worried.  I really need to get regular prenatal care from either an OB or midwife, soon (I am 14 weeks)!  I feel like I am in this alone.  I am reaching out to all my fellow South Carolinians to help me on this matter.  What should I do?

Re: Stress over prenatal care and delivery/labor.

  • I'm pretty pro-natural childbirth, and I've heard of declining manual exams, unnecessary ultrasounds, etc. I haven't heard of anyone wanting to decline bloodwork though. Can I ask why? It may be a liability issue for a midwife or doctor; I would imagine there are certain tests they need to perform in order to provide proper care, so they don't miss something crucial. To be blunt, I would hate to see something go terribly wrong with your health or your baby's just so you don't have to sacrifice your "dream delivery."
    fraternal twin boys born january 2009
  • Loading the player...
  • I not sure where you are coming from with the blood work either. I only had it done once in the very beginning to verify the pregnancy and to test for certain diseases and disorders.

     It only took about 5 minutes and like I said it was the ONLY time I had to have it done. 

     All of tests you should be able to decline.

    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
  • Helix: Just curious, did you have the test for GD? That's the other blood test I remember having.
    fraternal twin boys born january 2009
  • Oh yes, and I got tested for iron levels a bunch of times. Women having multiple pregnancies are at a pretty high risk for anemia though so I'm not sure if everyone gets tested for that as often. (Turns out my iron levels did dip below the safe minimum late in pregnancy so I did need iron supplements even though I was eating a ton of iron-rich foods.)
    fraternal twin boys born january 2009
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards
"
"