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Natural Birth
dreadiemama
member
intro: I might be crazy but...
dreadiemama
member
Hey ladies!
I haven't been much of a lurker, lol, but I'll post on here anyways. Nothing like diving right in, right?
I'm due with my 1st in July and as crazy as it sounds I'm actually looking forward to the birthing process. My mom and my sister both had their kids all natural med free. My sister did the bradley method and absolutely loved it!
Plus, I'm deathly afraid of needles,big pharma companies, and have a lot of other fears that make me super weird. O.o I'm not sure if I should have said that.
Anyways, both H and I really, really, really want a homebirth but after investigating it further it might not be the best option for us. We live about 40 minutes away from the nearest hospital and could only find one midwife to even consider it our area.
Well, yesterday I was searching birthing centers and found a holistic maternity ward/birthing center about 57 miles (hour and a half according to google) from me. It seemed perfect: waterbirthing, aromatherapy, private rooms that look like living space, and awesome reviews on the staff.
The only problem? it's 57 miles from me. I wouldn't mind travelling that far just for the birth but for all of my prenatal appointments, urgh. Is it super crazy to see an OB around here for the first 2 trimesters and then switch to one of the midwives that the hospital offers later on?
I'm torn. I know it's a small sacrifice for a center that I think I wold feel comfortable in. Normal hospitals always freak me out.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: intro: I might be crazy but...
Well said! I drive to a birth center an hour from me, easily two hours if we get stuck in D.C. traffic. But I would hate the instability of switching providers late in the game. By this point in my pregnancy, I feel completely comfortable with the birth center and with all the midwives on the team and I wouldn't trade that for a shorter drive. I know when I am in labor there, I will be at ease and they know me and will know how to support me in the best way and we will be able to work closely as a team to bring this LO into a warm cozy environment. Totally worth all the hours we've spent in the car to/from appointments!
I don't think you're crazy to look forward to birthing, I felt that way too.
Keep in mind that the prenatal appointments are usually less frequent during the first and second trimesters. I don't remember exactly, but I think there was just one in late first tri and then after that it was once a month until later on in the pg. So even if you have a ways to drive, it's not like you're going every other week until 3rd tri anyway.
Speak to the midwifes at the birthing center that you'd be switching to. I know my midwife said that they prefer you to transfer to them by a certain time (x amount of weeks- of course with this pregnancy brain I can't remember for the life of me how many they said!). You should also go there in person for a tour and to meet the staff. They will give you lots of information and answer any questions you have about the process and beyond. They will give you the best idea of how reasonable it is to wait and switch later on.
I completely understand being freaked out by needles/doctors/hospitals/etc., because I'm the same way. You're not alone!
We are birthing with a MW at a birthing center, 55 miles away. (granted, we live in rural KS, so it is only an hour drive, unless you get stuck behind a tractor
Anyhow, it is TOTALLY worth it, to me, to have my prenatal appts with the person who is delivering my baby. Bonus, I adore my MW!
Good luck with your decision, I would definitely call your MW and that way you can calculate just how many appts you actually will be attending. It may be less than you think!
NorCalMOMS bio* NorCalBOTB* babywearingBIO
Harmony Doula
Hey! Good to see you over here, too.
We're still trying to figure out where we're going to be living when I give birth, but whether we are where we are now or where we are hoping to be there is at least a 60 mile drive in my future for L&D. If we stay in CA it's actually a 90 miles drive! But worth it, IMO.
I do plan to do my prenatal care here in town with a hospital midwife group and then start going to appointments at the Birth Center when I'm in my third trimester. It's not ideal, but they said this was do-able and the birth center encouraged it since 90 miles worth of gas each month for an appointment can really add up.
B born 7/15/13, C born 3/2/15, #3 on the way May '17
I’m a modern man, a man for the millennium. Digital and smoke free. A diversified multi-cultural, post-modern deconstruction that is anatomically and ecologically incorrect. I’ve been up linked and downloaded, I’ve been inputted and outsourced, I know the upside of downsizing, I know the downside of upgrading. I’m a high-tech low-life. A cutting edge, state-of-the-art bi-coastal multi-tasker and I can give you a gigabyte in a nanosecond! I’m new wave, but I’m old school and my inner child is outward bound. I’m a hot-wired, heat seeking, warm-hearted cool customer, voice activated and bio-degradable. I interface with my database, my database is in cyberspace, so I’m interactive, I’m hyperactive and from time to time I’m radioactive.
As others have said, during the first two trimesters you really only go in like once a month, which isn't bad. And it's best to get to know your care provider(s) so that you can form trust with them. That's like the biggest thing to me; I'm not a huge fan of doctors, but I did deliver with an Obgyn that I trust and it makes the difference.
Sometimes, I'm hilarious.