Canadian Ladies!! 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimesters.... Now everyone can stay in touch!

[JeepGirl]

I'm jealous of all you who can have midwives! Its not an option here we use to have 3 at the hospital here, but they can't pratice anymore. Its a shame, NS seems to be going backwards when it comes to midwifery.

 

[readynwilling]

i tired to switch over to a MW at 20 weeks with my first, but they were all booked so i booked RIGHT away this time. My issue was not with my prenatal care (i saw my family dr until i was 30 weeks - and i wish she delivered babies so i could have stayed under her care). My issue was that once i swapped over the OB she was sending me for all sorts of blood work and US based on "you look pale and tired". REALLY im 32 weeks pregnant, workign full time... GEEZE. They turned my so normal pregnancy it was almost boring into a fiasco... then tried to induce me on my due date cause "you know you've got a big baby in there!". I fought induction and won. When i went into labour naturally at 40+3days i got to hospital 5cm dilated and there were no available nurses so i had to do the WHOLE labour (until 9.5cm)in Triage NEEDLESS to say the #1 perk of a MW for me is that SOMEONE will be able to be with me during my labour this time... and hopefully i can have a room to deliver in LOL

 

[YikesBaby]

Jeepgirl - sorry to hear they are going backwards in NS.

readynwilling - I hope your labour is a little more 'private' this time. Kudos to you for sticking to your guns re: induction. I hate that!

 

[lemongrass]

I booked with my midwife at 4 weeks pregnant! She's the only one within 45 mins of our town and she does book up fast. She says that there are busy and slow times though, if she has an opening she'll take someone later in pregnancy but she can only take 4-5 women due in the same month and that simply isn't very many for our area. Of course, she has to take so few to be able to give them the standard of care that she provides. Simply put, Canada needs more midwives!

 

[YikesBaby]

Agreed lemongrass!! DH was the first to know I was preggo... my MW was second and she squeezed me in when I was just 4.5 weeks. We need more!!!

 

[JeepGirl]

I tried to get in with a mw with DS as soon as I found out I was pregnant, and couldn't. When I was 6mths with him they stopped allowing them to practice , so I guess it was just as well that I couldn't get one. But I ended up with a doctor I didn't like through the whole 9mths and then to my suprise he was amazing at the hospital when I was in labour. I think he must have just been one of those doctors that loved the hospital setting and didn't like being stuck in an office

This time I asked for a different doctor and got 2 woman who share their practice. I really like them both, and on Tues I will meet the OB who will be doing my c section.

I just can't stop wondering if I had a mw the 1st time, would I have ended up with a emcs? I have no doubt that it was necessary at the time because we didn't know he was back to back till I was 9cm, and at that point there was nothing we could do about it. But if I had a mw maybe I would have known before that he was back to back, and could have done something to turn him before I went into labour. I guess I keep going over and over the "what its" because I feel robbed that I will never get to experience a vaginal birth.

 

[lemongrass]

oh, I'm sorry Jeepgirl. That makes me so sad for you! I worry about needing an emcs as I know it would affect me psychologically. I know it is probably no comfort- but you have a healthy child and that is the really important part.

 

[JeepGirl]

That is the imporant part! I've come to terms with it for that reason. For a while after DS was born, I said I wasn't having anymore children. Not because I didn't want more, but because I didn't want another cs. But time has healed that way of thinking. I have such a hard time hearing ladies say they want a cs, especially 1st timers, they have no idea that its months of recovery...not just this 6weeks people talk about! It's one thing to have a necessary cs, but to have one because you dont want to push out your baby seems ridiculous to me!

As I was lifting DS into his car seat today, it dawned on me that after this LO is born its going to be a long time before I will be able to take my children out because I can't even lift Aaron into his car seat

 

[lemongrass]

Elective c-sections and inductions make me sad! I think that some people put too much trust in doctors and the medical system. It's great that we have all these advances in true emergencies but so much of them can be prevented. I really hope that I can avoid anything that leads to further interventions. I haven't been in labour though so I don't really know what it is like.

 

[Alexsmomplus1]

Jeepgirl, you must have Dr H and Dr F. They are very good. I often wondered why so many thing c-secs are the best way to go. I've heard it takes longer to heal and is more painful in the long run.

 

[readynwilling]

i was just reading a third tri thread where the girl had opted for elective c-section cause she was afraid of labour and was not second guessing herself. So many people were jumping to her defence that they had a c-section and were 100% 10 days later. Well yay for them - doesn't mean this girl is gonna heal like that!

 

[juless]

Thanks guys! Sorry for the late reply! I'm actually recovering really well. I was lucky and had a doctor that completely supported me having a vaginal birth if she decided to come earlier, he just didn't want to induce me. I didn't want to go overdue as I was scared to have too big a baby to push out again! In the end, I am happy with how everything went. Recovery is much easier this time after having an emergency section last time. Hardly any bleeding and I hardly have any pain at this point. It was much easier to get up and about this time as well. I have been really lucky to have my MIL here for the week to help with DD1 and she has even been cleaning my house! I get lots of rest with her help. Hope you all are doing well!!

 

[JCh]

It seems to be a VERY American driven thought that c-sec is better and that choosing to be induced isn't a big deal.... I'm not sure if it's based on their health care system since I don't think in Canada or UK that u can just decide u want an elective c-sec without some type of issue....

 

[gaiagirl]

The thing that amazes me is that it's also more expensive for the medical system! In the US I guess it's private so your paying yourself but in Canada you'd think they would go out of their way to avoid them!

I guess BC has made some great strides in funding midwifery and supporting home births!

 

[countrygirl86]

I'm glad everything is going well juless! How is your little precious doing?

I decided for our first baby to go the 'regular' route with my family doctor till 28w then OB till the end. My SIL had midwives and they thought my niece was head down until 37w when they started to second guess and after an u/s and trying to turn her without success, she ended up having to have a c-section. SIL somewhat blamed that on the midwives so it left a bad taste in my mouth though I now know that could have happened anyway. For my next (if there is a next) we may go the midwife route as I've heard their care is amazing.

 

[YikesBaby]

Midwives are amazing!! Every appointment is at least 30-45 minutes and I come with a list of questions that she takes the time to answer. She will be coming to my house in a couple of weeks for a home visit and she will come to my home after the birth for my post-partum checks.

Breech babies can be incorrectly diagnosed by any practitioner... but the difference with a midwife is that you can say, "I'm not sure baby's head down, I'd like an ultrasound to be sure" and she'll just order one for you. Done and done. Most midwives will try to help you get your baby to flip too using inversions, etc...

I would definitely recommend the midwfie route based on my personal experience.

 

[gaiagirl]

Oh man I wouldn't dream of using an OB but of course wanting a home birth limited that choice! Lol

Midwives provide such dedicated and long term care! Who else comes to see you at home for three days straight after having your baby?! Then again three days later, the following week and the week after?! Then you go visit until 6-8 weeks!!! I would be LOST without the follow up care!

I also of course just respect the way midwifery approaches pregnancy and childbirth. It really is a different mindset than most OBs. I could go on forever I LOVE my midwives (cooperative of three).

 

[JCh]

I am considering a midwife next time... This time just didn't work out since I was living in one area and then moved to another city - It just didn't make sense to try and travel to other areas since I wasn't 100% sure where we'd end up living...
Next time I shouldn't be moving to a different city/ hospital - so I'd be able to try it....
Just going to worry about finishing this pregnancy and having a child before starting on a new one!

 

[gaiagirl]

Lol good plan!

 

[lemongrass]

I could just go on and on and on about how much I love my midwife. She's asked me to bring my husband for my next appt so she can talk to HIM about the upcoming birth and see how he feels about it and what to expect. What doctor would care about that?