Well you've all gone and depressed me now.
Not that it's YOUR fault.
This is something I've been fighting for awhile now. I was pregnant 2 years ago with my first and because I'm type II diabetic I was considered High Risk. Nobody would even TOUCH me to do a home birth nor would my gp even meet with me because it's up to the Perinatologist. We have only 1 in 14 county radius and lets' just say it's like a cattle farm.
Needless to say my first appointment when I was pregnant with my son and the male Dr. said He'd set me up for a C-Section (on the FIRST day) and would also do an amnio at 36 wks to check to see if baby's lungs were developed enough to take him at 37wks because diabetics have HUGE babies. Well that did it for me. I told him in NO WAY would I consent for a C-Section on the first day and had in fact planned for natural. It didn't go over very well but we agreed to disagree.
Needless to say I had Incompetent Cervix which caused me to lose a mucus plug and their nurse practitioner kept telling me I was fine even though I had HORRIFYING itching. Turns out that I had BV which wreaked havoc because there was no mucus plug protecting from bacteria anymore after my cervix had moved. I found out I was having a boy 2 days before I gave birth to him at 22wks. It was NATURAL without drugs. They kept trying to push drugs on me...morphine especially. Had I done that, I don't think my son would have been alive for the 25mins he was alive.
Fast forward to now and I have the female Dr. of the practice who helped me deliver and cried with me. She's the only one in the practice that I believe is good. Her older peers kept arguing with me in the early weeks when I was fighting for a stitch for IC. While they at least started 17P injections weekly to stop from PTL they kept telling me that there was no proof of IC and they would only treat me for PTL. I fought HARD to be monitored and finally they found I DO suffer from IC so a stitch was placed at 19wks and I continue the injections until wk 36.
I hired a doula because SO much control is taken away from me. I'm not allowed a home birth, they are quick to drug me, quick to give meds to start labor and ESPECIALLY quick to assume I'm going to have a big baby and thus are waiting to schedule the C-section and seem to think they won't let me get past 37wks.
My doula knows my agenda and she will fight for what I want as long as things are looking safe. I DO NOT want an epi. Luckily while I was having the stitch put in they gave me a spinal. It gave me a taste of what an epi would be like and I DON'T like NOT being able to feel from my waist down. One thing I also didn't like was having to lay in that awful bed while delivering my son. I want UP and MOVING. My doula will help me labor at home until I need to actually go in. THIS is of comfort to me.
A sadness I have that a few of you have brought up is that since I am diabetic and on insulin Nicu will cart my daughter off right away to be sure her sugars don't slip. We won't likely be able to bf'd right away or bond.
I have asked to meet with NICU staff so I can talk with them. Everyone at the office thought I was crazy but I want a plan in place and would RATHER they allow my daughter time on my belly to allow the cord to pulse and try to bf'd there. I'd LIKE them to bring what they need to the floor and do what absolutely HAS to get done right away in the room instead of taking her away.
I'm not sure how much pull I'll have with this, but I'm darn-well going to try!
This has REALLY depressed me as I've been fighting and advocating for myself and my daughter from the beginning. I'm REALLY tired and knowing that things are so fast-paced in the hospital I just want everyone to take a step back, BREATHE and let us bond for a few minutes.
My last experience at the hospital is that medical staff isn't all that familiar with natural birthing. They feel they have to stick their hands in everything and intervene with meds. I'm unsure how many have actually witnessed a natural birth. In fact, my husband who is an RN witnessed 3 births during his clinicals and all three were C-sections.
((SIGH)) I'm hoping that things will go smoothly and the way I'd like. Another issue I'm concerned about is that my daughter is breech and has been for the whole pregnancy. She just seems to like this position and has made it hard for all the sonograms. I'm almost 30wks on Sunday. So a concern I have is NO CHOICE because they won't allow breech births here...automatic C-sections.
This whole thing is a wait and see. But I do feel somewhat depressed that I don't have much input on the birth of my daughter. I AM fighting for what I'd like, but much of it depends on if I get a Dr. willing to work with me. If my Perinatologist I've chosen isn't working the night I go into labor...I have the other idiots from the practice and a choice of two midwives who aren't really natural-minded but take on the clinical beliefs.
Just to say ....I'm living this and it's a load of crap!
We're told and tought that doctors are akin to gods - they know everything about everything and they know what's best in every situation. Don't trust your instincts, your instincts didn't go to an expensive cookie-cutter curricula college for 12 years. 
Sorry, bit a rant there...
I hope that she turns for you and that you get to do things your way this time! Well done for you for keeping up such a fight!
