Went to the midwife's again yesterday. I asked if they were still boycotting the hospital yet and she said yes. I asked if the other two hospitals they use are midwife-friendly. She said it's not so much that they aren't midwife friendly, but that they are too busy. She said the nurses have so much paperwork and responsibilities that they don't remember to (for example) come give you your motrin after the birth or to change your pads(you bleed a lot after birth). She says she's been telling all her clients that they might want to bring their own pillows and motrin to the hospital. I'm a bit scared of how things will go, having to use a different hospital this time. I talked to her about wanting to leave early, and how that might go. Basically it depends on when the physician can examine the baby and give an ok for discharge. And that can depend on when the baby is born. I also let her know I planned to get to the hospital as late as possible, which I did with the last two births also. Since I have the advantage of living very close to her she said that we might be able to work that out (meaning she could come check me to see how close to delivery I was, so that I could wait to go to the hospital until it was really time).
We also talked about the gestational diabetes test. It's a big pain in the butt for me! You eat a breakfast that is uncomfortably big (for me), and then have your blood drawn exactly an hour later. The fact that I must walk to the test and walk with young children makes it very difficult to time it just right. I asked her if it was likely that I would develop diabetes anyway-this is my fourth pregnancy! She said actually, no. She said that in other countries they test women based on their histories and when problems occur instead of testing all women for all things. (That's the US way I guess, make more $ for the insurance companies!) I was really surprised the first time I used the midwife and they told me I had the option to not do some of the testing. You weren't even given a choice with the obstetrician. The tests had a high rate of false positives and for me, the results didn't matter. (I would not abort). So it was nice to be able to skip them. The midwife said that there are ways to cheat with the diabetes test, and given my history she was entirely comfortable doing just that. She said because I have small babies and eat decently and haven't developed it with the other pregnancies there was very little chance I'd get it now. So they'll just draw blood at some point and test it that way. Much easier for me. I am very glad there is a midwife here! Now if only we could have a home birth I'd be really happy!!
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i don't remember feeling like i had to do any of the tests but i do remember everyone telling me the glucose test tasted so bad (you have to drink a really sweet soda-like thing) and i LOVED it!! i don't drink much soda so it was a treat to me :-) and actually thats the only test i did...maybe there was a blood test but that was definately optional...anyways, sounds like midwives are neat. i wish i would've gone into labor naturally and was able to experience that...jonathan was just TOO BIG :-)
I've heard of that test but I never had it. The diabetes test they had me do is one where you eat two eggs and toast and orange juice and milk and exactly an hour later they take blood.
I think the other tests are commonly referred to as the triple screen. It screens for birth defects but has a very high false positive rate.
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