Having a baby is life-changing. There are immediately so many choices to make (and it's only the beginning!) and one of the most crucial is deciding on your birth provider. What happens when your assumptions regarding this decision are turned upside down? How do you cope and where do you turn for help?
I hope to do just that in this three-part series, Firing My Doctor, where I share what we did when faced with this situation.
 |
| "hey, You...stop that!" by ElmWolf, used under CC BY 2.0 / Text bar added by Syncopated Mama |
We were pregnant and knew we wanted to bring our more natural lifestyle into our pregnancy/birth journey, but I assumed that could all be done within the “normal” medical world.
At our first appointment at week ten, we met with my OB/GYN
of the past fifteen years, seated in front of his desk so that we could discuss
what to expect in the upcoming months.
The humor which kept me an established patient was on in full force and
he took the time to answer our already-long list of questions.
G received all sorts of kudos when he showed the doctor my
bottle of prenatal vitamins. The doctor
was impressed with their quality and composition and said the only thing we
should add was DHA.
By the way, the vitamins
were awesome. They didn’t make me sick
or give me any other issues and I highly recommend them.
I also took iron, which did not give me any constipation issues at all and I recommend them, as well.
I took these for the DHA, and having grown such a big, healthy baby, I’d say they did the trick, as well.
I also took iron, which did not give me any constipation issues at all and I recommend them, as well.
I took these for the DHA, and having grown such a big, healthy baby, I’d say they did the trick, as well.
After our chat with the doctor, we were feeling pretty in
sync and headed to the examining room for the next portion of our appointment.
He did an ultrasound just to make sure everything looked
good, which it did, but then he dated Gv younger than she was (I’d kept track
of things, so I knew exactly which
day she was conceived, so the date difference threw me a bit). We chatted a bit more and he informed me I
was high risk, due to my “advanced maternal age” (I was 38) and brushed me off
a bit with my questions about having a natural birth.
He basically said that if I was crazy enough to want to try
birthing without drugs, he’d give me a chance to try it out for a while. He said he thought it was insane for any
woman to give birth that way, and that he’d “cut me if he needed to and
wouldn’t if I didn’t need it.” (This response followed my episiotomy question.)
He also said that he had the final say in any decision because
(chuckling) he was the doctor.
We left that appointment starting to wonder if things would
be able to go the way we’d hoped, after all.
Plus, I was starting to experience some anxiety due to the dating
difference between the ultrasound and my date.
Of course, the doctor had implied that my date was wrong, because the equipment doesn’t lie.
Click here to read part two where I share the results of our follow-up appointment and the moment we knew we needed to make a move and fire my doctor.
Linked up with: Merry Monday, Motivation Monday, Thoughtful Spot, Mom 2 Mom Monday, What'd You Do This Weekend, Totally Terrific Tuesday, Two Uses Tuesday, Do Tell Tuesday, Lou Lou Girls Fabulous Party, Tell it to Me Tuesday, Good Tips Tuesday, Fluster's Creative Muster, Wordless Wednesday, A Little Bird Told Me, WFMW, Hit Me With Your Best Shot, The Mommy Club, Summer Family Fun Party, The Ladies Collective, This Is How We Roll, Frugal Family Linky, Creative Ways, Hearts for Home, Creative Exchange,I'm Lovin' It,Kitchen Fun & Crafty, Inspiration Spotlight, Home Matters, Pretty Pintastic Party, Front Porch Friday,
Creative Collection
In & Out of the Kitchen
From the Archives
Inspire Me Mondays
Mommy Needs a Timeout Thursday
We Love Weekends
Life of the Party Linkup
Linked up with: Merry Monday, Motivation Monday, Thoughtful Spot, Mom 2 Mom Monday, What'd You Do This Weekend, Totally Terrific Tuesday, Two Uses Tuesday, Do Tell Tuesday, Lou Lou Girls Fabulous Party, Tell it to Me Tuesday, Good Tips Tuesday, Fluster's Creative Muster, Wordless Wednesday, A Little Bird Told Me, WFMW, Hit Me With Your Best Shot, The Mommy Club, Summer Family Fun Party, The Ladies Collective, This Is How We Roll, Frugal Family Linky, Creative Ways, Hearts for Home, Creative Exchange,I'm Lovin' It,Kitchen Fun & Crafty, Inspiration Spotlight, Home Matters, Pretty Pintastic Party, Front Porch Friday,
Creative Collection
In & Out of the Kitchen
From the Archives
Inspire Me Mondays
Mommy Needs a Timeout Thursday
We Love Weekends
Life of the Party Linkup