And one more

[pantryslut]

G. and I watched the Ricki Lake-produced homebirth documentary, The Business of Being Born, on Saturday night. Definitely opinionated, which is fine -- I like people with opinions. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in the subject matter, for sure. It's definitely informative and enlightening, even for those of us

(If I were to level one criticism, it would be very small and very high level -- I would have liked to see more links into our health care system in general and the way it does things, and how this affects hospital birth practices too. But that's OK. I can make those connections on my own.)

P.S. Told my mother I was skipping amniocentesis. We had a really interesting conversation about it, in which she supported me completely. (She opened with, "I was wondering what you were thinking about that.") She chose differently, and for good reasons, but her situation (over 40, previous problems) and my situation (under 40, no previous problems, twins) were different, and that's more or less what we discussed. It was nice to have such a high degree of mutual respect for our choices.

Comments

[ilipodscrill.livejournal.com]

it makes me happy every time i see this icon. and i'm really excited for your twins, in case i haven't told you.

[pantryslut.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm excited too!

[beckastar.livejournal.com]

i recommend to you (and would not typically recommend this to pregnant friends, but you're not typical) the woman in the body, by emily martin.

not perfect, but she acknowledges it - most of her subjects are white middle class women. martin's a medical anthropologist at hopkins.

this book and other factors in my life (like my best friend's mother being a midwife, and how cool was it that she had placentas int eh freezer?) had me seriously considering midwifery as a career. also, medical anthropology.

[abostick59.livejournal.com]

When wild_irises was pregnant, I presented an argument that wound up convincing her not to do amniocentesis: It is a test meant to reassure parents of healthy children. What would we do with the information if it were bad news?

I was thinking in terms of "bad news" along the lines of Down Syndrome, not lethal genetic abnormality. Afterwards, we decided that if we were to have a second chance she would probably take the amnio test, but we still had doubts.

Your mother sounds smart and wise, but given that she's the woman who brought you up that's no surprise at all.

[pantryslut.livejournal.com]

My mother had a pregnancy with a lethal genetic abnormality that was discovered by the failure of her amniocentesis to gather any fluid at all. Further diagnostics followed, and she chose to terminate the pregnancy based on that information (which was not shared with me at the time, so my details will be vague. I'm sure if I asked she'd tell me now).

She had a subsequent pregnancy, and in that case I think the amnio was vital to her peace of mind for the rest of the pregnancy (which was fine, no complications). She also went to a genetic counseling support group in the meantime that seemed to make a big difference for her.

Just like with twins, I would like to have forewarning of things like Down's, so I can prepare for it. But that's a pretty mild reason, so I'm sticking to mild tests.

[mamagotcha.livejournal.com]

Two questions:

Are you considering a homebirth?

Have you gotten your hands on a copy of Brain,Child magazine yet? (I have back issues I'd be willing to loan out, if you are interested)

[pantryslut.livejournal.com]

Oooh, there's a can of worms.

While I like homebirth in the abstract, and would encourage just about anyone I knew to consider it for themselves, I am not seriously planning on it. If this were a single birth, the story might be different, although I also feel like my home space is not at all the kind of space I'd want to give birth in -- I don't have my own bedroom, for example (I have an office instead). I have this strong desire for a separate psychic space to do all of this. (I joked about renting a nice hotel room for the occasion...) So I am aiming for a natural birth in a birth center sort of setting, and I am trying to be flexible in all directions, and I'm working on recruiting folks to support me.

Brain, Child is on the way :)

[mamagotcha.livejournal.com]

I'm a doula who's been honored to be invited to a handful of births (only about 30, and only one set of twins). You're already clearly a thinker who isn't easily intimidated... my unasked-for advice is to consciously carry that attitude into whatever birthing space you choose to deliver in. I've seen difficult homebirths and lovely hospital births... it's more about how safe and supported the mom feels than any special equipment or attendant.

Your body knows more about how to have these babies than anyone else. Trust your intuition and instincts... you are the product of a very long line of successful birthing women.

And you wouldn't be the first to birth in a hotel room, if you went that direction. Even just using a hotel for close-to-birthplace labor and relaxation is sometimes a great idea... a hospital is an awful place to try to get any rest, and a lot of labor is just gathering and protecting your resources for the last laps.

Thanks for sharing your journey to motherhood with us!