This is a letter my husband wrote to his family about the current events in our home - I love it. And I love him. For those of you who don't know - our family motto around here is, "Go big or go home!" Tongue in cheek, of course, but there is a measure of truth... or as others say, "When it rains, it pours"........
Hello all. We've all been so focused on all the drama that has ensued that we have had little opportunity to share the less emergent things going on in our lives here in Seattle, so here is an update on things in the emerald city... mostly baby related.
We did our last birthing class with
Penny Simkin last night, she is great! She has something like 30 years experience helping people through all kinds of births and is the famed founder of the doula movement in North America. It was a class for those wanting to have a home birth as an option... an option, as in, no one really gets to decide in the end exactly what will be needed, so assuming a low risk pregnancy and that everything goes well through every step of the labor, a home birth. The approach is about putting everything into place to increase the likelihood of a natural, in-home birth. Along with all the wonderful benefits of home births Penny shows on her little "Shoots and Ladders" style graphic, if an insurmountable issue arises, you slide down the shoot to the hospital, where you are greeted with the best interventions the modern world has to offer, without guilt and full of gratitude. Penny has found a wonderful balance between promoting alternatives while at the same time singing the praises of modern medicine, when it's needed. This very much jives with the philosophy of integrative medicine that my clinic works within.
As we have lined things up, the risks are about equal between a hospital birth and an at home birth, the difference is that the likelihood of unnecessary intervention drops significantly with a home birth because there is much less pressure to stick to a progression schedule that is geared for the convenience of the hospital staff. One of the main benefits is that the quality of the experience tends to be much higher for the mother who is free to eat, drink, and move about freely. At first we were going to go with the birth center, but after going through the series of check ups leading to the coming due date. E opted for a home birth, after the midwife explained that the only major difference between being at the birth center vs home, is that all the supplies of a birth center are carted to the home, which turns out to be a duffel bag and that's about it. Having a birth in the familiarity of one's own home with caregivers who are familiar was appealing to both E and I, particularly after some trust was established with our midwife. Lucky for us the "every category of provider" law here in WA assures our insurance pays for an at-home midwife. E has met with her midwife many times, having the baby's heart rate and growth rate monitored. We've had several preliminary tests, including 3 ultra sounds, to look for genetic issues and overall health of the baby and so far, no issues, yay!
We have also employed a doula for the birth. I didn't really know what the difference between a doula and a midwife was, I originally thought you either had one or the other, depending on just how "au natural" you wanted to be. I now understand that they best work as a team and have very different rolls. The responsibility of the midwife is the physical well being of the mother and child, as she is trained to discover little issues and supply solutions before they become big issues and she is ultimately responsible to make the call when and if transfer to a hospital is needed. The doula has a very different but equally vital roll.
The doula is there primarily for the mental/emotional/physical comfort of the mother, a veritable comfort coach. Part of my training in this process has been as a Birth Partner. I will essentially be co-doula throughout the process, helping E focus and steer clear of distress. The doula is also my back up to give me respite and even help me deal with stuff that may come up if I get overwhelmed. E and I have met with our doula a couple of times, she will be the first one called when signs of labor begin. Both the doula and the midwife work in pairs, having back ups to cover them if they become unavailable (exhausted or sick) and they are on call in shifts. As you can see, it's quite a team with an impressive amount of back up support and integration.
One of the comfort measures which we still have to line up is a birthing tub. I think of the birthing tub as one more station in the array of options where E can go and work through contractions. The goal with most of the measures is not so much about eliminating pain as it is reducing suffering. While having an in water birth is a more common option now a days, it's just an option rather than a goal. The warm water, just above body temperature, is there primarily to offer a soothing place to get a break from gravity and if the birth happens to occur there, it's the most gentle entry into this world a baby can have... amazingly the baby won't try to breathe and the placenta won't stop delivering oxygenated blood till the baby is exposed to air. Nature is truly amazing.
E went for her weekly check up with her midwife yesterday. She's got the green light in all regards for a normal birth that could come at any time. The baby is head down, and very low, as it has been for quite a while now - both are very good signs.
Lately, life's demands seem to be converging with a rather cryptic momentum for me. Due to the timing of a friends wedding, and our Seattle baby shower, it was not possible to go back East for the final push to get the farm house empty till very close to Elizabeth's due date, which admittedly has us on edge a bit. Having the eminence of family farm crisis at the same time as the likely passing of my father would be intense enough, but at the same time, the culmination of 5 years of political work as board member and now president of the consumer lobby organization for Acupuncturists in WA state (
WAOMA.org) is also coming to a head with the introduction of our first piece of legislation in 23 years, SB 5320. This bill shifts our identity from acupuncturists to "Oriental Medicine Practitioners", a term that better encompasses what we do. (Check out my article in the AAAOM's Qi unity report
http://www.aaaomonline.info/qiunity/09/01/2a.html.) This change in our Statute is somewhat controversial and will require a lot of public appearances by yours truly. It also creates provisions for an "Oriental Medicine Advisory Committee" that will interact with the Department of Health to better define the rules (the RCW), which at this point are pretty open ended, causing some practitioners to interpret them liberally, and some health law judges to interpret them conservatively. On top of all this, I'm trying to keep an acupuncture practice going... to say I'm feeling stretched is an understatement. My biggest challenge is staying present, thank goodness for all those Vipassana retreats I've done!
So the question remains, just when will E go into labor and just how nuts is it for me to go back East tomorrow. About 2/3rds of first time pregnancies come after their due date... that leaves a 1 in 3 chance that E will go into labor early. At this point I'm planning on getting on the plane tomorrow, as long as there are no signs of labor, and from that point forward, I am on call to head back as soon as labor begins.
Wow, life is full!
G.
(hair towel and all, I was fresh from the shower)
