Ditching the Assembly Line

Today was my 30 week doctor appointment. Everything went as normal except this time I dare approach my birth plan with the doctor. This something that most first time moms always bring up at the wrong time- wrong time being the 3rd trimester.

At the end of our session doc asks if I have any questions - Dr. Anne was one of the few in the group of women physicians that actually sticks around to see if I have any concerns. Nervously I brought up the fact that I wanted a natural un-medicated birth and inquired as to how they would work with me to accommodate that. Her immediate response was, are you practicing the Bradley method. I proudly said, "Yes" thinking that I was a studious patient. I was floored at her response, "Oh we don't accept Bradley patients, but I can make sure you get in to see the doctor that's 'in' to that kind of stuff." WHAT! That wasn't what I wanted to hear. I felt so shunned and knew that even if that doctor in the group that was in to natural birthing became my primary doctor, I'd still run the risk of delivering with one of the six other doctors in the group who weren't 'in to' that.

I walked out of there with my tail tucked between my legs and began a nervous rampage searching every Bradley instructor in the South Bay and LA for referrals.

What I've now since learned since being a naive first time mom is that most OB's in this country have their patients on an assembly line during delivery. They give you remedies to speed up labor and delivery which actually is more prone to lead to a c-section. There's apparently a thing they teach in school called text book labor. If the woman doesn't go by that clock then its time to break out the Pitocin and get things moving.

I've taken out of this lesson, which almost gave me a potentially horrible birthing experience that if you want to have an un-medicated, natural, do it at your own pace, child birth, then you HAVE to use a Certified Nurse Midwife. I am glad I learned this lesson just 10 weeks prior to delivery day instead of while lying there on the delivery table having a gaggle of guilty induced non necessary medical interventions.