Our last antenatal appointment was very positive. The doctor says that the baby’s growth is still right on the 50th percentile (exactly average), he’s active and all measurements look great. All very average! Not that I was expecting a second head to have sprouted or anything, but it was a very quick appointment because there was really nothing to report. I did get reassurance that I “must be doing something right” because he’s right on track, which was nice.
We also had another parenting and birth education class that night. The session was about labour and it was fantastic. It really instilled my faith in the hospital to provide as comfortable and natural a setting as possible. The hospital seems to have really grasped the philosophy of birth being a natural physiological event, not necessarily a medical one. The midwife said that while water births aren’t offered, if you feel the urge to push while you’re in the bath they’ll just pull out the plug and deliver right there…the same applies if you’re squatting in the shower, or anywhere you want, really. She invited us all to bring music, aromatherapy stuff, blankets and pillows from home and “rebuild our nest” right there in the birthing suite when we arrive at hospital. It was really reassuring. I was really surprised however at the amount of women who refused to acknowledge that pain is imminent and unavoidable. We went around the room introducing ourselves and we were asked to say one thing we already knew about labour. About 80% of the women there said that they “knew nothing, didn’t want to know anything, ignorance is bliss”. That just boggles my mind. How is that attitude supposed to prepare you and help you develop coping strategies? Oh well, I guess everyone approaches it in their own way!
The only problem with the Calvary is that they don’t have the “facilities” to care for women who give birth prior to 34 weeks. Instead, they send you and your obstetrician to the public hospital (where they’ve been known to lie ladies on their backs with legs up in stirrups). Hopefully, Blake doesn’t try to make any escapes over the next two weeks. I’d honestly rather an unassisted home birth than that (not that I’d dare, but still). There’s no possible way I’d be comfortable and relaxed enough there to have a drug-free birth. I hate the place so much; the way they’ve treated Daniel and myself in the past was disgusting.
Mum’s hosting our baby shower next month. People think we’re weirdos because we’ve specified on the invites that partners are welcome. Oooh, breaking tradition! It’s just that we have such a bizarre mix of people that we’re inviting (not a lot of them even know each other) so we figured it’d be more comfortable for everyone if they could bring along someone familiar.
