This dear dear lady has been our midwife now for almost 9 years (with a lapse of about a year when we lived in another province). She has seen us at our worst; she has laughed with us and cried (sobbed) with us. We don't want anyone else to attend our births. If I can't have her, I would rather go it alone.
We got pregnant again very quickly after K; she was only 3 months old. Our little C was breech though and so we had to transfer care to a hospital and a doctor. C came into this world via c-section. Even this very very experienced doctor was not going to risk a double-footling breech vaginal delivery.
Sometime later, I became pregnant with our boy Harvey. He was a homebirth, with our midwife in attendance. His labor was very long (for me) and looking back there may have been signs that none of us saw. Harvey lived for 12 days. Our midwife and her husband were a great support for us through this very tough time.
We moved a few months after Harvey's death to be closer to my husbands family. Upon arriving we started searching for a midwifery service that would take us on as I was now pregnant with M. Our little M was born in hospital with a couple of midwives and a midwifery student in attendance. We were treated very well by that group of midwives and would have preferred to deliver at home, but our hospital experience was good.
We moved back to Alberta the following winter when M was about 8 months old. When I became pregnant with Mr. W we again contacted "our" midwife (cuz she's all ours and no one elses, right?). She was more than happy to add us back into her practice. Unfortunately when W decided to finally arrive (a full two weeks "late") he came very quickly and our midwife was not in attendance due to stormy January weather! She arrived around a half an hour after and checked us all out and got us comfortable. She was sad to have missed the delivery and I was sad she had too.
It wasn't much more than a year later when I called to ask her to do the prenatal for R's pregnancy. Baby R also arrived before our midwife could get here as well. Again, it was winter and the roads were icy. When I called her to get her on her way, I thought she had a lot of time. Well, Baby R came quicker than anyone expected and J and I were on our own again. Our midwife arrived not long after (nor more than 20 min) to help get us settled and checked everyone out.
I have been blessed to be able to have a HUGE say in my birthing experiences. I have almost always been able to birth at home, which is now my first choice. I am now 21 weeks pregnant with our 7th baby. "Our" midwife is once again involved but up until today we were unsure how much she was really going to be able to be involved.
The government health care has taken over the paying of the midwives which is great for low income families and in tough economic times. However, with this financial help comes some not so helpful regulations. I feel that many of my decisions in my deliveries are no longer mine. There are more hoops to jump through and more regulations for us all to follow. Midwifery in Alberta is changing, and not for the better, in my opinion. Some look at it as having more options, but living in the "boonies" like I do, actually makes it tougher. If I want a midwife, I have to go to her (generally) because they do not travel this far from where most of their clients live. That limits my birthing options to hospital or birthing center, in most cases.
However, I have hope and am continuing to pray that this is not going to be the situation for us. In speaking with my midwife this afternoon, I was told (but not promised) that there is a possibility of being able to deliver at home. One of the regulations is that there must be two midwives present at the birth. While my midwife is willing to travel to me, she was having difficulty finding a second midwife to travel with her. In expanding her own practice, this may have changed! I am waiting (impatiently) for the decision of the second midwife as to whether or not she will travel, so I can deliver at home!
Pray with me!
You should have heard my dh's voice and response when I told him. He doesn't get excited about much, but he was excited about this! I am doing the happy dance about this situation.
I have hope!
Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
Striving to learn and live God's purposes,
2 comments:
Thanks for stopping by my blog today!
Our oldest was a hospital birth and NEITHER of us enjoyed it at all. I've blogged about it before, but not on my new blog so maybe I'll get around to posting on it one day lol
We planned a homebirth with our youngest but unexpected things came up which caused us to have to move in with my in-laws when I was 5 months along. We were in Tennessee, they were in Vermont. His mother would NOT under ANY circumstances allow us to have a homebirth in her home. So I had to go to a hospital. But we stayed home as long as we possibly could. In fact, she was born only 10 minutes after we arrived. Literally. Thankfully, we had a MUCH better experience with that hospital.
We're hoping to have a homebirth with our next one ... whenever the Lord decides to bless us with another.
I hope everything works out as you want it to w/the birth of your newest blessing.
I am excited for you! This is (I know) a load off of your mind and heart. I had good hospital experences and part of that is because I am very strong willed and have very strong oppinions. I am happy to be a part of your excitment!
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