Yesterday I had my first doctor and midwife pregnancy appointment. Both of the women I see are grounded and open to hearing their patients. I felt comfortable saying that I didn’t want to have a fear based pregnancy on account of my high BMI. That I understand some of the perceived medical risks, and I don’t mind the extra measures taken to insure the safety of my kid, but I don’t want to be scarred into unnecessary procedures (early epidural) when all I want is a water birth. I was told that I wouldn’t be able to have a water birth at most facilities because I am considered high risk due to my weight. My doctor said that she wished there were different terms because I am not actually high risk, but should I have problems, it would be hard to find staff that could pull me out of a pool. I get it. I get some of it. I wouldn’t want to pull me out of a pool either. If I felt comfortable, I would have a pool here in my house. The walls are paper thin and the last thing I want is to have my neighbors listen to me give birth.
The meeting was largely based around my weight, but not in a negative way. A factual way. This is what the NHS will support, this is what they consider a problem, these are your options. In every book I have read so far, there is a list a mile long about how being fat risks fat children, and fat children require more c-sections, and have problems as they develop. I do not subscribe to this fear based mentality because fat women are told to have early epidurals, not for immediate pain relief but because being induced causes high rates of needing a c-section. I was over 9 pounds when I was born and my brother over 10. I am fat, my brother is not. We have both been healthy. My mother was induced because they were afraid of us getting any bigger and tearing my mum in half. Her labours were quick and she hardly tore. She did it without an epidural, because she was too far progressed to have one. She is my model for my pregnancy.
An amazing site that I have been reading lately is junkfoodscience. Sandy Szwarc, BSN, RN, CCP has done an amazing job posting about perceived truths in healthcare and nutrition. Read her credentials, she knows her stuff. One of the articles I have appreciated is in her series “Obesity Paradox”. The links to this series can be found in her sidebar. The one that is pertinent to this post is called Baby Paradox. It is about the benefit of having heavier babies at birth. It is definaly worth a read no matter if you are big or small.
The thing about pregnancy, especially if it is your first, is there is a certain sense of panic. This panic can send the most introspective, grounded and empowered person looking for outside opinion for comfort. Very few times do we find it outside of ourselves, and in pregnancy this is no exception. Remembering to question athority and remember, women have been having babies since the beginning of time. Our bodies are built for it. I am glad there is medicine available if I need it. I am glad to have my doctor on my side. I am also going to put forth a considerable amount of trust that my body will be the vessel I intend it to be.
2 comments:
Hey! I appreciate your approach to this all. I wanted to let you know that although I'm not big, my daughter was born 8.25#s and my son was born 9#s, and my cousins said that was small!! No tearing, quick labors, very healthy babies. I think birth weight is genetic, usually. I don't know anything about the technical side of this. But from my experiences, confidence in yourself to birth and the will to try for your ideal are the best foundations for labor and the parenting that follows.
I think that *is* the key... confidence in yourself. I think that is hard to maintain when you really aren't sure of your own birthing capabilities. I look forward to empowering myself in this way.
Didn't you have Blue and Coyote at home?
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