Showing posts with label midwife. Show all posts
Showing posts with label midwife. Show all posts
Thursday, September 25, 2008
weigh in
Good news : Calvin was weighed by the midwife yesterday afternoon and he has managed to pick up 350g!! Hooray. We were discharged from the midwife care for Mile End / Barkantine. This means that we only have to go to the fortnightly baby clinic to be weighed.
Monday, August 25, 2008
standing still
Keith and Zack cavort on Tina's lawn in the sunshineOnce there, the midwife was happy to listen to my concerns, looked over the notes and scan results, and said that what was written was inconclusive and unclear. Not only that, but the scan printouts that were included do not indicate clearly where the placenta ends and the cervix begins - there are no measurements, there are just two labels - "Placenta" and "Cervix/Os". What's the point of that ? If we don't know that the placenta is 1cm, 2cm, 3cm from the cervix, we don't know anything. It's all just annoyingly vague.
So now we're back to square one : I don't know if I'm at risk. I don't know if I'm in line for a c-section. I don't know if I'm allowed to still have the baby at the Barkantine Birthing Centre if everything is OK. One things for certain though, the midwife said if I go into labour in the next week, I should go straight to the hospital rather than going to the Birthing Centre. How gloomy !
My plan of action is to try and get an appointment with a consultant at the Royal London and/or St Guy's & St Thomas' (near London Bridge) in the next few days, so that we can get the wheels turning. Both Keith and I feel that waiting around for the sonographer to blow the whistle on placenta praevia (on Friday 29th Aug), only brings us a week closer to the inevitable and consequently fewer options.
Wish me luck !
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Ggrrrrr.....
Bloody NHS !
I saw the midwife a week ago, and she seemed concerned that the baby was 'breech' at this point in time. I'm not overly concerned because in my mind there still seems to be oodles of time for it to turn (and I have placenta previa - tho' mildly so). To the point tho' : she wanted me to go for an urgent scan to make sure all is well. Fine ! I have the scan request in my hands - a copy of which was sent to the ultrasound dept. It has now been a week and I've heard nothing. I actually have a scan booked for 2 weeks time (standard procedure - 36 weeks), so again, I'm not freaking out. What makes me mad tho' is the whole attitude of the medical profession here : it's not my problem ! I rang up the midwives today and explained it all, and asked if I should chase it. 'Yes,' says she, 'here's the phone number.' Basically - she can't be bothered, and unless I'm in labour, the baby is in distress or I'm bleeding to death, that's it. So why all the concern in the first place ? Why bother if no-one else is going to bother ? It all reeks of box-ticking to me (ie. if anything goes wrong, they can say they did what they could, and the hospital failed to follow-up).
My options at this point:
1. push for this scan as soon as
2. call the midwife and make her do the phoning (and her job)
3. leave it and go for my 36 week scan
I'm struck that in this day and age, most obstetricians have no experience in dealing with breech births because the "easy option" of a c-section is always there. Why try and do it the hard way, when you can just slice ? Their answer is the hippocratic oath - risk to mother and child. They don't need the experience, because statistics have told them that c-sections are safer. The only problem there is that, out of fear, I might get booked in for a c-section, and then the baby turns in time for natural delivery (and shorter recovery period by the way). On this point tho', I'm hoping the baby will turn before we get to D-day with c-sections.
I could try and give it a bit of help too.... tho' some of this stuff sounds laughable. Clothes peg anyone ?
There's so much info, and support on the 'net which backs up my gut-feel to let things go until 38 weeks, I don't see the point of freaking out and trying to intervene too soon. I guess that means : Watch this Space!
ps. my neighbour returned home within 24 hours and is doing fine. There doesn't seem to be any complications with her pregnancy. Thank the Lord !
Wow! News :
I'm letting all these frustrations eclipse an extremely important moment in the mother-child bond. Zack said, "I love you mommy" for the very first time today. Un-initiated and accompanied by a hug.
I saw the midwife a week ago, and she seemed concerned that the baby was 'breech' at this point in time. I'm not overly concerned because in my mind there still seems to be oodles of time for it to turn (and I have placenta previa - tho' mildly so). To the point tho' : she wanted me to go for an urgent scan to make sure all is well. Fine ! I have the scan request in my hands - a copy of which was sent to the ultrasound dept. It has now been a week and I've heard nothing. I actually have a scan booked for 2 weeks time (standard procedure - 36 weeks), so again, I'm not freaking out. What makes me mad tho' is the whole attitude of the medical profession here : it's not my problem ! I rang up the midwives today and explained it all, and asked if I should chase it. 'Yes,' says she, 'here's the phone number.' Basically - she can't be bothered, and unless I'm in labour, the baby is in distress or I'm bleeding to death, that's it. So why all the concern in the first place ? Why bother if no-one else is going to bother ? It all reeks of box-ticking to me (ie. if anything goes wrong, they can say they did what they could, and the hospital failed to follow-up).
My options at this point:
1. push for this scan as soon as
2. call the midwife and make her do the phoning (and her job)
3. leave it and go for my 36 week scan
I'm struck that in this day and age, most obstetricians have no experience in dealing with breech births because the "easy option" of a c-section is always there. Why try and do it the hard way, when you can just slice ? Their answer is the hippocratic oath - risk to mother and child. They don't need the experience, because statistics have told them that c-sections are safer. The only problem there is that, out of fear, I might get booked in for a c-section, and then the baby turns in time for natural delivery (and shorter recovery period by the way). On this point tho', I'm hoping the baby will turn before we get to D-day with c-sections.
I could try and give it a bit of help too.... tho' some of this stuff sounds laughable. Clothes peg anyone ?
There's so much info, and support on the 'net which backs up my gut-feel to let things go until 38 weeks, I don't see the point of freaking out and trying to intervene too soon. I guess that means : Watch this Space!
ps. my neighbour returned home within 24 hours and is doing fine. There doesn't seem to be any complications with her pregnancy. Thank the Lord !
Wow! News :
I'm letting all these frustrations eclipse an extremely important moment in the mother-child bond. Zack said, "I love you mommy" for the very first time today. Un-initiated and accompanied by a hug.
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