5 months after my surgery, 1 month before we were allowed to "try again", I noticed that I was developing the changes I knew by now were indicators of pregnancy, in me. I waited and watched nervously, and blessed my lucky stars. I'd had the good fortune to learn, through the newspaper, about the counterindications, side effects, and interactions of the last remaining allopathic pharmaceuticals I'd been on, and to take myself off of it, in consultation with my doctor, three months before. That meant that it had just finished flushing itself out of my system, and could pose no danger to the developing pregnancy, and the child to come, if there was to be one this time.
At last came, and went, the time for my period. I scheduled another appointment with the OB, and spent many hours soul-searching with my husband. Despite the bleak outlook that the winter and my empty womb had brought about, I could not be sure that I was doing the right thing risking pregnancy, and possibly not being able to bring it to term, bear a healthy baby, or care for it as I should. Sick or healthy, I think that every parent knows those fears. Eventually, we reached the same conclusion that all others reach, I think; we accepted that if Mother Nature decided I could bear a child, we could not nay-say her, since she was our only possible concern.
The appointment came, and we discovered that I was, indeed, pregnant and developing as I should. Sprout got her first sonogram, and her first picture taken, when I was barely 2 weeks late. I still suffered from hyperemesis, and I tried everything I could for the morning sickness, eventually accepting that I would have to take the antinauseant that had helped me through the previous bout. Without it I was not keeping down enough food for one, much less two, but on it I proceeded to have a relatively uneventful pregnancy.
I took my prenatal vitamins, walked as much as I could, gardened until the heat got to me, and ate as well as I could. I took no medication, over-the-counter or otherwise, nor did I even ingest any herbs, including cooking herbs, without thoroughly researching it first. This is vitally important - did you know that basil stimulates contractions, and can even bring on miscarriage? Imagine eating a pesto dinner, unaware of the possible repercussions; when you learned the results, you would be devastated. I believe every woman is responsible for educating herself on everything related to her pregnancy, or that could impact her child. If your doctor does not know, that does not stop it from affecting your child, and you are the last and best protection that your developing child has. The three best books I can recommend are these - Spiritual Midwifery, by Ida May Gaskin, of The Farm, WiseWoman's Herbal for the Childbearing Year, and a good book on the Bradley childbirth method.
My obstetricians found my pregnancy completely normal; I was being seen by a womens' clinic where the practicioners saw each other's patients in order to ensure that the mother-to-be would be familiar with whoever was available and on-call when it came time for her to deliver. My own doctor wound up leaving the practice during my pregnancy, to work on treating menopause through natural medicine, herbs, and Chinese medical techniques. My Womens' Clinic was quite progressive; they would not perform circumcision, as they considered it unnecessary and a significant surgery which should not be inflicted without the patient's consent, though they would accept another practicioner stepping in to perform this procedure for those parents who so strongly desired it.
There was a midwife in the practice, whom I saw in my rotation through the clinic, and who was kind enough to recommend some pediatrician and family physician options who would not be disturbed by our choice not to vaccinate our child. Our research into the vaccines in current use, particularly in relation to the illness problems I have had, indicated that we would be far safer and wiser not to vaccinate our child. This is an unusual position in our area, and it was important to us that we find a practicioner who would understand and accept our decision.
We considered delivery and prenatal care at a local Birthing Center, and even went so far as to tour the facilities, and schedule a preliminary appointment to meet their midwives and Naturopathic Doctor. Unfortunately, while we once again had medical insurance, a necessity in urban America, our insurance would not cover the Naturopath, and therefore would not allow us to adequately meet the expenses of the birth if we went through the Birth Center.
We decided, after much investigation, including a hopeful inquiry as to whether the air circulation system was seperate from the rest of the hospital, to go with the Labor and Delivery suites at our local Emmanuel Hospital. These are in a seperate birthing unit, not accepting traffic from other parts of the hospital, and the laboring mother is allowed to move about, labor in their hydrotherapy tub, and generally follow through the birthing plan she desires, instead of having one forced on her by the hospital. After birth, the mother is moved to a seperate Family unit of the birthing unit, where she may cosleep with her newborn, have the infant in a bassinet in her own room, or even allow the nursery to take the infant for the night if she needs a good night's sleep, and they will still bring the child to her for nursing, if she chooses to breastfeed. It is unfortunate, but this is considered quite progressive in this country.
Our research into natural birthing methods showed us that the Bradley method was most in accordance with our own beliefs. We had read "Spiritual Midwifery" during a previous conception, and had been strongly impressed by the stories we had read, and the knowledge we had gained by reading the half of the book dedicated to the practice of midwifery. We felt that we were a part of the natural world, and as able to give birth easily as any other animal in nature. Our reading indicated that Dr. Bradley felt the same, and had dedicated himself to making the ease of a natural birth available again to the developed world. His methods depended on having the mother prepared, by stretching and relaxation, and having her relax and allow her uterus to do the work that it was born to, and knows how to do. I had a great deal of experience with relaxing and breathing through pain, and felt confident in my ability to follow through on this.
The Bradley method is husband-coached, and my husband worked with me through all the months of pregnancy to familiarize me with the exercises, and what to expect. We read book after book, and followed every stage of development in my "Pregnancy Week by Week" book. I stuck to a strictly natural regimen of health care, with the exception of the antiemetic, which continued to remain a necessity. I saw my chiropractor regularly, and together we made a choice to accept the known benefits of microcurrent therapy, despite the fact that it has not been previously tested in pregnancy, as long as careful and adequate precautions were taken to ensure the safety of my developing Sprout, and minimize her exposure.
During the course of my pregnancy, I went from 15 pounds underweight, at 110 pounds, to a whopping (for me) 155-60 at full term. Every speck of it was welcome and healthy, and I delivered a beautiful 8 and a half pound baby girl who tested 8 and 9 on the Apgar scale (a ten-point scale measurement of health) at 1 and 5 minutes after birth. This is quite high, and we attribute her incredible health and areas of developmental advancement in part to her nearly drug-free pre- and post-natal environment, and the fact that she was breast-fed for over a year.
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