(no subject)

[charlottezweb]

Last Fri I had another follow-up diabetes appointment. My sugars were perfect all week, and when I met with the first doctor on Fri she commented that she wasn't sure why I was having to come in since all signs were good. She and I had had a talk during the very first meeting about my theory that I failed the sugar test because of diet changes I made on my previous doctors advice during this pregnancy--now that I'm back to eating that way I used to, things are fine--she brought that up during this appt and said it seemed likely given my recent numbers. I said that I'd be talking to my midwife at my next appt about cutting back on the monitoring and she agreed with that.

So I agree to the monitoring and the sonogram (sonogram checking the level of amniotic fluid, since very diabetic women can have too much), both of which are fine. When the head doc comes in to sign off on the monitoring strip, he comments that everything looks good and they'll see me next week. I ask him about the possibility of faxing in my sugar numbers if they're all good so I don't have to make the trek in, seeing as all the tests have been fine for the last two weeks. He says no, that having diabetes means that there's a risk of morbidity to the baby, so they have to keep monitoring me. I point out that since all the tests have been normal, the risk seems to be very small, and he actually gives me the speech I had been warned about--the one that paraphrases into "well, if you want to take the chance of killing your baby, it's up to you." I managed not to laugh, and told him that I would be discussing the risks with my provider and we'd make that decision.

When I left the office, I did not make another appt and I've decided, based on that attitude and on other reports I've heard, that I will not be giving birth at that hospital--the birth center there is supposed to be good, but my "high risk" status knocks me down into regular labor and delivery. I'm supposed to have another big growth ultrasound next week, but will either postpone it a week, or cancel it completely.

The risk of morbidity isn't actually that the baby will die, it's mainly that either he'll be big or that his blood sugar will be messed up. I should be able to avoid the second by keeping my sugars controlled and the first isn't a problem to me--I'm certainly not going to let them induce me based on the size estimate from an ultrasound (they're often off by 1.5 lbs either way).

Oh well, I see the midwives on Weds and then next Mon I have an appt at Maimonides Hospital (no, I can't pronounce that either) for a tour of the birth floor--they've just remodeled and it sounds great. They have the 2nd lowest c-section rate in the city, an emphasis on breastfeeding and a complimentary doula program.

Comments

YAAAHHHH!!!!

[pfunque.livejournal.com]

That sounds more like it! Ditch the jerks!

[redbird]

Maimonides is good, as I recall, though that's based on my grandmother being there for treatment, not their birth floor. My-mon-ih-deez will do for a pronunciation (the i is the vowel of "id", but the d goes with the last syllable); I had to stop and think a moment, because that's a name I've known how to pronounce a long time. Local culture and dialect differences, of course.