Mid-Wife Visit

Today I had a previously scheduled appointment with a midwife at my OB's practice. It was well timed, since having had the CVS on Friday, I was glad to have an appt. in case I had any questions/issues.

The mid-wives I met were awesome, very knowledgeable and friendly.

There was one older lady who came in and with her was a younger girl who was new to the practice. She had the laptop with her and they started going through my history. We saw a few mistakes in there, eg. abnormal pap in 2011, etc which they cleaned up.  In the course of conversation I did mention (nicely!) that it seems to be a lot of confusion in the practice, but these ladies seemed really switched on and knew their stuff and their job is to make sure the records are up to date and accurate.

I mentioned DE and later that I was single and used DS since they were asking about the baby's father, so anyway they got so excited that I was a SMC. They high five'd me and were thrilled at the whole idea. It was kind of sweet. I live in a  very conservative city so I think I am a bit of a radical with all this but I have to say everyone I meet is supportive  :-)

Then the older nurse went out and I continued with the younger one. She went through my blood results from my OB panel and a range of questions on diet. I told her that nothing seems appetizing to me even though I do get hungry and the m/s had subsided.  We talked about the headaches I have been getting recently which is common in 2nd Tri and if I could get a massage. That sort of stuff.... and in the course of it I was able to ask about my weight gain (+3lbs only) which she said was fine. She was also really happy that I exercise every day which she said is important to keep up throughout the pregnancy.

Then another mid-wife came in who was the clinical manager. She was really smart and asked me where I did my IVF.  Turns out she used to work there and was very complimentary of them. She saw in the younger mid-wife's notes that I had CVS so we discussed that and I told her about the MFM clinic they had sent me to next doors who never bothered to give me my results of NT scan. And how the Dr made such a fuss about the Materniti21 blood test which can be used with DE. They felt bad for me and my experience.

The clinical manager asked me which MFM clinic I preferred. I said the one in the city where I got the CVS, so she said I should use that if I felt more comfortable there.  However she did  confirm that if I use the big city clinic and there is an emergency then my OB will consult with the local MFM since they are affiliated with the hospital. It was nice getting her opinion, so now I have to think this through and decide.  I will cancel my Part 2 of the blood test for genetic stuff since now I don't need it with the CVS and only do an AFP blood test for spinal bifida at the OB office and the 20 weeks anatomy scan.  They did recommend me another MFM doctor in that practice who they felt is better than the one I met.

In the course of the appointment, all three nurses asked me if I had a medical background since I seemed to know so much (funny!) and complimented the fact that I was so proactive with being my own advocate. I told them quite frankly that I have had to be so I don't get a run around, which I already have with the NT scan that I need not have done to begin with since I always wanted to do CVS.

They also talked about cord blood banking which I have been considering, but need to research more. Its is pricey I am sure, but given this is a DE/DS baby and likely will be an only child it may be something I need to do.

Then after some more paperwork, they did a doppler test.

So I lay back and the young mid-wife gets to work. She searches and searches and cannot find a heartbeat, but "thinks" she hears the baby moving. She did preface the process by saying that no heartbeat was not a thing to worry about. So after a lot of searching she said she could not find it.

I asked when the next U/S was -- that will be in 6 weeks, the anatomy scan.

I told her given we could not find the heartbeat today and that I just had CVS, I would like a u/s soon just for my own assurance. She said the insurance may not pay, so I asked her to tell me the self-pay cost. She said she would check that for me.

She goes out and I follow her a couple minutes later. She was standing at the desk and M (clinical manager) was there and I heard M say  "if we cannot hear the heartbeat that qualifies her for an u/s."

I was really calm through all this drama.  I was pretty sure everything was fine, but still it would have been reassuring to hear the heartbeat and if not to have an u/s.

Then M tells me "come back in and let me try" -- and within minutes she found it - it was 150+.

That was great!

Overall a nice uplifting visit, the ladies were really nice. I liked them and they knew their stuff and were willing to spend the time talking to me. They have a "meet the mid-wives and hospital tour" at the end of Nov so I may sign up for that of they still have space.

Next will visit will be in 2 weeks for a flu shot and early glucose tolerance.

Sorry for the long tedious post, but this blog is a way of documenting this journey so I tend to get into the weeds.