When the first trimester ended, the doctor told me I could finally get off the drugs, that the danger had passed. 24 hours later, I ate. Like I hadn't eaten in months (which really, I hadn't). A few days later I realized how much more energy I had, how I wasn't requiring a nap every day, and I didn't feel completely depressed. I was amazed at the energy surge of being pregnant.
And every day is more amazing.
I've long believed in the over-medicalization of pregnancy. Doctors are in the business of covering their own butts, and the C-section rates in this country are astoundingly high (30% or so) in comparison to every other country in the world (usually 5-10%). So the first thing I did was start researching homebirth midwives. And I started educating myself. The more I researched, the more convinced I was that my home was the place for me to give birth. I contemplated not seeing the doctor at all, but since I'm fully covered for the doctor, and not covered for the midwife, I put off deciding, and kept attending my prenatals.
Doing all this research has a major side effect. I tend to know more about pregnancy and birth in general than the average medical person thinks I should. This means I have my own opinions and thoughts and desires. It means I'm perfectly comfortable refusing certain tests and asking for others. We had long agreed that we wanted to undergo testing for Trisomy, since the effects of Trisomy are usually devastating. Luckily, all the tests came back beautifully. I was automatically scheduled for a 20-week ultrasound, and I discussed my concerns about extraneous ultrasounds with the nurse practitioner. She convinced me that it was a routine test to be sure all the organs were maturing properly. Since all the screening tests so far had come back negative, I figured, okay... I'll go ahead and get the test, just so everyone is comfortable. Even up until the day before at my 20-week prenatal, I wasn't sure I was going to have it done. We discussed it, and B indicated that he felt I should go ahead and get it done, just to set our minds at ease.
If only it were that simple.
