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January 21, 2005
Midwife's Visit #2
So Wednesday was our second midwife's visit, at 15w2d.
I got the results back from the bloodtests that were done at the first visit. All clear on everything. My immunity to childhood illnesses is fine (and it should be, I had boosters for INS last May), no anemia, no HIV (I had told her that one wasn't necessary, having had 2 for INS in the last 3 years), and PreZ and I have the same bloodtype, so no Rhesus issues to worry about.
I had expected a gynocological exam that morning, as that's what she'd mentioned to me at the first visit. She then told me that often ob/gyn's do 2 papsmears during pregnancy, once at the start of the care, and once towards the end of the pregnancy (around 32 weeks). Mostly this is to test for cervical cancer and stuff like syphillis. She told us she found this overkill, especially for couples with a monogamous relationship, so I got to choose if I wanted 1 or 2 papsmears, and whether I'd like it sooner rather than later. As I had one a year ago, and before that I had one every 6 months (thanks to my ob/gyn writing only 6 month pill scripts and me needing to be looked at before getting a new one, no money extortion there at all...). Plus there's no history of cervical cancer in my family, so I figured the one was enough. I'll be having that one done around 32 weeks.
My bloodpressure was fine at 110 over 60 or so. I'd gained pretty much no weight in the last 4 weeks, which I personally find odd. I eat, really I do... big meals, snacks, pizza, kfc, but no change in weight. Though I do think I've traded some muscle in for some fat tissue instead, mostly in the absence of karate training over the last 8 or so weeks).
Then we got to listen to the baby's heartbeat again, which was really cool. At this point you can't really feel anything, so listening to the doppler stethoscope is the only real confirmation you get, or so it feels to me. The heartbeat was 158, which is normal, so all good there too, which makes me happy.
Other than that she wrote me out a prescription for an ultrasound, which I'll get somewhere between 16 and 18 weeks, she'll be organising the appointment with the diagnostic center, one nearby where we live, and I'll have to go there.
She also wrote me a volountary prescription for a triple screen test. Now the triple screen test is a blood test where they test your hormone levels, and test for genetic abnormalities like down's syndrome. She did tell us that this test is fairly controversial, as it has a reputation for having a lot of false positives. These positives, false or not, would mean more invasive testing, like amniocentesis, cordocentesis or chorionic villus sampling. Both of those procedures involve sticking a needle through the abdominal wall to take samples of either fluid, umbilical blood or the placenta. Needless to say, not fun. Add to that the fact that the amniocentesis carries a 1 in 200 risk of miscarriage, and the CVS a 1 in 100 risk (according to info I found online).
I'm still tossing up whether or not I want to take the Triple Screen and run the risk of having a false positive, as I am not in a risk category (no family history, under 30/35). She's leaving it up to us to decide whether or not we do this test, she just pointed out the pros and cons. It would be nice to know, if the test turns out negative, but the idea of all the hassle and worry in case of a false positive is not pleasant. Though neither is the forecast if it's a positive result. We'll see.
She asked if we'd discussed prenatal/parenting classes yet, and she recommended a place that I'd already found a site for online (http://www.realbirth.com/). So this afternoon PreZ signed us up for their class package. It combines their (5 week) birthing class, with a breastfeeding class and a newborn class. You can get them all seperately, or together at a discount. So come March 1st we'll start on their Comprehensive Childbirth Prep class, once a week on Tuesday's, for the entire month. Then sometime in April the Breastfeeding class, and sometime after that the Newborn Care class. Both of the latter are just single classes. Arming oneself with book and internet knowledge is fine, but I'm sure hands-on will be a valuable help. Later down the line I also want to see if there are La Leche League (a breastfeeding organisation) meetings nearby to go to, also good for support, information and other breastfeeding moms.
Posted on 06:07 PM to: Pregnancy