Why Midwives?

So, before I get too much farther into the pregnancy, I decided to address some questions about using a midwife as opposed to a Doctor. I am using certified nurse midwives, which are registered nurses who become certified midwives. They are highly skilled and well trained. They can prescribe medicine and are definitely medical professionals. They work with a supervising doctor, and were anything to go wrong, that doctor would be there to help out. Midwives have been around for thousands and thousands of years, and midwifery means "with a woman". Midwives endorse natural births, with the mother and family's wishes being the main focus. Midwives stay with you during your whole labor and delivery, as opposed to some doctors who appear "just in time to catch the baby". Midwives believe birth is a natural process, and want to interfere as little as possible. The instances of episiotomies and cesareans are much lower in midwives, because they don't believe they are usually necessary or beneficial. Basically, midwives encourage a birth to be as natural as possible, with lots of feedback and involvement from Mom and family. It's definitely a more natural approach to birth, which fits my vision of childbirth. I know every Mom decides something different, and I respect your decisions. For me, midwives and a natural birth are right for me. I'm not an expert on childbirth (I haven't even gone through it yet!), but I can have faith in this form of childbirth because I am relying on God to support me and be my rock. I know if ALL things are possible through Him, I can certainly have the faith to achieve the childbirth I desire. So far, my midwives rock and I love the people, the atmosphere, everything! I just felt so calm and happy at the office. I weighed myself and did my own protein test when I first got there and I felt..just at ease. Cheryl was so nice and gentle, and honestly it was the most comfortable pap smear I have ever had. And, I could tell she was honestly thrilled when we got to hear the heartbeat. She really cares and it's evident. She even involved Mark and made him feel important, which I really appreciated. I secretly love the "hippiness" factor of midwives. I use to want to be an Earth Mother type of girl, living off the grid in some awesome cabin in a deserted meadow, right next to a stream. And I would spend my days weaving baskets and catching fish. I would still like that, for maybe a month or two a year. An thankfully, Mark's family's house is Canada isn't too far off. It's on an inlet of the ocean, it's in a forest, there is no electricity or hot water, and you can spend your days fishing (probably weaving baskets if you wanted, too!) So, I like indulging in my love of all things natural. I like the idea of another woman, who has seen and assisted many, many births, being there to help me through the whole thing. I love Mark being encouraged to participate, and I already know I won't be embarrassed in front of a midwife. Okay, I'm done. that post went to really weird places. Oh, wait! There's one more really weird thing to share. I have been having insane dreams. So, last night I dreamt that I had the baby and I was showing it to my mom and sisters. And I said, "It's a girl!" And then I pulled back the blanket to reveal my sweet baby...and it was Gidget! I was horrified, but it got worse, when I realized she was licking my nipple, trying to nurse! YUCK!!!! That is so far my #1 crazy pregnancy dream. But, it was really funny. Mark laughed for like a minute when I told him that one. Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!