hear the army

whew – i knew having a baby was going to be tough, but i thought the 2nd trimester was when you could relax and enjoy it a bit!?! no such luck.

a lady who recently gave birth and lives near me just told me her story: she goes to the clinic at 3 weeks before her due date only to have the doctor exclaim, “the baby’s breech – you’ll need a c-section, but you’ve gained too much weight for us to do it here!”. so she had to go and find a bigger hospital/clinic that was somehow more prepared for the extra complications a cesarean on an obese woman might propose. THREE WEEKS BEFORE BIRTH. you think he could have told her when she weighed in over whatever the limit was for them to handle the birth should there be complications there!

this lead me to the realization that i better have my ducks all in a row and questions answered pronto. let me tell you, there is a lot to consider and weigh the pros and cons of regarding birt!

episiotomy
induction
labor position / birth position
2nd stage labor plan
when to cut the umbilical cord
when to start breastfeeding and how to feed while in the clinic
cesarean
can they handle emergencies/complications

and it goes on. most places recommend you come up with a birth plan to map out all of your requests but i have the extra step of figuring out all this crap in japanese too! (granted that was my choice – could’ve gone to some other huge hospital far away and i didn’t want to go to in order to have more english options but…)

so, i employ the help of my japanese tutor. now granted, she had her baby 30 years ago but when i started proposing the questions i wanted to ask she looked at me shocked and asked, “if you don’t trust your dr. to just make all the right decisions, why are you going there in the first place?” then told me i probably shouldn’t ask all this as i might OFFEND the doctor!?! haha. gotta love the traditional thinking sometimes.

i suppose if i could just let go and say – hey doc, do what you like just make sure me and my baby are alright – and kick back, my life would be a lot easier too but i tend to go into a panic when i don’t know what’s happening to my body so not an option for me.

the other great thing about birth plans is they always say “unless it’s NECESSARY”. great – what’s necessary? as luck would have it, seems like that depends on who you ask also! so you not only have to ask if they can accommodate your requests, but you also have to ask at what point do they deem it “necessary” and therefore above and beyond your birth plan?

i can already tell isseki and i will be arguing after the next visit.

damn foreign women and all their annoying questions….