"The Business of Being Born"

This week I got to watch “The Business of Being Born,” courtesy of Netflix. :) I thought it would be fun to write down my impressions and share some of what I learned from the film.

First, for a little background, this film is a documentary about the maternity care system in the US. The point of the film was to expose some of the problems with the current system, as well as to give women some good information on the alternatives (midwifery care--homebirth or birthing centers). Overall, I felt the film was very eye-opening in a lot of ways. And it did a good job highlighting the positive things about OBs/hospital birth while at the same time exposing the not-so-good things. I didn’t come away with the feeling that they were completely knocking hospitals, but rather trying to show women that there are good alternatives, and that there is a lot more chance of receiving unwanted (and often unneeded) interventions in a hospital than there is with the midwifery model of care. Here are some of the statistics I jotted down as I watched the film:

~ Midwives attend 70% of births in Europe and Japan, and less than 8% of births in the US.
~The US has the 2nd worst newborn death rate in the developed world (that’s pretty scary).
~In 1900, 95% of US births took place at home. In 1938, half of the US births took place at home. By 1955, less than 1% of US births took place at home, and it remains the same percentage today.
~Since 1996, the rate of c-sections has risen by 46%. In 2005, one out of every 3 births in the US was a c-section. (There is something very wrong with this picture!)
~The US spends 2 times as much money per birth as any other country.
~People in our culture are likely to spend more time researching a major purchase such as a car, TV, camera, etc. than they do on researching their birth options.

I think one of the scariest things to me was the huge increase in c-sections. There is no way that that many c-sections are necessary. At least one of the OBs interviewed for the film admitted that there is a definite link between inductions and c-sections, which I found very interesting.

There were a few OBs that they interviewed who were very cool with homebirth and midwifery, and a couple others who had quite a negative attitude to the whole idea. One of them even said something to the effect that telling someone it was OK to have a homebirth was like telling them it is OK to not wear their seatbelt.

It was neat to see the interviews with midwives (particularly Ina May Gaskin, one of America’s most famous midwives) and to see their compassion and dedication to helping women have the kind of birth they want.

There is no way I can sum up the whole film in this post (since I would probably put you all to sleep anyway!), but I was really glad to have the opportunity to see it and I definitely recommend it. Even if you are not the least bit interested in homebirth, I think you would benefit from the information presented. A quick “disclaimer” just because: This was not at all a Christian film, and there is a bit of language scattered throughout (disappointing but not surprising). Also, there are several real births shown on the film, so it’s not something you would likely want to watch when your kids were around, and some husbands (like mine) may not be comfortable watching those parts, as well. These are not the “G-rated” vantage points of birth that you will see on “A Baby Story.” :)

I was glad to be able to see this at this point in my pregnancy, because it helped me get even more excited about my next birth. No, I don’t love the pain of labor . . . but I do find birth so interesting, and I love the end feeling of having just “conquered the world.” :) I really love watching births and reading/hearing others’ birth stories, too--maybe I’m weird, but it helps me as I gear up for my next labor and I just find the whole process so fascinating. It is so amazing how God designed us to take part in the miracle of bringing new life into the world!!

For more info, you can check out The Business of Being Born website, or this movie review from the NY Times.

34/35 Week Update

I had my 34 week checkup with Sherry last Monday, and am now at about 35 weeks. So here is an update for both. :) At my checkup, my weight was up one more pound, my blood pressure was normal, and baby’s heart rate was in the 130s-150s. I was measuring around 31 weeks. Baby has been hanging out on my right side for the past week or two; I often feel an elbow or knee or something poking out of my side. I remember Sam used to do that too, I’m not sure about Julia. Sherry felt for the baby’s position and he/she appears to be heading down, with the bottom up under my ribs. I’m feeling more pelvic pressure but I don’t think baby has dropped yet. I also have to use the bathroom a lot more . . . ah, the joys of those last weeks. :) I’ve been having more swelling in my fingers, feet and ankles, which is typical for me in the last month or two. I’ve given up trying to wear my wedding and engagement rings for the duration. I’m still guzzling the red rasp. leaf tea and water, and I can definitely see a difference in the swelling on the days when I drink the most. Heartburn has been off and on . . . sometimes I’ll hardly have any for several days, then it will be bad again for a few days. The sciatica has eased up some, as long as I don’t accidentally sleep on my back.

I did a bunch of cleaning in various parts of the house this week, but I still have a lot more I hope to do before baby’s arrival! I also want to make some more freezer meals, and I need to dig the newborn clothes out of storage and wash them. I also have some more birth supplies to get ready, which needs to happen by the end of this week. I feel like the due date is really sneaking up on me this time . . . I’m ready to have the baby out, but I don’t feel quite ready for his/her arrival yet, if that makes sense. :) And if I go early like I have both other times . . . then I may only have 2-3 weeks left to get things ready!

Thanks to all of you who left comments about going from two to three kiddos (or more)--it was helpful and encouraging to read all your responses. I know we’ll adjust, and I may just not try to go out grocery shopping with all 3 kiddos for a little while. :) I do plan to use a baby carrier or sling, though, which should help when I do take them all out together.

I think we’ve finally narrowed our name choices down, to 3 possible girl names and 2 or 3 possible boy names. It will be interesting to see what we end up with. :)

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: OK, it’s time to start making your guesses! Take a guess as to the baby’s birth date, gender, weight & length. It’ll be fun to see who comes the closest. :) For a point of reference, Sam was born at 37 weeks and Julia at 37.5 weeks. My estimated due date is April 26th. And my first 2 kids were 5 lbs. 14 oz., and 6 lbs. 8 oz. at birth. Guess away!

32 Weeks

I had another appt. yesterday--can't believe how fast the time is flying! Sherry did the finger prick to test my glucose and hemoglobin, and both numbers were fine, so I was happy to hear that. My b/p is still fine, at 100/80. Baby's heartbeat was anywhere from the high 120s- high 140s, so plenty of good variety there. I'm measuring somewhere around 30+ weeks, and my weight gain is up to 25 lbs. total.

Baby has been VERY active lately. I *think* he/she is headed down, but Sherry couldn't tell for sure yet. I'm just thinking that because all the hiccups I feel are way down low. :)

I can have a homebirth anytime from 37 weeks on, so less than 5 weeks to go till I reach that point, which will be early April. I doubt this baby will arrive quite that early, but I wouldn't mind mid-April!

I've definitely got the nesting urge now, but I haven't had quite as much energy as I'd like. Hopefully I'll get a fresh burst soon, because there is so much I want to get cleaned and organized in the next month or two!

Well, I need to go make supper, so I'll close with the question of the week, which is:

For those of you with at least 3 kids, did you find it harder to adjust from having 1 to 2 kids, or from having 2 to 3 kids? I hear varying reports on this, so I was just curious! I felt like going from 1 to 2 was no big deal, but I admit I'm a bit nervous about adding a third! At least Sam is doing a lot of things independently now, and is old enough to be a good helper. :)