Preconception issues

After having to reschedule due to my sudden trip out of town, I finally got into see my new OB/GYN for a preconception consultation. You may ask why I’m not using a midwife and I’ll tell you. The progressive city of Austin's hospitals, not the state of Texas or the city of Austin, make it impossible to use a midwife for a hospital delivery. Due to my age and history, I am just high risk enough that a home delivery really isn’t recommended. It's times like this that really make me miss New York. New York is one of the most midwife friendly states that there is. May I please go back home now?

When I used the midwives at Strong Hospital in Rochester, New York, I received exemplary care. I guess, I'm just not comfortable with using an OB/GYN and this first visit really hasn’t helped endeared me to the idea. It started out bad and just got worse. Instead of seeing the doctor I made my appointment with I discover two minutes before she walked into the room that I would be seeing a different doctor today. I was not amused. She spend five minutes with me in consultation during which time she explains to me a woman’s fertility cycle. Thanks I learned that when I was sixteen and was trying not to get pregnant. She then hands me a bag of samples for 7 different kinds of prenatal vitamins. She says “Let me know which one you like the best and call me when you get pregnant. If you aren’t pregnant is six months we’ll take more aggressive measures. See you then.”

She seemed to have no concern about my general wellness, eating habits, weight, or job duties. In fact I don’t know if she even knew my name. The thing that really bugged me is that she didn’t even ask one question about my previous pregnancy. Not one question! If I hadn’t written stillborn in big visible letters right near the to of the page I might understand this oversight, but I did and I don’t. Included with the bag of prenatal vitamins was a pharmacy written pamphlet emphasizing the importance of not doing drugs, smoking, or drinking excessively while pregnant and, of course, the importance of taking a prenatal vitamin.

I really feel like this lesson was designed for the lowest common denominator. This is preconception care watered down for the masses, not preconception care for somebody that is actually concerned about having a healthy, alive, baby and a safe delivery.

So being the nerd that I am, I went and did a spread sheet comparing the contents of each of the prenatal vitamins she gave me and my current multivitamin with the US RDA recommendations for pregnant women and the guidelines in my preconception book. I found that my current multivitamin is my best choice. I’ll need a little extra iron after my twelfth week, but a little conscious effort with my diet or a seperate supplement should make up that difference. All of these prenatal vitamins gave you more than is considered healthy in some areas and not enough in others. I don’t decide my preferred vitamin based on the packaging, I look at the nutritional benefit it provides.

A tribute to the proactive nature of having a blog: After originally writing this post up, I thought I would just double check and see if there were any midwives in town permitted to do hospital deliveries. There aren’t. However, I did talk to a very reputable midwife in town who listened to my concerns, gave me some information on where to get excellent care that I would be more comfortable with. She did also mention that I might consider talking to a therapist about these issues. What me? Sound a little anxious? I’m not even pregnant yet, just wait!