Her brain is perfect, her heart is perfect, her organs are perfect. The umbilical blood flow is perfect, the placenta is perfect.
She was moving around the whole US (its amazing I can't feel most of her movements but is also reassuring...) and the Dr. kept remarking how healthy and happy she is.
Because she falls under the 10th percentile she is labeled as having IUGR, intra uterine growth restriction. I personally think that's bullshit because she IS growing and there IS NO growth restriction!!! The umbilical cord and placenta are normal and she has grown appropriately since the last scan she is just in the same percentile, she's just going to be petite.
I am small (under normal circumstances... right now I am obeese), B is small (he would protest and say average but he is only 5'8"), both my grandmothers who I take after were midgets!!! Not literally but you get my point. I come from small people and now I'm making a small person.
The true stress right now is the Dr. who did the scan suggested we come back in 6 weeks to check on her again. He very briefly mentioned that there was the small chance we would discuss whether or not the baby is better off outside the womb and induce but he felt confident that wouldn't be the case.
What a crock of shit.
I'm not doing that. I am done with any further testing or scans. I feel happy and comfortable with the information we have and I'm done trying to find something wrong. I don't know what my midwife is going to say about my decision and that may be a make or break deal with her...I don't know. If she is fine with my decision to do no more testing then great we don't have a problem. If she disagrees with me then I am going to find a new midwife. Find a new midwife potentially 7 weeks from full term...I am not freaking out.
IAMNOTFUCKINGFREAKINGOUT!!!!
Actually, I'm not but B is. First we need to not jump to conclusions about our midwife's stance. Second if the worst case scenario happens I feel like it will be OK. There are a lot of midwives in this area and I know I can find one that matches what I'm wanting in a birth/labor provider. Now, find one that takes our insurance? That's another stress but if we have to pay out of pocket for the experience and care that I want then so be it.
Tomorrow is the fucking 3 hr glucose test. I hate that I'm even doing it. It makes me so pissed off. I'm sucking it up in hopes of passing so I can for sure check that complication off the list to appease my midwife and cross my fingers that if I pass she will be ok to not do any more interfering medical testing. This is why I chose a midwife in the first place! If I wanted all the tests and machines I would have gone with an OB and hospital birth. That's not what I wanted.
Sigh, Things could be worse right?
Yay for Hazy's organs all looking perfect! Boo for getting the label of IUGR. It sounds like a load of crap to me considering she has been growing at a steady rate the whole time and your genetics are made up of midgets. I thought IUGR was a term for when the baby stopped growing suddenly. Doesn't make sense to me at all. I'll be very curious to find out your midwife's take on it. And you are right that there are tons of options for midwives in our area, so surely you can find one that is a good match. I think you should stick with your instincts and decline all future ultrasounds unless new symptoms/signs arise. I am full of opinions! Please completely ignore if they are out of line. I highly doubt you have gestational diabetes given your attention to nutrition/exercise and Hazy's small size. If you end up testing positive I will be shocked!
ReplyDeletePS. Since I'm a giant and come from a line of giants, I bet that if I had the ultrasound they would scare me into C-section/induction for the baby being too large. We've all got issues!
Thanks for backing me up! I talked to my mom's midwife who is best friends with Ina may gaskin last night for over an hr. So frustrating...she will deliver my baby for FREE but lives on the peninsula and cant come to seattle because she has a bunch of babies due around my due date. :( I don't want to go to her house, the thought of laboring in the car while we wait for the ferry, take the ferry and drive past Port Townsend does not sound like a good plan to me. She does not have a very high opinion on Seattle midwives...she says they are too concerned with liability issues and get a lot of peer pressure from other midwives to "play by the rules" (all rules created by Drs.) so that they don't rock the boat and stay in good standing with the hospital Docs. Very discouraging when I think about switching as it seems there will be no "good" alternate choice...sigh.
Delete*hugs* hang in there, she looks perfect and that is a lot!
ReplyDeleteUgh, it is stressful. But things will all work out, and you'll be looking back on this and laughing, wondering how you were so worried! I swear it!!
ReplyDeleteI know you are right but when I think about the chance that this might be my only baby, my only birth/labor I want the opportunity for it to go down exactly the way I want it to...
DeleteHi, it's been nice reading your good news, wonderful! I would like to encourage you to take the scan - in the end it's about making sure that your baby is doing fine, not about proving the opposite. I think the Dr means there is a possibility her growth would diminish in propotion to what it has been so far or even stop, and if so, she probably would do better outside.
ReplyDeleteThank you, good to hear from you again. I do have to say that I strongly disagree with you about the baby being better off outside the womb. If she is getting nutrients from the placenta and continuing to grow then there is absolutely no way she is better off being induced and coming out early only to get hooked up to machines and be denied the skin on skin contact and breastfeeding that is so so essential and important. I know you are not in the united states and health care in hospitals from Drs is a whole different story here than it is in Europe. Drs. here are always looking for an emergency that they can fix...they cant leave well enough alone. If her growth was diminishing I would have a very different attitude but she has been steadily growing and will just be small like I was and like my husband was. I can't tell you how many women I know were told based on US that their baby was going to be big or small only to have the opposite be true. It's crazy. Ultrasounds do not give accurate measurements and there has been no research done on the long term effects of US on fetus'/babies. My baby has already had 6 and I'm done.
DeleteYou're right, here the pressure is quite the opposite and babies are held inside as long as possible. I am used to taking Drs comments seriously. Then again, I am also a mother with stillbirth experience and known what it feels like when you'd do anything to change the way things are. In that world an extra scan is just an extra scan. This said, nobody knows what is best for your little one as you do.
DeleteI'm surprised they call it IUGR when they are just small-- their growth isn't restricted by anything, right? And isn't the worry with gestational diabetes that the baby will get too large? I clearly don't know enough about these things, but I'd encourage you to do what feels right. I would probably do the scan just because I'm such a worrier. However, I fully believe your baby is fine (growing at a steady rate) and will be if she is allowed to go to term. Some babies are big, some are average, and some are small. It's normal! Sometimes I feel crazy when I think that my baby would be perfectly fine had I skipped all ultrasounds, blood tests, and basically all prenatal medical care. Not that I suggest that, but I definitely think less is better!
ReplyDeleteI know, it is crazy!!! There are a few essential things to check (HB, blood pressure etc) but the rest is usually so unnecessary!
DeleteI'm glad Hazy's looking good. I say take out your claws mama bear, you know what's right for you and Hazy and like you said, you'll find someone who will agree with you. I hope that you pass your 3 hour test just so you have one less thing to worry about!
ReplyDelete:) Thank you Aislinn!
DeleteHow did it go with your glucose tolerance test? I suppose you won't know yet.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how the midwifery model in the states differs from here in Canada, but my midwife asks me for permission/my input on every single test. If I were to say no to one of them. she would accept it. If you explain your reasoning behind not wanting the ultrasound, I'm sure she will understand. From what I understand, the important thing isn't necessarily the size of the baby, but that the baby continues to progress at a steady rate. I only had 2 ultrasounds my entire pregnancy, the last one being at 20 weeks when they did the anatomy scan. I hope your midwife understands and you don't have to find someone else this late in the game. Keep us updated! xo