Several years ago one of my dear friend, Suzie, was expecting her first baby. Suzie’s husband worked about 30 minutes out of town, and they only had 1 car at the time, and they didn’t have any family in the same state. I was her back up ride to the hospital if she was to go into labor while her husband was away. I would get off work and head to her apartment. We would always end up talking about various pregnancy and birth related topics. Since I wasn’t married yet kids weren’t in my near future. I didn’t know a ton about pregnancy and birth but I LOVED to talk about it and couldn’t wait to experience it myself!
Suzie had spent a lot of time reading books, and reading material to educate herself on all the different possibilities that could occur at any birth! She had planned on an un-medicated birth in a hospital and had done her research as how to achieve that. As a couple they attended a birth class and actively did the exercises that they learned in class at home so they would be prepared. At the time of all this I didn’t understand or see the value behind all that they did. I was pretty naïve. It wasn’t until a few years later when I got married and my husband and I became pregnant with our first son that I realized just how little I really knew. I reached out to my friend and started picking her brain with all that she knew and her experience with the birth of her baby! But even then, there was still PLENTY of research that I had to do myself. Morning sickness hit me like a ton of bricks! It isn’t normal to lose 25 lbs. in 5 weeks because morning sickness is so extreme! With several trips to the E.R. for dehydration I would always follow up with my OB. Unfortunately he just gave me a pathetic pat on my back and said “Eat more protein, it will help!” and sent me on my way. I may not be a doctor and didn’t have much experience being pregnant, but I knew something was NOT right! My OB didn’t seem too concerned about it, but I knew that this was not the typical morning sickness. I took matters into my own hands and after researching much on my own and talking with friends and family I quickly realized that I had all the symptoms of Hyperemesis Gravidarum and felt very strongly that I was one of the lucky few who get to experience HG (insert sarcasm). To make a long story short, My OB was not helpful with the questions and concerned I had and seemed to be very bothered that I even asked about HG. I quickly switched providers and after my first visit with my new provider and explaining my symptoms he quickly offered sympathy and agreed with me that I had Hyperemesis Gravidarum. We worked together to come up with a few different approaches we would try to help ease my HG. SO you might be asking how all of this relates to empowering yourself thru study and research. My cute friend was able to achieve her un-medicated hospital birth despite the fact that she had a few minor complications that arouse. BUT because she had put the time into study and research she knew what to do to handle different situations. She took the time to find a care provider she felt would support and encourage her in her decisions. Together with her husband and midwife they worked out a plan on how they would overcome those obstacles so she could have the birth she wanted. In my situations, I could have easily just gone along with what my first OB said and eat more chicken and eggs in hopes my “morning sickness” would go away. It would have saved me a lot of time sitting at a computer which actually made me even sicker if I chose to be complacent with the answers I had been given. But we as women have an amazing power within us called Intuition. I was not ok with the responses I had received and knew that this was much more than just morning sickness. As I studied and read and researched more and more I came to find out HG and that it can potentially be life threatening. Mothers have lost their lives because of this condition! Your become malnourished, dehydrated, stomach ulcers, losing up to 10% of your pre-pregnancy weight in a short amount of time, esophageal damage, etc.… In my case, I was about 8 weeks along when it started. I tried to make it thru my work days without having to take many trips to the bathroom simply because I wasn’t “allowed” to. Around 10 weeks I was to the point that I was throwing up every 15-20 minutes, and it was just stomach acid. It was horrible. I took a leave of absence from my work expecting to return around in a month or 2 months at the longest. Those 2 months came and went with several trips to the E.R. and there was no light at the end of the tunnel for me in the near future. Consequently, I ended up having to resign from my position. It was really hard for me to fully enjoy my pregnancy and all the exciting mile stones you reach thru those 10 months. My decision to switch providers came as I learned more about HG, and researched the different providers that had experience dealing with it. Once I had switched to a different care provider and began to get the attention and care that is needed during such a difficult pregnancy, things began to get a little better. I was able to tolerate it much more then I had before. Don’t get me wrong, it was still no stroll in the park by any means! When I say better I mean in the fact that I kept rice crispy cereal, or rice Chex cereal down for more than 30 minutes!! That was a HUGE success!! But had I not taken the time to research HG and its risk, and different ways to manage it, and the importance of getting proper care, there is no telling what the outcome of my birth would have been. This is just my example of how educating yourself can make a big difference in your pregnancy, labor and delivery! There are hundreds of stories out there of success stories that were successful because they took the time to research, to become knowledgeable and then were able to form their own decision based on their knowledge and intuition! NOT to say that if you don’t research and study that you won’t have a successful story, but you will be much more empowered and involved in the decisions that occur during pregnancy and birth. I wish you all the best of luck and success in your journey!
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Cinda FishHi, my name is Cinda and I have a Pregnancy and Birth addiction. But seriously, I could talk about it all day long! Archives
August 2016
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