So, as I predicted by myself, Holly ended up in the hospital last night. No, she did not have the baby. Yes, Bill and I drove back from San Francisco around midnight. Yes, we are all very tired today.
Early labor or false labor or just uterine irritability seems to be why she has been co ntracting every five minutes for the last 24 hours. It’s okay. It happens all the time to pregnant women. Even Mommy~Dearest rushed to the hospital thinking that this was “it” with my FOURTH baby. You’d think I would know but clearly I didn’t. In the meantime, Holly and I are just chilling today. We have taken several easy walks, a nap, gotten pedicures and have been timing the contractions…still about five minutes apart but a wee bit more intense. No, we aren’t off to hospital yet. We have pretty much resolved to stay at home as long as we can be it hours or days or (God forbid) weeks. When we do return we are determined that the nurse who is so old that she probably attended my birth forty-six years ago will not be Holly’s nurse. Note to Nurse Methuslah: don’t brush off a patient’s intelligent questions about her care and your assessments. Just because my daughter is young and looks even younger without makeup does not mean that she is dumb as a post when it comes to her body and the physiological process of pregnancy and labor. She has taken the time over the last 30 weeks to educate herself about all things pregnancy and childbirth related.
At the risk of pissing off my maternal-child healthcare providers in the area, I have to say that I was not surprised to learn that this area was considered one of the worst places to have a baby.Access to good prenatal care in this valley is sometimes difficult. Case in point would be the very crowded office of my daughter’s chosen practitioner. While I am more than confident in the ability of Holly’s chosen practitioner, I find myself frustrated while sitting with her in the waiting room for her scheduled prenatal exams. I must be spoiled because although my OB-Gyn had a very busy, popular practice, I never had to wait more than 15 minutes to be seen by him with all of my pregnancies over the years.
But it isn”t just access to care and hospital beds availability here in the Central Valley. I find myself disturbed by the attitude of many materlna healthcare providers and young women of childbearing age here in this area. It would seem in comparison to the Bay Area, where I had all my babies and practiced for years in maternal-child nursing, that here women don’t actively seek regular prenatal care nor actively participate in ensuring good overall health for themselves and their unborn babies. At the same time, some, not all, practitioners seem to prefer compliant, quiet patients who just do as the good doctor or nurse tells them rather than question why or what other options they might have. In contrast is overall prenatal care in the Silicon Valley where women seem to more empowered to actively particpate in their prenatal care. At the same time, practitioners in the Silicon Valley seem to respect that their patients are bright, articulate women and treat them as such. Yes, what I am observing here is rather broad generalizations but the high infant mortality rates here as well as the number of women who receive little or no prenatal care in this valley compared to the numbers in the Bay Area suggest that maybe my observations might be worth considering. The laboring woman who comes into a hospital in this area who prefers to remain upright and mobile during labor and delivery as well as be an active participant in the decision making process is often viewed archly by my colleagues. A laboring woman shows up to a local L & D with a birthing ball might be looked at like she is crazy. I have attended enough deliveries here in two local hospitals to feel that the prevailing attitude is the best laboring woman is the one who is tied down to the bed in a supine position with an epidural on board and pitocin running into her veins. She is so much easier to manage…especially if she doesn’t question anything.
So having reflected on all of this I would put it out there that not all pregnant wome in the Central Valley are as dumb as posts when it comes to their prenatal care and their care during labor and delivery. They are bright, articulate, have taken the time to learn about and understand the processes of pregnancy, labor and delivery as well as the options that they have to ensure the safe delivery of a healthy baby. They are more than prepared to actively participate in this which means they just might ask questions or suggest other options you might consider. These women are of all ages and all races and all socio-economic levels. My advice to you is respect them as you care for them and support them. Perhaps this is the beginning to actually improving infant mortality rates here in the Central Valley.
