Birth & Pregnancy

Today I went to Heart2Heart Birthing Center for a preconception consult and tour. My lovely friend Briana joined me and we asked them about 100 questions. I LOVED IT. The midwives were amazing and the facilities were precious! They answered all of my questions and I'm going back in a couple of weeks for a well woman visit. They're going to test my estrogen and progestin levels and give me a physical. Just to make sure that all is well.

The thing I liked the best about the birthing center and the midwives was that their mission is to educate you and make you an active part of your pregnancy & birth. You might say - "Of course you're an active part of your pregnancy & birth - IT'S YOURS!" This is not the case though. In hospitals the doctor makes all the decisions and sometimes their decisions are not done in your best interest. I want to have my baby without being in a drug induced fog. I want to only have a c-section is I need it and I want to know that my doctor is looking out for ME instead of trying to fit my birth experience into his busy schedule.

I'll get off my soapbox now. But seriously, if you do the research you'll see that the US has the highest instance of c-sections in the world. Also, Florida has a 30-something-percent c-section rate. The main hospital in Orlando for women and babies has a 53% c-section rate. My midwife/birthing center: 6%.

Okay, I'm done for real now.

Costa Rica blog post still in progress. I just got Shelly's pictures... still waiting on Tara's and I want to add their perspectives in before I post. Also, we did A LOT and this week has been extremely hectic and hard to find time to sit down and reflect the way I want to.