I LOVE my obstetrician and his 'funny' little theories...

[smiles4u]

Geez, i'm soooo jealous Fiona as i remember my OB reminding me on nearly appointment that i'm of an older age & he would look at me with a glare over his shoulder like i'm doing something wrong ... Yeh, like i didn't know my own age thanks very much

Well, i had a drug-free labour at the age of 40 and had a beautiful healthy baby ... what more could anyone ask for ... So, i say thumbs up to your OB Fiona (and thumbs down to the twit i had ... might i add two gorgeous midwives helped my DD enter this world & they both came to her 1st b'day party !!!)

[BellyBelly]

Shoe size and pelvis size???

Pelvises I Have Known And Loved

One of the midwife “tricks” that we were taught was to ask the mother’s shoe size. If the mother wore size five or more shoes, the theory went that her pelvis would be ample. Well, 98 percent of women take over size five shoes so this was a good theory that gave me confidence in women’s bodies for a number of years. Then I had a client who came to me at eight months pregnant seeking a home waterbirth. She had, up till that time, been under the care of a hospital nurse-midwifery practise. She was Greek and loved doing gymnastics. Her eighteen-year-old body glowed with good health, and I felt lucky to have her in my practise until I asked the shoe size question. She took size two shoes. She had to buy her shoes in Chinatown to get them small enough – oh dear. I thought briefly of refreshing my rusting pelvimetry skills, but then I reconsidered. I would not lay this small pelvis trip on her. I would be vigilant at her birth and act if the birth seemed obstructed in an unusual way, but I would not make it a self-fulfilling prophecy. She gave birth to a seven-pound girl and only pushed about twelve times. She gave birth in a water tub sitting on the lap of her young lover and the scene reminded me of “Blue Lagoon” with Brooke Shields - it was so sexy. So that pelvis ended the shoe size theory forever.

Another group of pelvises that inspire me are those of the pygmy women of Africa. I have an article in my files by an anthropologist who reports that these women have a height of four feet, on average. The average weight of their infants is eight pounds! In relative terms, this is like a woman five feet six giving birth to a fourteen-pound baby. The custom in their villages is that the woman stays alone in her hut for birth until her membranes rupture. At that time, she strolls through the village and finds her midwives. The midwives and the woman hold hands and sing as they walk down to the river. At the edge of the river is a flat, well-worn rock on which all the babies are born. The two midwives squat at the mother’s side while she pushes her baby out. One midwife scoops up river water to splash on the newborn to stimulate the first breath. After the placenta is birthed the other midwife finds a narrow place in the cord and chews it to separate the infant. Then, the three walk back to join the people. This article has been a teaching and inspiration for me.

That’s the bottom line on pelvises – they don’t exist in real midwifery. Any baby can slide through any pelvis with a powerful uterus pistoning down on him or her.

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

My old boss told me I'd give birth naturally with size 10 shoes... fat chance. It's more down to the support than the shoes. True for all life. Even in shoes it's more down to the support than the shoe.

I was told off for measuring too small with the fundal height and sent for extra scans as I was clearly starving my baby - I wasn't putting on weight either so I must be on a diet.

I was told personal depression and a family history of depression and PND meant nothing, I'd be fine, don't worry, not even a comment in my notes.

I never freaked out about pain relief because I knew I wouldn't need it to give birth - I didn't get to do that so did need pain relief, much to the satisfaction and "I told you so" of the midwives.

And this is part of the reason I'm not ever going to have a baby or give birth.

[Epacris]

Fiona, thanks so much for sharing, I really enjoyed reading that!

I LOVE my ob too. I found him when I needed a D&C (my first pregnancy was a blighted ovum) and now he's been with me on my journey to DS and DD.

The thing I loved about him most was he would constantly say with great enthusiasm "You're a Natural!". Who knows whether I actually was natural or not but, it made me feel like I could be. Those little boosts of confidence can just make all the difference.

[Nai]

I don't know about all of them but I know that I have really good skin elasticity and have fallen pregnant twice in the first go (yes the ACTUAL first try - twice) at the ages of 33 and 36 when I should technically have declining fertility..... so maybe some truth there.

[Meo]

Hi Fiona, I'm in Northcote too, just wondering if you could tell me the name of your Ob? I may be in the market for one soon as my fertility specialist just makes the babies, doesn't deliver them

Thanks.

[Jellyfish]

He sounds like a good guy! I absolutely adore my obstetrician, also! He didn't have many theories but was so kind and supportive. I had a drug-free labour with no tears, cuts or stitches and he said how proud he was of me -- it meant the world to hear that.

[BellyBelly]

Epacris - I think EVERYONE is a natural no matter what the circumstance, birth is a natural, biological thing, and the more educated and informed you are, the more confident and empowered you will feel. Like anything in life, I think confidence and esteem has to come from within - you can't rely on others to give it to you (hence SELF esteem ). I think with an Ob there can be an auto distinction of a medical 'expert' vs 'passive consumer' and it's not a healthy thing... you can still have a medical 'expert' and be incredibly empowered, natural and confident.

Like they say on the Business of Being Born, consumers can see the Ob as an expert giving them advice or telling them what to do and the Ob sees it as giving an option.