Jill,
I'm sorry that you had a bad birthing experience, and that your midwife was
pulling some inappropriate attitude with you regarding pain meds. I'm sorry
that you had to go through that.

You wrote: "I did not want to be in any more pain that I had to and would
want an epidural (and would let her know if by chance I didn't end up
feeling like I needed one). When they asked me what was most important to
me, I said the health of the baby- I will consent to any procedure
necessary, if it IS necessary, for the baby's safety, and also- it was
really important to me not to be in pain."

I do want to say that perhaps your expectations of no pain were unrealistic.
I mean, even with an epidural, you can't get through all of labor and
delivery with no pain. And, isn't it fairly normal to let the epidural wear
off during pushing so the mom can feel more accurately what is going on and
push better?

Also, you wrote: "But what happened....was traumatic, I labored for 18
hours!" Isn't that a pretty average labor time?

I'm sorry your labor didn't go how you wanted it to, and hope that when you
are ready for #2, you interview midwives, doctors, doula's, etc, and find
the best fit, regardless of the "title." As others have said, there are
good and bad in every profession. I do agree that your OB was wrong to "arm
chair quarterback." It's impossible to know how your labor might have gone
had you been able to make different choices. You might have ended up with
far worse pain from a c-section, you just never know. Hugs.

Congrats on a beautiful daughter. I hope that helps ease the memories of
her delivery.
--

Jamie & Taylor
Earth Angel, 1/3/03

Check out Taylor Marlys -- www.MyFamily.com, User ID: Clarkguest, Password:
Guest
Become a member for free - go to Add Member to set up your own User ID and
Password

Handmade Baby Blankets -- www.geocities.com/digit_the_cat/Blankets.html