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Joanna Kimball



 
 
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Old May 11th 04, 12:38 AM
Sabine
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Default Joanna Kimball

Hey there Joanna, are you still going to use this birth center? How has
your care been? I remember you talking about this place in Bmore and went
and searched out the old message. I have a friend in Baltimore who has just
confirmed her pregnancy and this is the kind of place she wants! So details
please!

Sabine



From: Joanna Kimball (thenospacekimballsatintergatedotcom)
Subject: Baltimore Birth Center
View: Complete Thread (4 articles)
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Newsgroups: misc.kids.pregnancy
Date: 2003-09-08 22:19:45 PST

I had my first appointment today, at 5w4d. It was a trial of the Baltimore
Birth Center, where it looks like we will be continuing.

Review: The BBC is an adapted older house near Baltimore Hebrew University.
The offices and exam room(s)--I only saw one but I assume there are
more--are in the basement of the house, birthing rooms on the first floor.
The lower level is rather dungeon-y and HEAVILY over-patchoulied (I can
still smell it all over my clothes), which is a minus, and the exam rooms
are small and old. The birthing rooms upstairs, however, are very lovely,
with four-poster beds, the typical plastic queen-sized mattresses, and
attached baths with enormous whirlpool tubs. A full kitchen, dining room,
and several living/sitting rooms are also available upstairs and an entire
family-in-waiting would be very comfortable. Other plusses: none of the
birthing rooms have cradles or cribs, meaning that they intend you to sleep
with your baby, and water births are allowed and encouraged.

There are three midwives currently employed, and they are adding a fourth.
All are CNMs, and are very proud of the fact that the BBC is one of the only
freestanding nurse-owned centers; it is not attached to or affiliated with
any one hospital (though most transfers go to Maryland General, 10 minutes
away). I had the appointment with Evelyn, a lovely African-American lady who
was a pleasure to talk to. She has a very wise-woman feel, and is even more
"midwifey" than the midwifes at the birth center in MA where I had my first
two kids. She talked much more about water intake, nutrition, herbs, and
self-care than I have ever had at a first appointment. She spent more than
an hour with me, including a complete physical, and was never hurried. They
let me immediately sign waivers for a ton of stuff: STD screen, GTT test
(thank God--that's the worst part of the entire pregnancy for me) and "eye
goop" for the newborn. They won't make me take antibiotics during labor even
if I am GBS positive as long as I don't have a prolonged time between water
breaking and labor starting.

Let's see what other details I can remember: They have birth chairs, the
aforementioned tubs, encourage position changes in the second stage, and
don't risk you out for anything but a very good reason. For example, Evelyn
said that they were "supposed" to transfer macrosomic deliveries. I asked
what that was (since I've had a 9-lb baby), and she said about 5000 grams. I
then asked how they determined the size of the baby, and she basically said,
we don't. As long as you are progressing normally they have a don't ask
policy on size :-). There have been 11+ lb babies born there, so they
clearly have experience. No labor timing (the clock doesn't start when your
water breaks). You typically go home between 4 and 7 hours after the birth
(this is slightly shorter than the 12 I stayed with my first two) and they
provide in-home visits for a couple of days. They don't have a pediatrician
relationship, so you need to bring the baby to the first checkup yourself
within 72 hours of birth.

I left with hundreds of pages of information (they plainly serve a
low-income community, so I have tons of stuff on WIC and nutrition and so
on), a scrip for a dating ultrasound, and an appointment in two weeks for my
initial bloodwork. The paperwork they give to everyone also includes (to
give you a flavor of what they emphasize): Bradley classes incl. contact
information, vitamins, minerals, and herbs (referrals to herbalists and a
list of natural food stores as well), recommended reading (Wise Woman's
Herbal is one of them), instructions for perineal massage, breastfeeding
(including how to select a breastfeeding-oriented pediatrician), prenatal
yoga signup (the class is taught at the BBC by a yoga instructor/doula), and
so on.

Anyway, aside from the fact that I'm going to come to hate the scent of
patchouli, I think it's a good birth center. Evelyn was certainly quite
impressive, and I like the fact that I'll cycle between three or four
midwives instead of eight or nine. I will let you all know if my opinion
changes!

--
Joanna
Meriwether, 6
Honour, 4
EDD May 04

--
Margaret B.
LeByte Computers
530-246-8621


 




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