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New Post Joanna Kimball! *crossposted*
Hey there Joanna, are you still going to use (did you use?) this birth
center? How has your care been? I remember you talking about this place in Baltmore 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) Original Format 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 |
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