Making the switch

After weeks of waking up in the middle of the night with anxiety about giving birth and the fear of lots of medical intervention, I decided to get in touch with a doula that a friend of mine used. I thought that if I had a doula in a hospital that she could help keep things from going down the path of pitocin and epidural. Not to say that there is anything wrong with those things (I may use them again), I just want to avoid them if I can. After asking my doctor a series of questions each week, it became increasingly clear that we were on different pages.

During my phone call with the doula, she quickly urged me to switch to a midwife. Only thing is, I was 36 WEEKS. I mean, can you even switch that late? Well, I googled it and the latest you can switch is right before you give birth. Since I haven’t had nary a contraction I figured I was as good a candidate as any. I also asked the question on Facebook to get other mama’s responses and they all said to just go with my gut. It was so encouraging!

I made the call to the midwifery practice and they were beyond kind and helpful. They handled everything, including cancelling my appt with my OB for the following week. No awkwardness for me to deal with. What a weight lifted! My husband was a bit nervous about taking a complete 180, but being the supportive guy that he is, he drove with me to meet our doula and went with me to my first appointment with the midwives. I am SO glad that we made the change. Everyone we spoke to was like-minded and supportive of our wishes. I’m working on our birth plan right now and getting so pumped about the big day!

I’m curious if any of you also made a change late in the pregnancy game? Are you glad that you did?