Friday, July 27, 2007

"Lesion" update

I had a midwife's appointment yesterday so I asked her to look at my cervix. Yes, I specifically said "please take a look at my cervix." She waaay over-apologized and over-warned as she greased up her speculum and inserted it, leading A. to believe that pelvic exams are painful (which, for me at least, they are not). And she saw... nothing. Nada. Zip. No "lesions." Well, she did see a Nabothian cyst, which she described as like a whitehead on my cervix.

She rolled her eyes at the emergency doctors, their diagnosis of lesions, and their insistence on me making sure I got follow-up care. I don't know; I really liked the doctors, though since they have to be such generalists I don't expect them to be particular experts on cervical changes in pregnancy. So it turns out all my extensive googling into possible causes of cervical lesions, and endometriosis, was for nought. At least if I had had endo, I would have been in good company.

We did some quick follow-up on my quad screen (screen negative for everything), and my ultrasound. The only thing she noted about the ultrasound was that it shows I have an anterior placenta. An anterior placenta is totally normal, though it can make fetal movement a little less noticeable, and there is a very small amount of evidence indicating that an anterior placenta may be associated with a posterior presentation. I guess I'll have to be pretty vigilant about following the posture recommendations at Spinning Babies.

I asked her if the ultrasound said anything about dates. She told me, but didn't seem happy about telling me. I found that slightly annoying. It turns out the ultrasound would recommend a due date six days before the one I have according to LMP. So, of course, I (and she) are choosing to ignore this. However, if it had recommended a later date, even by a few days, I would have asked the official EDD to be changed. It annoyed me that she seemed to think I didn't have the knowledge to interpret this data, and so didn't want to tell me at all.

She also recommended that we try to make appointments with other midwives in the practice. I thought I was seeing the same person (for every appointment but my first) on purpose. Apparently not. I'm glad she made that recommendation since I'm beginning to get frustrated with her. If there is anything I hate, it is being condescended to. Not that she's so bad I wouldn't trust her to help me birth a baby; she seems very hands off and relaxed, which I like.

4 comments:

Ciarin said...

By all means I would see the other midwives in the practice. You will want to meet them all at least so you knowthem when they walk into your room when you are in labor. Also when you find one you really like in the practice - do all your care with her. Maybe you guys will really bond and she will agree to be 'on-call' for your labor and birth. Some midwives will do this. I know I would.

Lesions...I think ER docs are jokes for the most part when it comes to women's health. They tend to look down upon it. They tend to demean women. For example you come in with abdominal pain...you get a pelvic. You have a headache? You get a pelvic. Jeez. (I used to work in an ER when I first became a nurse). The cervix becomes very friable during pregnancy, which is why even a little intercourse can cuase bleeding. It's not hard to makea pregnant cervix bleed. I wouldn't be concerned either knowing you had a negatve pap, no placenta previa, and no pain.

Dr Confused, try not to stress so much...pregnancy is normal. Most women do it without difficulty. I like the suggestion of getting yourself a doula - a well-educated one can really advocate for you and your husband if your midwife is not available to do so. Most importantly...pregnancy is normal.

Say it to yourself every day when you get up. Pregnancy is normal.

Dr. Confused said...

Wow, a comment from a midwife!

I didn't find the ER docs demeaning: I had vaginal bleeding; they did a vaginal exam. And they saw something they weren't used to seeing. I think it's just that they don't have a lot of training in the specific area of women's reproductive health. After all, they have to be generalists, as well as specialists in trauma and other kinds of emergency situations.

I think I must come across as more stressed than I really am! I'm actually pretty laid back. The midwife even commented on that during our last appointment.

JinxedMinx said...

Had to drop by to say I've been reading your comments over at Feministe - and being pregnant at the moment myself, I am so relating to what you said in the Cutting back on babies to save the earth thread!

"This is part and parcel of the culture that says that my uterus is public property. It comes out as women being pressured to have kids, women pressured to have one more so they won’t have an only, women pressured to have fewer kids, pregnant women being told what to eat (by strangers!), pregnant women being told when to walk and when to sit down, pregnant women being approached by strangers and touched, etc. etc. "

Despite the well-intent behind so much of it, I want to kick every single person who says "oh, you should sit down!" or whatnot. Drives me freaking mad. :)

Unknown said...

I am here from Feministe too, thanks for blogging over there. The Birth Fears conversation really hit home for me.

When I was laboring (33 hours!) with my son, I drank those Atkins protein shakes. They fell into the category of "allowed" but satisfied my need for protein. Strawberry was the only one I found palatable, but YMMV.