I joined this community because my husband and I are officially TTC! YAY! Even though coming off the pill has done weird things to my once-regular cycle, I'm excited to start the process
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I hired my doula (who is also my god-sister) the day I found out I was pregnant but that is certainly not the norm. lol I went to an OB first to have an initial ultrasound at 6w5d and then at 8 weeks I had my first official midwife appointment.
Down here, finding a local midwife is hard not because of popularity but because they are spread out and not as in demand here in America unfortunately... Mine is about 20 minutes away and the other option was about 40 minutes... even more with traffic.
Ooh, I have another question. Did you find it beneficial to have both a midwife and a doula? I was thinking of using my husband as my support person, but it might be nice to have a doula there as well.
Well, I haven't given birth yet but I had always planned on having Angie (my doula) with me. She is married to my god-brother and may as well be a sister to me. She is educated far more than I am and I think I'll feel extra comfortable having her there for me. Hubby will be great but I know if I start getting tired or discouraged, he'll just want to keep me comfortable as opposed to Angie who will tell me more bluntly on what I need to do. I was there for her birth of her last daughter and when she started having a moment of weakness in transition, she asked hubby to take her to the hospital and he was getting ready to. I brought her back to a semblance of reason and she made it through amazing. :)
Oh nice. I love the pictures :) Thanks for the info about doulas. I think you're right in that if/when my husband sees me in pain, he'll be driven to 'mitigate' the circumstances, even if the pain is necessary and a working pain. And a doula would definitely be more objective in that kind of situation!
I called The Midwifery Group on Main street in Vancouver basically as soon as I knew I was pregnant. I had no trouble getting in. I am super happy with their care thus far. I am 22 days away from my due date. Something to note is that they will be your primary care throughout the pregnancy so you will go see them for pregnancy related things, you cannot see a doctor at the same time and be covered by MSP. Although, if you say for instance, do something to your foot or need a prescription that's not related to the pregnancy, then you would see your family doctor for that. We are planning a home birth but are also registered at a hospital just in case. The Midwifery Group have privileges at Women and Children's and St Paul's Hospital. If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to DM me. :) There is lots more I can tell you!
Oh wow. That's place looks lovely. I wonder if they take women who live in the suburbs (I'm in Port Moody!). It's reassuring to know that you got in without any issues!
I would much rather see a midwife than my doctor for pregnancy. My doctor is really out of touch and always seems super rushed.
I might DM you and ask you more Vancouver-specific pregnancy questions :)
Yes, they do! Tamar works the front desk and she's really helpful. They'll probably want you to go get a test at your doctor first just to confirm the pregnancy and give you a tentative due date. The first visit it just really a get to know you type visit, and each visit lasts about 45 minutes. I think it's every 3 weeks until around 34 weeks and then it's every two and after 37 it's every week? I think that's correct. :)
It is lovely! It's not like a doctors office really, it's so relaxing. You will have to go to another clinic for things like ultrasounds and blood work but they find the heartbeat on a doppler, take your blood pressure and later on in pregnancy they will also do Group B Strep screening and urine tests for protein/sugar.
Definitely DM me if you have any more questions :)
Port Moody - I'm in Port Coquitlam! My midwife was Manijeh @ New Horizons Midwifery of Coquitlam, and I was also attended by Tamara from Beautiful Babies at the birth. You can totally get awesome care locally. It's also nice only having to drive 10 minutes with the new baby for follow up appointments after.
I called around when I was 12 weeks, and Manijeh was the only one with an opening. The opening only occurred because another lady's due date moved. Definitely call a midwife earlier than I did!
I had a doula too, also from Coquitlam, and I highly recommend her: Lynn @ Your Birthsong. My husband was all right for early labour, but men just don't get it quite like women do. I told her during labour, I don't know how women do this without a doula! I really appreciated her support in the months before and weeks after the birth, and I'm positive my labour went so swimmingly because of her.
I don't live in Canada, but I just wanted to wish you good luck in your cycle getting back to normal. Birth control made my cycle and me so crazy. I haven't been on HBC since I was 22-23 (I'm 26 now) and just wanted to reassure you that things will get back to normal. :)
And congrats! My Husband and I are tracing my cycles or anything, but we are not preventing anything either. So exciting !
Thanks :) I know it can take a few cycles for everything to normalize, but I definitely miss the clock work cycles I had on BCP!
Good luck & congrats to you as well. I'm super excited. We're doing the same thing you are - not preventing, but not actively tracking (although FAM looks kind of interesting).
Are you in Vancouver? Same as Buzzgirl above, I'm using the Midwifery Group on Main St in Vancouver. They cared for two of my friends during their pregnancies and both had good experiences with them. I was worried about not getting in, and called the day i had a positive pregnancy test, at 4 weeks exactly. The receptionist did giggle at me over the phone about that, so maybe it's not necessary to call quite that early!
Here in AB it can be difficult to get in with a midwife practice. 70% of midwife practices in AB have wait lists of over 20 women per month. The office I used said to call the second you get a positive pregnancy test. I called all three offices in the city as soon as I knew I was pregnant and they all put you on a wait list to start then they decide who they are taking by 6-7 weeks and see you for the first time around 8 weeks. I ended up getting called and accepted by two offices within five minutes if each other after waiting for 3 weeks with no call back. I don't know if that is typical, but it seems to be how it works here. My midwife was saying that they basically pick and choose from all the people that call so it it can't hurt to be extra friendly.
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I hired my doula (who is also my god-sister) the day I found out I was pregnant but that is certainly not the norm. lol I went to an OB first to have an initial ultrasound at 6w5d and then at 8 weeks I had my first official midwife appointment.
Down here, finding a local midwife is hard not because of popularity but because they are spread out and not as in demand here in America unfortunately... Mine is about 20 minutes away and the other option was about 40 minutes... even more with traffic.
Also, I could watch your icon all day.... lol
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Doulas are amazing. <3 Her website: http://www.yourlovingbirth.com/
I took the beach pics, btw. ;) lol!
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I would much rather see a midwife than my doctor for pregnancy. My doctor is really out of touch and always seems super rushed.
I might DM you and ask you more Vancouver-specific pregnancy questions :)
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It is lovely! It's not like a doctors office really, it's so relaxing. You will have to go to another clinic for things like ultrasounds and blood work but they find the heartbeat on a doppler, take your blood pressure and later on in pregnancy they will also do Group B Strep screening and urine tests for protein/sugar.
Definitely DM me if you have any more questions :)
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I called around when I was 12 weeks, and Manijeh was the only one with an opening. The opening only occurred because another lady's due date moved. Definitely call a midwife earlier than I did!
I had a doula too, also from Coquitlam, and I highly recommend her: Lynn @ Your Birthsong. My husband was all right for early labour, but men just don't get it quite like women do. I told her during labour, I don't know how women do this without a doula! I really appreciated her support in the months before and weeks after the birth, and I'm positive my labour went so swimmingly because of her.
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And congrats! My Husband and I are tracing my cycles or anything, but we are not preventing anything either. So exciting !
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Good luck & congrats to you as well. I'm super excited. We're doing the same thing you are - not preventing, but not actively tracking (although FAM looks kind of interesting).
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Same as Buzzgirl above, I'm using the Midwifery Group on Main St in Vancouver. They cared for two of my friends during their pregnancies and both had good experiences with them.
I was worried about not getting in, and called the day i had a positive pregnancy test, at 4 weeks exactly. The receptionist did giggle at me over the phone about that, so maybe it's not necessary to call quite that early!
Good luck with TTC!
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Everyone's comments have been totally reassuring that maybe I don't need to worry quite so much about not getting in!
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It must have been hard to wait for that 3 week period without any answers :(
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