Today we went in for our last ultrasound at the R.E.'s office. It was kind of emotional for everyone, I think. We've grown pretty attached to our doctor, and most especially and nurses and ultrasound techs, throughout the past year. It was a nice way to leave though, of course, and the ideal way--pregnant!
Our scan today showed a 17mm pumpkin seed with a head, a spine, and a fast-beating heart (170!). A co-worker of S.'s is already predicting we're having a girl--apparently, she correctly predicted this of both herself and another co-worker based on heartbeats.
Now onto the scary part--interviewing OBs and midwives to figure out where we go next. Our doctor of course encouraged us to stay in our hospital, and kind of freaked us out. She claims babies conceived using IVF have a higher risk of preterm labor, even with a singleton, and since our hospital has the only NICU in the area, we should birth here. I've never heard this before and haven't found a ton of info on it on the web--anybody have experience with this or heard this before, IVF mammas? At any rate, we're going to meet with the group from our hospital tomorrow, then another one hopefully soon at another hospital we toured today. These birthing rooms were nicer than some hotel rooms we've stayed in, seriously, and the birthing tub was amazing! It really made up look forward to..well..everything.
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To be known, henceforth, as the makers of the cutest little baby in town.
16 comments:
i don't know anything about IVF and preterm labor...
but...i do highly recommend the midwifery practice we are using. let me know if you want more info. they've been great and i've only heard good things about the hospital and the nurses at the hospital they deliver at (not the one your RE is at, though).
on the flip side i've heard not so great things about the birth center at CDH. We did tour it (before we started working with our MWs - which ultimately was how our hospital was decided for us) and while the center is nice and shiny but i haven't heard many great things about it our the nursing staff there.
hey, congrats on graduating from you RE! i can imagine it's hard to say goodbye after all the time you spent with the staff there, but what a great reason to have to say goodbye! :)
I will be the same way when I have to leave my RE and nurses... hopefully I get there!
I have done lots and lots of reading over the past 2 years and have never heard that correlation between IVF and NICU... interesting....I will be interested to see what people say.
opps...somehow that posted anonymously - it was me!
I went 37 weeks 5 days with IVF twins. And that is long, IVF or not! None of my doctors warned me about preterm labor, etc. Or IVF and NICU. A lot of those theories...they're just that. Random. Another random theory floating around is that IVF is more likely to produce boys. And I have two girls! Good luck with picking doctor/midwife, etc. It certainly is an adjustment...especially when those weekly or bimonthly sonograms stop!
I was told that a low heart rate means a boy and a high heart rate means a girl. Who knows if it is true! L's was on the low side, so in his case it was true.
How amazing....isn't it though?
Great job ladies!
And sorry, I know nothing about IVF and preterm labor.
Lots of decisions coming up! Congrats on moving on from the RE, and good luck finding someone that suits you!
Midwifery was an amazing experience for us...I can't say enough about how female centered and "woman-friendly" it was with our midwives.
and using the birthing tub is amazing - go for it!
We had a great experience moving from high-tech RE to low-tech midwives. (Flipper was IUI, tho, not IVF, FWIW.)
Congrats on "graduating!!"
The connection between IVF and pre-term labor does exist but it needs to be explained. More more of advanced age use IVF to become pregnant and preterm labor is associated with advanced maternal age. So, simply using IVF doesn't mean you are likely to deliver early. It's your age, I don't know how old you are, so you can decide for yourself (and with consults from your physicians) whether you are candidate for a NICU need post-birth. Anyway, congratulations!!
Congrats on moving on from the RE! I wish you much luck finding someone to work with. I am a big advocate of midwifery care. Is it possible to work with CNM's that work with a hospital if needed? You two are so prepared, I'm sure you'll ask all the right questions and pick just the right fit. My thoughts are with you and wishing you more health and happiness!
Theory indeed! Go where you feel comfortable.
And heartbeat is no indication of gender - the kid had has a high heartbeat and there are no girly parts involved...
Oro
I don't know about preterm labor and IVF. I know when we considered IVF, I read that IVF increases chances of m/c somewhere and then read that it decreases chances of m/c somewhere else (they only put back good-looking embyros was the hypothesis).
If you are interested in using a particular OB or MW, then I think you should feel do it. If your pg becomes high-risk, they can always transfer you to someone else associated with the hospital that has the NICU. I wouldn't go in assuming your pg will be high risk just b/c you did IVF.
I know we didn't have the same IF saga that you both did, but it was really hard for me to believe that after the drama of TTC that I could have a low-risk, relatively uneventful pregnancy, but I have had that. True, I didn't do IVF. But, I think if you'd rather see how things go, you have time to do that. Or if you'd feel better going with a more high risk OB or one associated with the NICU-havin' hospital, then you should do that. Whatever makes you both feel more secure. But I really am hoping for a low-risk, amazing experience for you guys. You certainly deserve it.
By "high risk" OB, I meant an OB who specializes in "high risk" patients.
Congrats on a great heartbeat!
I don't know anything about any of this . . .but I DO know it is great to hear you processing all of this!! I am very excited for you both!
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