And things were going so well ...

At my last midwife appointment, I also received some troublesome news. Everything is fine with me and Baby Rhody, but my midwife gave me some news which brought be back to the anxiety-filled days early in this pregnancy.

My midwife informed me that I was discussed at their last high-risk meeting, and, over her recommendations and the recommendations of my high-risk / OB Medicine specialist, the doctors have determined that I am to be risked out of the alternative birthing center, due to the fact that I am on Lovenox.

Overall, this is not a huge deal. In theory, I can still have an intervention-free birth in a regular hospital room. The rooms, of course, aren't as nice. I will have a hospital bed instead of a queen-sized bed. I won't have my own tub to relax in, but I'll have a shared tub (with a 30-minute limit). But what's important is that I can still have a healthy baby, and there are a million reasons why I could have been risked out.

But what bothers me, what has had me tossing and turning all night, is that these doctors overruled the two caregivers that I've actually spoken to. Not only that, but they started attacking why I'm on the Lovenox anyway, when that's not "necessary" for the prothrombin mutation. What kills me is that I was told I was risked out because I am a bleeding risk; this is laughable because a simple physical exam would show them I am not a bleeding risk. If anything, I am still a clotting risk, which is part of why I want a natural birth. I need to stay up and moving around if I want to have the least risk to myself and the baby.

Irony of ironies, there is an article that just came out in the hemotology journal Blood Coagulation Fibrinolysis that says the prothrombin mutation is much more deleterious than previously thought, and is, in fact, worse than the Factor V Leiden mutation, which is the one that more doctors recognize. But, hey, no one asked me.

So I'm not giving up the fight, but I'm also working on Plan B. When I meet with my high-risk doctor again, I am planning to go over the birth plan with her. Originally, I had wanted to stay on the Lovenox until the end because I don't plan on having an epidural, but my midwife is concerned that if the baby was in distress and I needed an emergency C-section, that would become a problem. So we'll see that the high-risk doctor says.

Also, I've stepped up calling back those doulas. If I already have doctors overruling my primary providers, if I'm going to be put in a position where I'm more likely to have interventions pushed on me, I need someone who knows my situation and can be my advocate. I have one coming over on Friday and one on Sunday. I guess I'd better get started on cleaning the house!

It's never simple, is it? Why can't I be one of those 80-85% of women who get pregnant and have a baby with no complications? I keep hoping they will have this mutation stuff figured out by the time we are ready to TTC #2, but I'm not holding my breath.