Future CNMs

OH, and I posted on this thread earlier... my goal is to be a CNM. It would be especially embarrasing if I was a CNM, and was all set to deliver naturally, and then end up getting the epidural....

also, has anyone ever birthed or labored in the tub? How does it help for the pain?

[quote=cokegal19]OK, I have a question. It sounds like most of you have had children already. Did you all do it naturally, or did you get an epidural?

I have 3 kids. Did as "natural" as I could w/all of them.

1st one: I was 19 did LaMaze (it was the trend) and had a great teacher and my DH was the best Doula ever! Had 20 hr predominal labor. 4 hrs dilation and 3 hrs of pushing = forceps delivery (he was face up-oc posterior). Had 2 have a prudenal block for the delivery. So I guess I went natural.

21 m later I had my 2nd son (w/CNM) had an induction (9 days of false labor) then had a rapid L&D. 2 1/2 hrs, no meds. Very painful 2 b induced! Good thing I dialate fast!

3rd kid (daughter) decided I HAD to have a Midwife, insurance only covered a CNM. Went 2 her until my 7th m, hoping that she would decide 2 begin doing deliveries again b 4 my dd (I knew this going in, but hoped she would change the date she was returning to deliveries-the drs she worked under had a high C-sec rt and I wasn't taking ANY chances). So, I switched 2 an OB/GYN that I knew, and gave them my birth plan. I went into labor 9 days late (like w/ #2, but wasn't going for the PIT at all) and shocked the nurse when I came in 1/2 way through my labor and did not want the IV, meds or interventions that she tried 2 give me. She did win w/the stupid strupps ("hosp policy": yeah right, so was an IV, and I didn't have that!). 6 hr labor total, broken water, because of the strupps I pushed UPHILL for 1/2 hr (I push 2-3 x w/2nd one). No meds.
If u want 2 go nat, might I suggest a Doula and a Bradley class, my friend swears by Hypnobirthing. It will increase your chances of getting the delivery u want. And see a CNM or a Midwife (LM). Do a Birth Center or Home Birth too.
Good Luck! You can do this!!!
MJ

I completely agree with you here. I don't think midwifery has to be all about going natural but about the woman's wants and needs.

Hi, another future mw here I'm in a BSN program right now. My story is kind of like some of the others here, particularly the person who said she thought of being a doula or child birth educator, etc. before deciding on CNM. I actually did a childbirth educator course and then didn't do the student teaching part because by that time I had decided to just put the rest of the effort toward starting my prereqs for nursing school.

Unless we move to a city with a CNM program, I will probably be doing Frontier or Stonybrook also. I am sort of taking it one step at a time and will just have to make that part work when the time comes. As it is now, I commute 2 hours each way to my BSN program!

I do sometimes doubt myself, especially with all the swimming upstream involved in nurse-midwifery. However, I am lucky enough that I don't need this to support my family (as a matter of fact my husband doesn't even want me in school... another uphill battle to contend with; and I already have a BA degree in something else)... anyway, the point in mentioning that is that I'm really doing this to become a CNM or I probably wouldn't have gone back to school at all, so I hope my devotion is worth it in the end. I start clinicals this Fall so I'll be getting more of an idea if the whole thing will be what I had in mind - crossing fingers! I have loved all the nursing school subject matter so far so I hope it will continue. But it's a lot different to read things in books and to go and touch and interact with people (and wipe a$$, as my husband and some of his nurse coworkers never fail to remind me).

I had two epidurals before going natural w/ #3. I wanted natural w/ #2 and I think I would have done it if I'd had a more supportive nurse (i.e.... didn't say "you better get it now, you might regret it later if you don't, now's your last chance" etc). With number 3 I was more committed and I knew by then that I wanted to be a midwife so like you were saying, in addition to my own desire for the least amount of intervention, I wanted to be able to say I had done it both ways.

Unlike the previous poster, I did notice differences. I could move around the whole time (and by the way, being out of the bed was like 1000% better than lying in the bed, that was like torture when I had to get up there to get checked or something), I labored in the bath some, my labor didn't slow down like it did w/ #2, no urinary catheter or bp permanantly attached to my arm, I was up and in the shower about 30 or 45 mins after the birth, no sore spot on my back for months, etc. etc. Probably more if I thought about it a while.

To be fair, on the downside - obviously I felt the pain, and I was more tired when the baby was born (then again I had been up all night also, so it's hard to say)... It was definitely hard going natural but definitely worth it and I wish I had the right conditions and confidence to do it the first two times (even though the first two were fine and the epidurals worked right).

About laboring in the bath - with #2 I did for a while before the epidural and it was heavenly (wish I would have stayed there instead of being pressured by that nurse to get out and get the epidural). With #3 I got in for a while, but I was further along in labor than w/ #2 and I couldn't really get comfortable so I didn't stay in long -if the tub had been a round shape (wider) it probably would have worked better, I dunno, I was prolly getting to that cranky stage so who knows...but it was nice to be able to try it along with the other stuff in my bag of tricks...when you are at that point it is nice to have *anything* to pass a few more contractions, KWIM?

ok I'll shut up for now but I hope we keep this thread going

oh oh oh, but I forgot to say.. I would like to support my mw patients with whatever decisions they make for a birth plan as long as they have informed consent, which I don't feel that most patients get these days. I mean, how many OB's say "a low-intervention birth puts you at lower risk for ________, _______, _______, etc." Verrrrry few! More like "you do whatEVER you need to do, it's all very safe, and by the way, even better if you can do it before 5:00 on a weekday".

I got interested in midwifery when I had all 3 of my kids with midwives, and am planning on MOVING to another state to go to grad school for my CNM once this BSN is done in December.

The huge philosophical difference between the medical model and the midwifery model has been the basis for my wanting to go the CNM route. I have been working on this career plan for 5 years now, and hope to be in my dream job before 40.

We need to keep this thread going and try to snag some wannabe's who are in school, don' cha think?

ragingmomster, Have you done your OB rotation in your BSN program? I would like to hear how the experience was from the point of view of a future mw. I can't wait for mine but my peds/OB won't be until next summer or fall ('05).. I'll prolly chose Fall even though it's further away because it's a longer semester and I obviously want as much experience and training in OB as possible.

Does the grad school you are looking at allow direct entry before getting L&D experience? It seems like most programs I see require at least a year of full time experience in L&D.

I sort of thought it would be cool if I could be a CNM by my 20 year high school reunion (I don't know why, I don't even know if I'll go to the dang thing!.. I send xmas card to ONE person from hs and that's it! LOL! But I thought it would be a cool goal and a cool thing to say I do for al iving ...BUT like you, I may have to amend the goal to be by 40 years old if the rest of it doesn't go at a pretty swift pace

oh, and I didn't have any of my kids with a midwife!
The first one I was clueless, the second and third I was too far away from one. With the third, though, I used a friend of mine who is an OB and she pretty much let me have everthing my way so it was probably even better

ok, one more. I though you guys might like to see this if you haven't already:

Best CNM schools – U.S. News and World Report 2004

1. Oregon Health and Science Univ.
2. U of Penn
3. U of Illinois
4. U of Michigan at Ann Arbor
5. U of Minnesota at Twin Cities
6. U of NM
7. Emory U
8. U of Washington
9. UC SF/SF General Hospital
10. Boston U
11. U of CO at Denver
12. Yale

BTW, Emory has a "Family Nurse-Midwife" that is a CNM/FNP combo... I would love that but I really really doubt we are going to be moving to Atlanta (dh's job field is not easily transferable).