I had an Unassisted Pregnancy - True Story

The trend of providing your own prenatal care is growing with a lot of Mothers who are tired of conventional and over managed pregnancies.

I was one of those mother's. No, I do not have a mental illness or a drug problem. I also had perfectly good health insurance. However, I felt I actually had very little in the way of options during my pregnancy, unless I wanted a highly managed pregnancy. I didn't. I also did not wish to do any prenatal testing or ultrasound's. In fact I learned to trust my intuition and trust my body to grow my baby the way it was designed to.

I know how unheard of this may sound to some. I assure you it is a growing trend with women taking back the most precious time in their lives and taking responsibility for their health.

I chose an unassisted pregnancy because my previous pregnancy was highly managed by a group of midwives which also resulted in the development of white coat induced hypertension. After that developed it was all downhill from there. I was subjected to unwanted interventions that spiraled out of control leading up to a cesarean birth. I don't know 100% that my cesarean was warranted, but I do know the health care professionals I hired (and paid) failed me miserably. After my cesarean I developed grave complications that took months for me to recover from and I could have very well died. I was not willing to repeat the process again with my second pregnancy. Being that I had a previous cesarean though, meant I was high risk right off the bat, under the care of any medical professional in my state. I really had very limited options, I wished to avoid it all and I did just that.

It may seem radical but I assure you I did months of research on all of the risks, outcomes and possible scenerios. I took back my body and my pregnancy! I was not making any uninformed decisions in haste. They were logically thought out and the pros and cons weighed heavily as well as the risks studied in detail. Many would feel what I did was irresponsible, but with the way health insurance dictates hospital policy I feel I had a very high chance of being coerced into a repeat cesarean. The way I wished to continue with my pregnancy would have never been accepted in any medical or midwifery practice. Mandatory testing being the biggest factor. I did not wish to subject myself or my growing baby to invasive and needless prenatal testing when I had a perfectly normal and uneventful previous pregnancy, that is until unneeded and unwanted interventions by overzealous health care worker's took place. My problems began and ended with the medical model of birth with my first pregnancy. I was not about to repeat that mistake.

So how did I keep tabs on my health during my pregnancy? Other than the prenatal testing I did everything a midwife or OB/GYN would have done for me during my pregnancy. This includes buying urine test strips to test my urine for the presence of protein and sugar. Weighing myself regularly and keeping track of my blood pressure. As well as renting a Doppler to hear the baby's heartbeat. I kept a log book in case I developed any symptoms that would warrant a Dr.'s or midwife's care. I didn't and my pregnancy was blissfully uneventful. The total cost of my prenatal care was about $50. No rushed visits with the midwife and no invasive exams were needed. I kept vigilant track of my baby's positioning during the last few weeks as well because that was one reason my first baby was born by cesarean. Due to malposition and failure to descend.

Fear of the unknown was one of the greatest teachers and it taught me a lot about trust and also how strong and capable a woman's body really is. Birth is sometimes so medicalized and highly managed in our society and it doesn't always need to be that way.

It turns out I did have a complication during my birth with a retained placenta. This condition is called placenta acreta and happens when the placenta actually grows into the wall of the uterus. Had I done prenatal testing this may have very well shown up on one of the routine and common tests that is standard at 20 weeks of gestation. In turn, this would have caused me to worry for the remainder of my pregnancy and likely have been subjected to numerous needless testing. With my history of white coat induced hypertension this solidified for me, that I chosen the right path for me and my baby.

We as women need to draw the line at being treated like cattle during our pregnancies and take responsibility for our own health. I do not argue that prenatal care doesn't have it's place, but it can also be done by the mother successfully! I know it's not for everyone but it definitely was for me. My unassisted pregnancy was the most stress free and happy time in my life and I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat!