Wednesday, July 21, 2010

38 Weeks Ultrasound & Harlem Hospital



Yesterday morning we went to Harlem Hospital for our final ultrasound and Baby Agbai is doing well. She's measuring about 7 lbs and is long, according to the technician. She was asleep and really didn't want to be bothered. She kept putting her hands in her face too. At one point her face got really scrunched up and she looked angry. I felt bad :-( I put this up on Facebook, but here's the clearest ultrasound picture:


At night we had the 2nd of 3rd labor class at Harlem Hospital. It's not Lamaze, Bradley Method, etc. but just a nurse talking through different things we should know. There are two other couples in our class, and I like the smallness of it but boy, can our nurse talk!

The highlight of last night's class was taking a tour of the birthing center. There are five rooms and two of them were occupied during our visit, but the few times I've asked to see them they've all been occupied so I guess last night was a slow night. I do know they handle about 100 births per month and July is the busiest month, but I'm hoping Baby Agbai comes right on her due date like I did!

At the Harlem Birth Action Committee conference I went to a few weeks ago so many women had horrible things to say about their birth experience there so I was nervous but being able to see the center, see the staff and speak with the nurse helped. There were a few things I found disconcerting however:
  • Not allowed to have anything but ice chips during labor (I'd like to eat applesauce, drink Gatorade and broth); labor requires a lot of energy and it's unreasonable to expect a woman to birth during the hardest marathon of her life without nourishment
  • Everyone gets connected to an IV upon registration; if I'm in good health, hydrated and a normal delivery is to be expected I'd like to have the option of a heparine/saline lock
  • No birthing balls although online the website said they had them
  • A two-night stay is standard; I was hoping for one night
Despite these things, I think I can manage well enough in the space and I know Uka will be a good advocate for me! The things I did like about the birthing center were: 
  • Huge clean suites with spacious bathrooms and jacuzzi tubs 
  • Rooms are equipped with flat screen cable TV (we want to bring our Wii to play!)
  • The lighting isn't too intrusive; I asked the nurse to turn it to the highest level and it was more like spot lighting 
  • All charts are digital - no paper charting
  • Quiet and comfortable family room for waiting guests
So now I just have to sit and wait . . .

3 comments:

  1. gah, i couldnt eat anything either, and I hated it! I wasn't expecting to be sent to hospital, and hadn't even had breakfast! As soon as they brought Izzy back to the room after her bath I sent Byron to Taco Bell to get me something. I hadn't eaten in about 20 hours.

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  2. I was prepared (and allowed) to eat but I found that I didn't want anything. We ordered Chinese food that Friday night and I barely had an appetite. I had contractions all night and then my water broke Saturday morning. I didn't eat anything all throughout labor except for a few pieces of hard candy for my throat and the ice chips (refreshing!). I felt fine during labor...I just really didn't want to eat.

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  3. Well because I did not know I was in labor, my mother made me eat. I was not hungry, but I ate speghetti and greens (my preggers fav.) and an english muffin with peanut butter on it. So much for not wanting to eat. After getting my hair done and feeling some contractions in hair salon, my mom looked at me and said, "Call your doctor, you are not going to make it girl!" I was shocked but when I called they told me to to go to hospital. Christen and I were both in distress. Because of her size 9lbs two weeks before her due date, I was scheduled for a C-section the following week. Nevertheless, they asked me if I ate I said yes, but they still rushed me to operating room. I was like I just ate!! They said, "AND!!!" lol

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