...My · Devious · Friends...

Hello all!! I just joined because I found out last week that I'm pregnant!! This will be out first child :) I'm at 5 weeks, and this is such a wonderful thing! But ...

I'm so nervous. I found out because I went to the doctor, as I had been bleeding for 3 weeks. My "period" had come kind of late, and was associated with constipation and other weird issues. Well, after doing a blood test, they called me the next day to tell me I was pregnant! But they wanted me to see an OBGYN right away because of the bleeding. She checked me out, but since I wasn't clotting and didn't have any cramps, she just said everything seems okay, but to know that 1 in 4 pregnancies ends in miscarriage (DANG!).

So while I KNOW the bleeding is quite common, it's still stressful! And not being able to tell anyone is the worst part! It's such a good thing, and I accept whatever happens, but man, I can't wait until I get through the first trimester :(

Anyway, to top it off, because of the bleeding, I can't exercise (only walking!) and I can't have sex with my husband. Haha, way to go for my first pregnancy!! Anyway, Im just excited and nervous, and I wanted to share it with some friends! I go in on the 16th for my OB confirmation, so Ive got my fingers and toes crossed that everything is going smoothly!

( A pic of me and my husband! )

Back in 2003, birth certificate rules in the US changed to require that the birth location (i.e. hospital, birth center, home, etc) and type of attendant (i.e. MD, CNM, etc) be recorded. That has allowed the CDC to compile reliable data on the neonatal (first month of life) and infant (first year) mortality rate for infants delivered in various settings in order to determine what type of obstetrics care delivers the best outcomes. The report for 2004 can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr55/nvsr55_14.pdf and the raw data set for 2003-2005 can be found at http://wonder.cdc.gov/lbd-current.html. Amy Tuteur, MD wrote it up over at Science-Based Medicine. The results are quite clear -- the neonatal mortality right with direct-entry midwives (DEM, or CPM as they are now called in some states) at home is triple the rate for certified nurse midwives (CNMs) or MDs in hospitals or birthing centers. The neonatal mortality rates of a homebirth with a CNM is approximately double that in a hospital setting. This dataset and associate reports are US-specific, of course.

And there's one more thing... The Midwives Alliance of North America has compiled an extensive dataset on the safety of midwifery in the US. According to their data access policies, they have not and will not released this dataset publicly in any form. They will only release it to entities that can demonstrate, to their satisfaction, that they will use it for the advancement of midwifery, and back that up with an NDA. I have no idea what's actually in there, of course, but I've never seen anyone lock up data that says they're good.

ETA: Data tends to be rather impervious to insults and imprecations against the messenger(s).

I'm drunk and this is awesome.

YEAH BEBE GET IT GIRL

in conclusion

I wish I had time to post more fun things instead of angsty things. But I love you guys so much.

In second conclusion

I AM TOO DRUKN TO EVEN HANDLE THOSE OVERALLS RIGHT NOW. GET. IT. GIRL. I want her to teach me how to be fierce in overalls.