Baby is 24 weeks

I'm starting to feel uncomfortable sleeping on my back.  I toss and turn between sleeping on each side and get up in the morning feeling totally unrested.  :(  I haven't been walking very much the last few days so that could have contributed to my inability to rest well, too.  I'm now a firm believer that daily exercise should not be underestimated in the benefits one derives from it. 

This is such a small thing to go through to get to my reward that I'm definitely not complaining.

Here is an article that shows how hospitals are still manipulating women during childbirth.  I think most people don't even realize that they and their baby become wards of the hospital when they check in.  Statism has barged into hospitals and no one even minds. 

Part of a hospital birth is the medicalization of a normal life event.  I once read an article I wished I had kept.  The author stated that the high cost of medical insurance could be cut if certain non-life threatening events were not automatically covered like prenatal care and childbirth.  His reasoning was that unlike diseases and illnesses, pregnancy is neither and one can and should save up for the fees associated with it.  Probably most people would disagree with him but I can totally see his point.  Auto insurance doesn't pay for routine maintenance either.

Why do people not question the validity of all the tests and procedures they are subjected to by doctors?  I applaud my son for forgoing IV sedation during his wisdom teeth extractions.  The dentist gave him no other option but Max read the risks involved and decided he would rather go the safer route without additional drugs.  I guess the answer to my question may lie in our trust of medical professionals.  We expect that they would act in our best interests.  It's easier to submit to their authority rather than to question it. 

I've gone through four pregnancies and births without any kind of testing and have found that my trust in God has increased and my worries have decreased.  (I do use dipsticks for confirming pregnancies.)  I've missed out on hearing the baby's heartbeat, but really I didn't need even that to give me assurance that my baby is indeed there in my womb.  I am not convinced that the doppler is really all that safe for babies anyway.  :)
How many know that the doppler utilizes ultrasound technology?  Who cares?  Well, I do.  And my advice is to ask your midwife to use a fetoscope instead of the doppler.  There's no reason why you can't also listen with the fetoscope.  Ask the midwife to get a longer cord.  :)  After all, you are paying for her services, right?

This is a great article about making wise decisions about technology in birth.

I'll just quote this one paragraph from the article.

"Is the increasing use of technology saving the lives of more pregnant and birthing women? In the United States the scientific data show no decrease during the past 10 years in the number of women who die around the time of birth (maternal mortality). In fact, recent data suggest a frightening increase in the number of women dying during pregnancy and birth in the United States. So it may be that the increase in the use of birth technologies is not only not saving more women's lives but it is also killing more women. This possibility has a reasonable scientific explanation: cesarean section and epidural anesthesia have both been used more and more in this country and we know that both cesarean section and epidural block can result in death."