Newly Pregnant and Freaking Out
QUESTION
Dear Midwife,
My fiancé and I took a pregnancy test a few weeks ago and found out we are pregnant. A friend of mine is a labor and delivery nurse, and calculated that we are about 9 weeks pregnant. We still haven't made a solid decision on whether to have the baby or not, but I'm worried that I should be having my first prenatal/ultrasound visit soon. How much time do I really have?
ANSWER
Responsible women get prenatal care in the first trimester (before 13 weeks), so the good providers' practices tend to fill up by then. This is also about the cut-off in most areas (you should check) for a first-trimester termination, which is safer than second trimester. So realistically, by the time you get the counseling, etc., you have about 2-3 weeks to decide.
Meanwhile, you should be taking prenatal vitamins, abstaining from alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs, eating healthy and getting exercise (all good things anyway!) in case you choose to carry the pregnancy. It sounds like you have a difficult decision to make, and I wish you well.
--Cynthia, CNM
Cynthia Flynn
Cynthia Flynn, CNM. PhD, is the General Director of the Family Health and Birth Center which provides prenatal, birth, postnatal, gynecological and primary health care to underserved women and their families in Washington, D.C. Recently Cynthia served as Associate Professor of Nursing at Seattle University. There she not only taught, but remained in full scope clinical midwifery practice at Valley Medical Center where she cared for pregnant and birthing women, and practices well-woman gynecology, family planning, and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases.
Cynthia founded Columbia Women's Clinic and Birth Center, where she took care of pregnant women and infants up to two weeks of age and attended both birth center and hospital births. Before Cynthia earned her CNM, she worked as a registered nurse in labor and delivery and postpartum and is a certified Doula and Doula trainer.
