A Pregnancy Abroad

There have been several “pinch me” moments in this pregnancy – several times where I just didn’t or couldn’t believe that this pregnancy would last.  Most of those moments came right before an ultrasound or Doppler reading of the heartbeat, and then subsided right after I was reassured that everything was really going according to plan.  I know I am not the first woman to experience infertility or a miscarriage.  That said, infertility and a miscarriage is nothing for which anyone can ever prepare, and are things which play mind games with one’s head.  As a result of the struggles Dave and I have encountered on our road to become parents, being blessed with a viable pregnancy at 20 weeks feels nothing short of a miracle.  Because I had become rather cynical about ever having a viable pregnancy, it took me well into the 10^th week of this pregnancy (a week after our first pregnancy resulted in a miscarriage) to stop waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop and realize that this baby might just actually make it.  Now that I am sitting here at the halfway point of the pregnancy, it feels surreal to think that I can now start counting down towards the due date of November 10^th.   Dave and I are both over the moon with excitement for our upcoming bundle of joy.  Still, there is a part of me that can’t totally believe that this pregnancy has gone so smoothly.  I had become a little jaded from the scars left over from trying so hard and so long to get pregnant, in addition to the trauma of the miscarriage followed by surgery.  However, each time we get to see our baby on the ultrasounds and get to listen to its heartbeat on the Doppler propels us over the rainbow after the storm.  All four times we’ve seen our baby’s image on the screen has brought tears to our eyes, and the heartbeat Doppler scans have caused us to become speechless at being able to hear the miracle that keeps growing inside of me.

The care we have received in Belfast with the National Health System has been wonderful and very positive.  Dave’s tax money at work has brought us free health care which has proven equal if not better to the care we received in the U.S.  Our only complaint is that we have to leave it here in January!  There are several options for prenatal care in Northern Ireland.  We have opted for what is known as “shared care” where one goes back and forth between one’s GP/midwife and the hospital where the baby will be born.  I have to admit it is somewhat amusing to physically carry the thick mint green folder containing all of my medical records back and forth between the two establishments; there is even an intimidating boldfaced note on the front of the folder that reads “bring these records with you when you arrive in labor” (we hope we can remember that when the time comes!).  I received the mint green folder at the 12 week “booking appointment” (a 4 hour appointment where they take detailed ultrasound pictures, lots of your blood, a lengthy family history, have a chat with the attending OB, and receive a fat plastic envelope containing months worth of light reading for the “New Parent-To-Be”).  The next exciting appointment was the 20 week scan (ultrasound) where we learned we have a perfectly healthy baby, albeit a very active one who was doing a lot of shadow boxing.  We have also learned that our midwife will be attending to us at the birth, not a doctor.  From what we have gathered, no self-respecting doctor would be caught dead in a “normal” delivery.  OB doctors are on hand only for deliveries which involve complications beyond a midwife’s training.  The midwife care we have received thus far has been very professional, though, and has not made us feel lacking in the least.  We have also been told to expect roughly 8 hours for recovery in the hospital post-delivery before we are sent on my way home with our newborn, assuming that the baby passes its first physical with flying colors and is able to keep down two feedings (however, if it is late at night they let you stay until morning; the midwife told us that the latest she has sent anyone home was 8:00 pm).  The next day the midwife will then come to our house to see how things are going and to answer any questions we might have.  After that, the mad scramble for getting our baby’s passport will start so we can bring it back with us in January (of course it would be a child of Dave who has to use his or her passport within the first two months of its life).  Until then, we are looking forward to the last 20 weeks going as smoothly as the first 20, and are looking forward to the arrival of our little miracle in November.