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| Blood Pressure Monitor |
My midwife recommended I get an automatic blood pressure monitor. I have a cuff and stethoscope and I'm comfortable taking my blood pressure with that, but she felt the automatic monitor might be easier and more accurate. It was like Christmas to get one and bring it home.
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| Traditional Blood Pressure Cuff |
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| Doppler |
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| Fetoscope |
I don't have a history of blood pressure problems or other pregnancy complications, but I'm getting these things as part of my plan to take charge of my prenatal health. As I talked with my midwife about these things yesterday she also suggested that I bring home the file she started for me, and use that to track my prenatal health. She asked me to bring the file to each of the five prenatal visits and she said:
"You're responsible, which is really true for everyone, but they don't always take that responsibility."
"You're responsible, which is really true for everyone, but they don't always take that responsibility."
And that statement pretty much sums it up for me.
I bought a doppler when I was pregnant with my last baby and every time I used it my baby would quickly move away from it. I had the distinct feeling that it really bothered her. I can't remember where I read it, (maybe Sarah Buckley's book) but supposedly dopplers use a much more intense sound wave than ultrasound and it's quite common for babies to try to get away from it. If I ever get pregnant again I've decided to not use it. Even though it's tempting to hear that reassuring heartbeat I always felt like I needed to apologize to her afterward. Combine that with the safety question and it's just not worth it to me. I'll just have to figure out how to use the fetoscope.
ReplyDeleteI do love how you are taking charge of your prenatal care, though. I think that's cool.