Midwife Care

So after I got on the doctor's books- via a brief check up with a nurse,  (Urine in a purse update:  I decided to just arrive early and fill the jar once I was at the doctor's office.) I went to my first appointment with Mandy on August 9th.  I was about 5 weeks pregnant.

Me on August 9th.  Having lunch at our favourite deli after seeing the midwife.*

Mandy is the community midwife affiliated with my doctor's office.  She's based out of a Children's Centre which is next door to the doctor's office.  The Centre seems like a really neat place.  Besides the midwife's office, there are all sorts of community services (like educational and recreational classes for parents and kids) available.  It's a cheerful little building that I can see using as a resource quite a bit after Baby Ameringlish arrives.

Mandy struck me straight away as just the kind of person I want involved in my prenatal (or antenatal, as it's called here) care.  She exudes a sense of professionalism and competence, while still remaining warm and friendly.  She gave us a giant packet of materials to look through later.

The packet 

The contents of said packet 

(Mostly useless. Lots of flyers and coupons and wasted paper.) 

Then she explained some of the general timeline to us and walked us through our official paperwork.

Our official maternity paperwork.  Apparently, this green packet is so official that it legally 

proves I'm pregnant.  The diary on the top right corner is just there to cover the section with

my personal information.  The packet is 21 pages long and is filled in with all my relevant 

information throughout my pregnancy.  

After a brief visit, and scheduling our next visit for 5 weeks later, we were on our way.
Yep!  That's right.  No physical exam.  No weighing.  Nada.
We left and it still felt more than a little surreal.  I hadn't known what to expect, but it certainly wasn't that.
I kept thinking that surely, someone should DO something.  Like CHECK that I was ACTUALLY PREGNANT.

Next up.  Our second midwife appointment.  AT OUR HOME.  Yep.  That's right.  They make house calls here.

Did anything about the prenatal process surprise you?
Did you want reassurance that you were actually pregnant from a medical professional?

*Funny story.  Ross posted this picture to Facebook and my Uncle commented that I was glowing.  Ross said, "Your mom wouldn't have told him?  Would she?"  I didn't think so.  After going public, we confirmed that it was just a coincidence.  I think the light in this deli is just really good :)