Congratulations Salina!
It is understandable to have an array of emations at this time of your pregnancy. Gestational diabetes is manageable, but it can be complicated. Learn all you can about it from your OB/midwife provider, get in touch with a great nutritionist, and speak with an endocrinologist as well to manage your insulin injections.
You need to have a long discussion with your OB/midwife provider about what your plan of care is regarding this pregnancy and what your options are, so you can make an information decision that you and your husband are COMFORTABLE with. This is your body and your child, not the OB/midwives, so you are part of this decision-making process! I am a big advocate of natural birth, and I have an injured daughter, but I also advocate more for prevention of injured children.
Print out our prevention brochure for your doctor/midwife (
http://ubpn.org/ubpnweb.nsf/web/prevention.pdf) and bring it along to your next appointment. Once you've delivered a child who was injured at birth and/or experienced a shoulder dystocia in a previous birth, your risk of a repeat experience is higher than the average population. You need to find out what this OB/midwive's experience is with dealing with shoulder dystocia. How many injuries have they had? How many shoulder dystocias have they dealt with (and if they say none or only a couple I would run for the hills because either they are inexperienced or they probably aren't telling the truth I would suspect). What is the hospital's protocols for dealing with SD and are there SD drills regularly carried out? Can you request a primary cesarean section if you do not want to deliver vaginally (and if for some reason your doctor is not available on the day you deliver...you go into labor early and your OB is out of town and another doctor is covering for them, then can it be documented clearly in your chart that the c/s is still to be carried out)? Can you deliver in alternative birthing positions instead of on your back vaginally (squatting, side-lying, hands and knees) along with laboring in those positions and have it documented in your chart that those are approved by the doctor/midwife and the nursing staff is to accommodate you. Many times with gestational diabetes, doctors will induce early (38-39 weeks) because of the risk of the baby became large, so a discussion about induction (which is a risk in itself) needs to occur.
My thoughts are with you, and ask questions. Do what you feel is best for you and your family. It's a personal decision and neither choice is wrong as long as you are okay with that decision and the outcome. Best thoughts for a happy and healthy birth.
Tanya in NY
Amber's Mom, ROBPI, 5 years old
