Lilypie Maternity tickers

Friday, June 11, 2010

My Midwife is Not a Doctor

My midwife is a lovely, warm person, skillful in the ways of pregnancy, birth, and infant care. But she is not a doctor and is starting to get on my nerves.

I have a blood disorder called alpha thalassemia that makes my red blood cells smaller than normal and lowers my blood count to the point where I show up as anemic on all blood tests. This is a genetic disorder and has nothing to do with iron intake.

I have told my midwife this many times and even had my genetic counselor write her a letter saying that all the iron supplements in the world will never fix my blood count. I could eat a railroad tie for breakfast every morning and all that would happen is that I would get nauseous and constipated.

Yet, at every appointment, my midwife bugs me about taking more iron. I just got another message on my answering machine telling me I should be taking 3 iron supplements in addition to my prenatal vitamin. She knows that I have had detailed genetic counseling and a full review of my iron levels (which are perfectly normal), but she just won't let it go. She thinks I am being stubborn and ignoring her advice, but she refuses to assimilate any new information regarding my specific condition. Grrr.

/rant

No comments:

Post a Comment