Instead of having individual prenatal medical care and group childbirthing classes, MSG and I decided to kill two birds with one stone and join a "centering" prenatal group. It's all the rage in midwifery trends, evidently, though we joined mainly because of convenience: it's met in the evenings so we haven't had to worry about getting out of work for medical appointments (and who knew, but even though we're out in the boondocks, this facility and group of doctors/midwives are on the cutting edge of progressive medical care). Anyway, the big idea behind centering is simply a version of "empowerment" -- putting pregnant women in charge of their own prenatal care and continuing the feminist project to change women's health care in order to benefit women. So what this means here is that the pregnant women (and their partners) receive prenatal care as a group (we have eight women in ours), with one midwife and nurse. They administer their own medical tests throughout the pregnancy (blood pressure, weight, urine, etc.), handle their own medical files, and then talk through their pregnancy experiences with others in the group.

And wow was I reluctant at first, imagining a sort of touch-feely group therapy, obligatory sharing, that kind of thing. I don't do well with obligatory emotional engagement. But wouldn't you know, it's turned out to be a terrific experience -- the midwives are great and this type of medical care has saved us loads of time and energy. I appreciate the ease -- no extra birthing classes, no hospital tours, no special appointments for testing, and so forth. The group met once a month in the second trimester and once every two weeks in the third. The cast of characters was kind of fun to get to know, as well -- representing a fairly wide age and class range (of course we had affectionately snarky nicknames for everyone, but hey, that makes if fun, no?).

Anyway, the point of all this is that MSG and I went to our penultimate meeting last night to learn that three of the eight women have popped and given birth! We're all due around the same time -- five left (and my physical update? Cervix 90% effaced and nearly 3 cm dilated. Yup. Still waiting for this thing to happen anytime).