# Holy Smoke! I’m pregnant! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 21, 2007, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-smoke-i-m-pregnant/388842 "2007-01-21T16:07:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-smoke-i-m-pregnant/388842/21 "2007-01-21T18:15:38Z")
Congratulations! 🆒 I note that the adverts are currently for: - pregnancy test - pregnancy test - pregnancy kit - debt reduction :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Mouse\_Maven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@Mouse\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mouse_Maven)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-smoke-i-m-pregnant/388842/22 "2007-01-21T18:34:48Z")
[QUOTE=Zsofia] Well, if you have cats, you probably already have toxoplasmosis, right? [/QUOTE] I’ve had cats all my life. Worked at a Humane Society before moving into the research animal field. A positive toxo test would not surprize me. As **WhyNot** said, its best to get tested and talk to a medical professional. I would love to get out of litter box duty for 9 months, but that won’t happen for now. My crusty old cat, Jake, thinks that Mouse\_Spouse is out to get him. _I’m the alpha male here! If you weren’t so damned big, I’d kick your ass and mount you like there’s no tomorrow! Then howl so that the whole neighborhood knows._ Jake will not eat out of a dish that Spouse has put food into, I don’t want to see what would happen if he scooped the litter boxes! My friend Kestrel has hamsters and mice and cats and dogs and turtles and fish. . . I’ve been avoiding going to her house because I don’t want to bring anything back to my work rodents. Now I have another reason to stay out of her house. Poor Kestrel, I hope she’ll understand. (A downside to my job is having to change clothes a lot: _Oh your kid has a pet guinea pig? This outfit will have to be washed before wearing it to work. Oh crap, I forgot that PetsMart has rodents and I just washed these jeans yesterday_.) ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-smoke-i-m-pregnant/388842/23 "2007-01-21T18:59:04Z")
How many offspring does a **Mavenus Mousicus** typically produce per litter? ---
**Author:** ![Apricot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bcef8e/32.png) [@Apricot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apricot)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-smoke-i-m-pregnant/388842/24 "2007-01-21T19:00:41Z")
Can I interest you in seeking out a midwife instead of a doctor? The more in-depth or personalized care typical of midwives is usually well appreciated by first time birthers. Congratulations! ---
**Author:** ![Mouse\_Maven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@Mouse\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mouse_Maven)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-smoke-i-m-pregnant/388842/25 "2007-01-21T20:02:57Z")
[QUOTE=outlierrn] How many offspring does a **Mavenus Mousicus** typically produce per litter? [/QUOTE] 😃 Hopefully just _one_. Mother\_Maven has a twin sister, so the family has been on the look out for the next set. My current worry is that Mouse\_Spouse is a BIG man. He’s about 5 feet 10 inches and built like a tank. (His nickname is PolarGrizz.) I border on petite: 5’ 4". [QUOTE=Apricot] Can I interest you in seeking out a midwife instead of a doctor? The more in-depth or personalized care typical of midwives is usually well appreciated by first time birthers. [/QUOTE] It has crossed my mind. If you have any information, please let me know! (There is a car I see very often in the U employee parking lot. It has a bumper sticker that says,“Midwives help people out.” 🆒 ) ---
**Author:** ![Tabula\_Rasa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9adbd/32.png) [@Tabula\_Rasa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabula_Rasa)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-smoke-i-m-pregnant/388842/26 "2007-01-21T20:09:38Z")
There are some fantastic midwives in Boulder. Names aren’t coming to me right now, and my midwife just retired and moved to Hawaii. If asking around doesn’t get you the info. you want, let me know and I’ll dig up some references. Congratulations! ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-smoke-i-m-pregnant/388842/27 "2007-01-21T20:25:24Z")
If you choose the midwife route, please allow me to suggest that you find one with solid medical back-up. While I agree that pregnancy is not a disease most of the time, if there IS a problem it can go south fast, keep your options open. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-smoke-i-m-pregnant/388842/28 "2007-01-21T21:31:19Z")
[QUOTE=outlierrn] If you choose the midwife route, please allow me to suggest that you find one with solid medical back-up. While I agree that pregnancy is not a disease most of the time, if there IS a problem it can go south fast, keep your options open. [/QUOTE] Good advice, and Colorado is way ahead of you. They license “direct entry” or “lay” midwives, as well as medical professionals like nurse-midwives and doctors who deliver babies. Their licensing requirements are pretty good: > [@](#): > > To qualify to register, a direct-entry midwife shall have successfully completed an examination evaluated and approved by the director as an appropriate test to measure competency in the practice of direct-entry midwifery, which examination shall have been developed by a person or entity other than the director or the division and the acquisition of which shall require no expenditure of state funds. The national registry examination administered by the midwives’ alliance of North America, incorporated, shall be among those evaluated by the director. The director is authorized to approve any existing test meeting all the criteria set forth in this subsection (5). In addition to successfully completing such examination, a direct-entry midwife shall be deemed qualified to register if such person has: > (a) Attained the age of nineteen years; > (b) Earned at least a high school diploma or the equivalent; > (c) Successfully completed training approved by the director in: > (I) The provision of care during labor and delivery and during the antepartum and postpartum periods; > (II) Parenting education for prepared childbirth; > (III) Aseptic techniques and universal precautions; > (IV) Management of birth and immediate care of the mother and the newborn; > (V) Recognition of early signs of possible abnormalities; > (VI) Recognition and management of emergency situations; > (VII) Special requirements for home birth; > (VIII) Recognition of communicable diseases affecting the pregnancy, birth, newborn, and postpartum periods; and > (IX) Recognition of the signs and symptoms of increased risk of medical, obstetric, or neonatal complications or problems as set forth in section 12-37-105 (3); > (d) Acquired practical experience including, at a minimum, experience with the conduct of one hundred prenatal examinations on no fewer than thirty different women and observation of thirty births; > (e) Participated as a birth attendant, including rendering care from the prenatal period through the postpartum period, in connection with no less than thirty births; and > (f) Filed documentation with the director that the direct-entry midwife is currently certified by the American heart association or the American red cross to perform adult and infant cardiopulmonary resuscitation (“CPR”). > > (6) Effective July 1, 2003, in order to be deemed qualified to register, a direct-entry midwife shall have graduated from an accredited midwifery educational program or obtained a substantially equivalent education approved by the director. Such educational requirement shall not apply to direct-entry midwives who have registered with the division of registrations before July 1, 2003. [The Colorado Midwives Association](http://www.coloradomidwives.org/index.html) is probably a site to bookmark. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-smoke-i-m-pregnant/388842/29 "2007-01-21T22:06:04Z")
It’s very, very unlikely to get a “false positive” pregnancy test because there are only a few rare medical conditions that would cause a non-pregnant person to produce hCG, so congratulations. 🙂 I definitely second the advice to make sure there is a doctor overseeing things due to the hypothyroid issue. Many pregnant women with hypothyroidism require their medication dose to be upped during pregnancy, so you definitely want to have your levels checked regularly during the pregnancy. Of course, the odds are that everything will be fine, but I think it’s good to have a doctor overseeing things just to be safe. Hope that all goes well for you and the baby. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-smoke-i-m-pregnant/388842/30 "2007-01-21T22:22:36Z")
What’s that they say- be careful what you wish for? Things haven’t been the way you would have liked them to be for a while now, this will definitely be a big step in another direction. Congratulations, best wishes, prayers if you’ll accept them, and good hope for all three(?) of you. We’ll be watching for updates and the big announcement. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-smoke-i-m-pregnant/388842/31 "2007-01-21T22:27:43Z")
…heart transplants in mice??! ---
**Author:** ![Mouse\_Maven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@Mouse\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mouse_Maven)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-smoke-i-m-pregnant/388842/32 "2007-01-21T22:41:20Z")
Thanks for all of the congratulations and good thoughts! You guys are great. 🆒 I’m trying not to be overwhelmed. Got some books from library: What to Expect when You’re Expecting, What to Eat when You’re Expecting, Childbirth Choices Today. Maybe jumping the gun a bit, but I guess it can’t hurt. (Looks like cutting back on sugar and caffine is recommended. That’s going to be _tough_.) [QUOTE=Sunspace] …heart transplants in mice??! [/QUOTE] Yep. My lab studies the immunological process of organ rejection. We open up a donor mouse’s thorax, tie off the major vessels of the heart, and then attach the donor heart to the lumbar aorta of a recipient mouse. Basically, the recipient mouse ends up with two hearts: the native one in its chest, and the tranplanted organ in its abdomen. We use very, very small stitches. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-smoke-i-m-pregnant/388842/33 "2007-01-21T23:12:15Z")
Wow, that is unbelievably great news! CONGRATULATIONS!!! May the mouselets have their mother’s intelligence! ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-smoke-i-m-pregnant/388842/34 "2007-01-21T23:12:56Z")
Wait… Blizzards cause pregnancy? I better lay of the Dairy Queen. 🙂 Congrats! I fully expect a What We Should Name the Mousling thread. Those are my favs. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-smoke-i-m-pregnant/388842/35 "2007-01-21T23:41:50Z")
[QUOTE=Shirley Ujest] Wait… Blizzards cause pregnancy? [/QUOTE] Didn’t I read somewhere that there’s a rise in the amount of birth rates in late September/early October as a direct result of couples being boxed in in the wintertime? I was born in early October - I don’t want to think of what my parents were doing New Year’s Eve 1956. Congratulations! ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-smoke-i-m-pregnant/388842/36 "2007-01-21T23:45:23Z")
Congrats, **Mouse Maven** and **Mouse Spouse**! I do hope that everything goes well for you, and your little mousling shows up hale and healthy. Of course, this is to be expected when one is playing around with the [Sperm Cube](http://208.100.26.199/sdmb/showthread.php?t=404623) , yanno… ---
**Author:** ![Mouse\_Maven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@Mouse\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mouse_Maven)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-smoke-i-m-pregnant/388842/37 "2007-01-21T23:52:09Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] Of course, this is to be expected when one is playing around with the [Sperm Cube](http://208.100.26.199/sdmb/showthread.php?t=404623) , yanno… [/QUOTE] I should email the artist. \*Dear Sir, Due to the nature of your work, you may want to paint die spots on the cube’s sides. Sincerely, Mouse\* ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2007, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-smoke-i-m-pregnant/388842/38 "2007-01-22T00:03:11Z")
[QUOTE=Mouse\_Maven] Thanks for all of the congratulations and good thoughts! You guys are great. 🆒 I’m trying not to be overwhelmed. Got some books from library: What to Expect when You’re Expecting, What to Eat when You’re Expecting, Childbirth Choices Today. [/QUOTE] Major congratulations to you, **MM**! People seem to either love or hate the **What to Expect** books. They fed a little too much into my “something awful is going to happen” mentality (and, given that I bled for about 7 weeks, beginning in week 3, I had worries, as apparently do you. The outcome of the iffy pregnancy is now 11, BTW.). You might really like the books. All I’m sayin’ is, if you don’t, don’t feel guilty about returning them to the library and finding others that work better for you. Has there ever been such a thing as a SDMB baby shower??? ---
**Author:** ![Mouse\_Maven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@Mouse\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mouse_Maven)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2007, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-smoke-i-m-pregnant/388842/39 "2007-01-22T00:13:13Z")
[QUOTE=freckafree] Major congratulations to you, **MM**! People seem to either love or hate the **What to Expect** books. They fed a little too much into my “something awful is going to happen” mentality (and, given that I bled for about 7 weeks, beginning in week 3, I had worries, as apparently do you. The outcome of the iffy pregnancy is now 11, BTW.). You’re obviously a smart woman with a science background. You might really like the books. All I’m sayin’ is, if you don’t, don’t feel guilty about returning them to the library and finding others that work better for you. Has there ever been such a thing as a SDMB baby shower??? [/QUOTE] Thank you very much! I’m glad to here that your rough start ended up just fine. I started reading the What to Eat book, and I’m not crazy about it so far. Realistically, it was writen for a wide audience so prior scientific knowledge is not considered. I don’t like my uterus being referred to as a “baby factory” and I think the authors saying “your husband” excludes many different kinds of families, IMHO. Both Expecting books lack a bibliography - which I see as a bad thing. ---
**Author:** ![Apricot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bcef8e/32.png) [@Apricot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apricot)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2007, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-smoke-i-m-pregnant/388842/40 "2007-01-22T00:27:41Z")
[QUOTE=Mouse\_Maven] It has crossed my mind. If you have any information, please let me know! (There is a car I see very often in the U employee parking lot. It has a bumper sticker that says,“Midwives help people out.” 🆒 ) [/QUOTE] Do you know whose car it is? She/he might be just the person to talk to. In the absence of local information, I suggest that you look for a group of CNMs (certified nurse midwives) that are aligned with a group of OBs. In my area, there are several groups where the CNMs take the low risk deliveries and the OBs take the high risk ones, like twins. If your pregnancy goes swimmingly (as most do), you stay with the midwives. If you chose the other type of midwife, a licensed midwife, or a CNM in a midwife-only group, you still get the same care (testing, ultrasounds, even thyroid testing) but you’d have to switch to a new provider if something came up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-smoke-i-m-pregnant/388842.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-smoke-i-m-pregnant/388842.md?page=3)