Dawn wrote:

> It isn't until
> they discover the severity of symptoms that they seem to give any credit the
> previous diagnosis--but they still seem skeptical. I'm wondering if they
> will believe me enough to feed me safe foods while I am in the hospital!

Don't count on it, bring some of your own food just in case.  Maternity wards
assume you are healthy and will allow you to administer your own meds and
'sneak' in foods, so go ahead and plan for the worst case senario.

Plan on being VERY hungry!  I think I ate three meals worth of food after each
birth.  The hospital will normally allow you to pick between several items in
each of severasl catagories, but none of them come with ingredient labels, and
all are cooked on contaminated (from other foods) surfaces.

By the way, write up a birth plan and have your doctors sign it.  This can
include what if any meds (like IVs) they can give you.  This will give you a
chance to research non-allergenic meds if you find you want one.  It can also
include tests, innoculations and bottles for the baby.  It is still common for
the nursery to insist babies need sugar water (to see if they know how to
swallow, believe it or not) and sometimes formula without the consent of the
mother.  I had a birth plan with my second and it made a tremendous difference.
 Of course, it didn't hurt that he had been nursing for 45 minutes before the
nurse came in and tried to give him the sugar water - if he can't swallow by
now I would know it thank you very much!


--
Kathy Wentz                        unschooler, n. one who never swims
[log in to unmask]                   with the crowd