We didn’t have much cash to start with, but we just couldn’t wait. And then it happened on the first try.

I’m 6 weeks pregnant but I didn’t get a blood test to confirm our pregnancy. Two weeks worth of intuition and symptoms, two pee-sticks and a missed period were enough for me. I don’t have a problem with needles, I just have a problem with unessesary tests- even if they only cost a $20 co-pay. The co-pays add up fast. Some of our friends and family won’t believe it yet because “you need a doctor to tell you.” How I feel about what doctors know and don’t know is a different post entirely.

All of my intense symptoms, rapid weight gain and our knowing that I released both one egg before our insemination and one egg from the other ovary  right after means we could be having twins. I’d like to know right away, but our portion of the intra-vaginal ultrasound which could tell us right now would be about $60 ($300 if we had no insurance). We’re not totally broke, I’m just totally cheap. So I decided to only have an affordable test to check the HgC hormone in my blood. Only if it’s high will be go for the ultrasound.

I’d really like it if we can keep the ultrasounds down to two throughout the pregnancy- one at 20 weeks to find out the sex and to check that everything is great and possibly one 1 or 2 weeks before our due date to check on the baby’s position, etc. With a midwife feeling my belly weekly at that point, that one may not be needed.

I probably won’t go for the constant blood monitoring of blood sugars and other chemicals. And  I’m   young enough not to have an amniocentisis but I probably wouldn’t if I was older (due to possible risk, price and the fact that knowledge is unlikely to make me want a late term abortion and would also be unlikely to complicate birth). They now recommend women of all ages take two tests for downs syndrome. The newest method for testing for Down’s includes a blood test combined with an ultrasound, called a “nuchal translucency test.”   They are 80 percent accurate with a few “false positives”. I won’t be  having those either.

We know that our donor had in his family a mild cosmetic genetic deformity and we could do Chorionic Villus Sampling of the placenta  early in pregnancy to find out whether our baby has it- but we won’t be accruing these costs because it wouldn’t change any of our plans.

As I’ve discussed in a pre-conception post, we didn’t go the route most couples go when they do inseminations through a fertility clinic. By finding a midwife to do intra-uterine insemination at our home, we saved an estimated $1700-$2100 the month we concieved.  This was also because I didn’t feel like spending money on pre-conception tests which I felt were un-nessesary for our circumstances.   It might sound silly, but I do feel that being comfortable in my own home for the same procedure that would have been done by a stranger in a cold sterile room, and not excessively prodded was what helped me concieve so quickly.

There is a general feeling that if you don’t have every test possible (and every intervention offered, if hospital birth), that you are not doing the best for your baby. I hope this post will help others to consider whether they need the extra stress and cost if there are no symptoms of a problem. I wish pregnancy and birth weren’t treated like a disease in this country.

And for lesbian couples and straight people who need AI to concieve, I pray that more midwives skilled in insemination will pop up around the country.

Photo credit: stock.xchng.