We all have our personal opinion on the swine flu vaccination -- and I think it's great there is dialogue going on about something as important as this.

I met a CafeMom who is 26 weeks pregnant and has decided to get the H1N1 shot. Her brother, sister, and 2 year-old daughter all have the virus. She has decided to remain anonymous. Here are her thoughts and opinions....

For some reason I was way too excited to go on the hospital tour. My hubs was too. But it was weird...when we got there and waited for it to start in a room full of others who were about to embark on the tour as well, everyone seemed cranky.

The guide was a sweetheart of a woman who also is one of the hospital's lactation consultants. One of the dads asked her what lactation meant.

But I was the annoying person who asked the most questions.

And I was also the only one who cried when we saw the babies in the nursery. They were so cute!

The craziest thing my OBGYN said was that I could have my twins naturally. I know, it's not crazy, but after a visit with a specialist who said I should count on a c-section it was news I didn't expect to hear.

But lots of moms have heard really strange things from their doctors.

Photo by LilStar9905

No doubt about it, the first look of your unborn baby on that ultrasound monitor is priceless. Here are some links I love about this wonderful technology:

I just read that medical costs for an uncomplicated pregnancy and childbirth average about $7,600 per woman, according to a federal Health and Human Services study. The information was part of an article in the New York Daily News last week about a New York State Medicaid program that helps local women who are pregnant and unemployed. It's called the Prenatal Care Assistance Program (PCAP.)

The possibility of a lost job in today's economy is scary and real, and it can also mean losing your health insurance. I just came across an Anonymous mom who's in this boat -- and she's far from alone. About 13% of women who become pregnant each year are uninsured.

Here are some tips from CafeMoms and from the American Pregnancy Association on what to look into if you're one of them.

I remember holding my breath through so many tests and procedures when I was pregnant, just hoping this wouldn't be the time I'd hear that something was wrong.

So I really felt for Nola (naschaefer) when I read her post in Pregnancy about how her 20-week ultrasound showed soft signs of Down Syndrome. She had to decide if she wanted additional tests and was looking for some support from moms in the meantime. I talked to her about the experience.

I delivered with a midwife, but it wasn't actually by grand design. It just so happens that the woman I've seen for years for my regular OB/GYN care is a midwife, and I really like her. So when I got pregnant, of course it made sense for me to continue a relationship I was already happy with. And it worked out great -- I got her and she got me, and I couldn't have been more pleased with my care while pregnant and through labor and delivery.

But that's not the case for all mamas.

Photo by AFisher

Relax -- there is no actual broom involved (but isn't this photo cute?!)

Having your OB or midwife sweep your membranes -- aka stripping the membranes -- is a procedure that often happens late in pregnancy as an attempt to bring on labor. JenLavazza asked about it recently in Pregnancy, and I noticed a couple of women who responded didn't know what it was.

Here's some basic info.

OK, I confess: I never get my flu shot. Really -- never. I guess I have this feeling that they somehow never really work, and that if I'm gonna get the flu I'm gonna get the flu -- regardless of whether or not I got the vaccine.