Babies on the Brain
bancbev
member
Midwife instead of an OB?
bancbev
member
What are some of the reasons for choosing to use a midwife rather than an OB?
Pros?
Cons??
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Re: Midwife instead of an OB?
I see a midwife (cnm) for well-woman care and will continue to see her for any pregnancies (assuming that I can get pregnant, and have a low-risk pregnancy).
Midwives tend to be far less prone to intervention in a pregnancy, and from what I've heard from everyone who's gone through both a pregnancy with a m/w and a pregnancy with an OB, much more willing to devote a ton of time to the patient.
As for cons, they cannot attend high-risk pregnancies, and I think there are still a lot of states where they can't be the only addending medical personnel at deliveries.
GL w/ your decision. I looooove my midwife.
Ohhh, then DEFINITELY look into midwifery. I want as little intervention in pregnancy and delivery as possible so that was the biggest reason for my decision to pick a m/w. I'm fortunate, though, that my doc's office has everything from m/w's and doulas to two high-risk obs on staff.
GL!
My office also has a?midwifery?department with 3 midwifes so I guess I will just call and get some info.
I decided last week I need a new Gyno when he told me not to temp/chart and to just practice practice practice.?
I'm planning a midwife birth (hopefully a home birth!) mostly because I have met with about 4 OBs in my area and don't really like any of them. In live in an urban area and I had the feeling that to them I was just another patient. One I liked enough for some things, like if I have a high risk pregnancy, but not for a low-risk pregnancy.
The Midwifes I've spoken to on the other hand seem way more personable. The one I spoke to on the phone called me by my first name, and I am now a part of a meet-up group for a stand-alone birth center and Midwife so there's more of a sense of community. The one midwife I've interviewed (I'll be doing more soon) said she usually has 5-6 mothers at a time max. And rarely are they due in the same week and sometimes she doesn't even have one in a given month. So I won't feel like I'm inconveniencing her if I have a 40 hour labor... since she probably has no where else to be professionally speaking!
Check your state laws for what a midwife can do for you. In California insurance companies by law have to cover a midwife/home birth/birthing center birth the same as any hospital birth so it was an easy decision for DH and I. Other states make it way more difficult! Iowa is one, I believe, that has a lot of laws against non-hospital births (and have recently outlawed VBACs).
I agree with charting, but I also agree you should "practice, practice, practice".
I go to a clinic that has OBs and midwives. I am assigned to a midwife and she is the one that I see for all of my OB/GYN care. She is amazing. I saw her for all of my prenatal care and she is the one that delivered by DS. She was very open to discussions about what we did and did not want (we took Bradley classes and she allowed us to do a lot that an OB probably wouldn't) She allowed me to go to almost 42 weeks until I needed to be induced at 41w4d due to low amniotic fluid. She did offer induction before that point, but allowed me to decline it if I didin't want to. During my labor and delivery, she was very supportive with our choices and spent a lot of time in the room with me. She was helping me to the bathroom, helping DH rub my back and anything else that she could do to help. She spent a lot of time in the room while I was pushing. I know that I would not have had near as much attention from an OB.
I agree very much with pp that if you are wanting to have a med-free birth, you should search out a Bradley instructor in your area. Here is a link to their site where you can read about it and search for instructors. https://www.bradleybirth.com/ Let me know if you have any questions.
My experience:
Pros-
More personal experience - my midwife is available to me 24/7. Though I wouldn't call her at 3 am unless it was an emergency, I loved that she gave me her cell phone and pager numbers and returned calls quickly.
More focus on the entire person - my midwife spent a lot of time during the pregnancy and during the miscarriage talking with me about how I was feeling emotionally and what I was experiencing and asking about my fears. I appreciated that. She also knew I was someone who did my research, so she spoke to me as an intelligent adult, and not an annoying patient, which I greatly appreciated.
Focus on nutrition and health instead of weight gain. Especially important for someone with a history of eating disorders and someone who is overweight.
Willingness to work with me so that we wouldn't have to pay the deductible twice because of calendar year issues. It meant she would go four months with no payment from us, but how lovely of her to make that offer.
Cons-
Can't take high risk pregnancies; there was some concern that my blood pressure was too high (home monitor was fine, even low - but it was always high at the office). If it remained high I was going to have to take blood pressure meds and possibly transfer care.
Mine was a CNM so she could prescribe meds on a limited basis, but if she weren't, that could have been difficult, having to jump hoops from a PCP to the midwife to get necessary meds (especially since I don't have a pcp on file right now).
Unable to do surgery - this became an issue for me when we learned I the baby had stopped developing weeks before. She couldn't do a d&c, and I would have had to find an OB and get pre-approval to do it. In the end, it worked out for me, because I didn't want surgery and she was able to give me misoprostol. Had that not worked, it would have been a bad situation.
May be limited in delivery options - either by law or by practice. My mw doesn't do hospital deliveries. If I had to transfer she would come with me, but she'd just be hanging out there. Some midwives are not allowed to practice outside hospitals or there are no birth centers, so you may feel limited there.
Surprise factor. Many people were surprised, even derisive when I mentioned my midwife. They didn't take her seriously at all or asked when I'd see a real doctor or some such. That can get wearing if it happens often, or if opposition comes from close family or friends.
Insurance - may or may not cover an independent midwife. Check with your insurance and your state. In Texas, certified midwives have to be covered by law - but the coverage my insurance provides is not terrific. But comparatively, we'd still be paying about the same costs out of pocket, so that was fine by us.
Overall, I loved my mw and will definitely return to her. Her care during my m/c sealed it for me. She's not perfect. There are things that still grate on my nerves a bit, but she called me twice a week to check up on me for three weeks after the u/s. I know most docs don't do that, and even though I didn't always want to talk to her, I so appreciated that personal touch and her evident concern for me.
Gabriel Ross - August 24, 2009 * Vivienne Rose - May 1, 2012
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