Midwife or Ob/GYN

beautyundefined

Just curious to which route all you mommys are taking.

beautyundefined

I just switched from my Ob to a midwife group. My ob wanted me to wait for my first appointment, so I wouldn't be going to almost April. The Midwife that I switched to offers VBAc, and has an 80% success rate, as well as being able yo squeeze me in by the end of the month! I'm so excited, my first pregnancy I would have never thought of using a midwife, I thought that you neeeded a doctor to be safe, but now being in nursing school, and being more educated on the benifits of a midwife vs and Ob, I feel like a midwife is the way to go for me

(Edited)

mamabear148-2

OB, same practice as my previous two pregnancies. I've learned to be assertive with my preferences and I have a great relationship with my OB, and I trust him with my life (he pretty much saved my mom's at one point)

KTdidit

I will see the same midwife that I saw for my younger son. She is totally on my side for an unmedicated birth with little to no interventions. I also want to look into placenta encapsulation this time, so I may have to switch depending on what I find out. 

Tennis11785

I'm going to an OB.  I had been open to a midwife, but I couldn't find a practice that I liked that delivered at the hospital I wanted to deliver at.  Plus, now I really really like my OB and I wouldn't want to switch. 

beautyundefined

@mambear148 definitely stay with someone that you trust, and that you are comfortable with. My problem with my first pregnancy was that I wasn't exactly comfortable with my Ob, he was the type that wanted you to do exactly as he said or he'd be mad with you.

beautyundefined

@KTdidit I wish that I was more open minded to a Midwife in my first pregnancy. My ob forced an epidural on me which slowed my labor and led to a c-section.

beautyundefined

@Tennis11785 Good! Its good to have a doctor or midwife that you like and trust!

mrs_fogue

I love my OB, she is really great about answering all your questions and explaining everything to you.  Plus there aren't any midwives in our area so I don't really have an option. 

KTdidit

@beautyundefined I'm sorry you had that experience. I didn't do enough research for my first baby. I had an epidural, I didn't really know that there was any other way. That caused problems with my son and he was in the NICU for a couple days, caused problems with breastfeeding, which exascerbated my PPD. I was so happy to have found other options with my second. 

bluejeanbabi05

I found the best of both worlds! The practice I'm going to has two CNMs and 4 OBs, all women. You see an OB for the first appt then you can choose to stay with the OB or finish out your pregnancy and be delivered by one of the CNMs. And an easy transition if you become high risk.

AlandkeriA

For now, OB/GYN,  I feel more comfortable with this option. This may be due to the fact that all the mommies in my circles have gone this route. I will have to do more research though. 

EmEeGee

I have high blood pressure because yay genetics! So I opted to stay with my last OB because she was so reasonable about it and really worked to keep me safe while not being crazy about it. I'm going to have a new one because we moved and I'm bummed. 

Anyone want to fill me in on the benefits of a midwife over an OB?

2babes3angels

We have had the same midwife for both our kiddos and are planning to go through her again with this one. It's been cool having someone we've gotten to know over the years get to be a part of the process... a sweet by-product that I wasn't expecting when we initially made that decision. 

mommac2017

We are going with an OB. We did with DS as well. It's really hard to get a midwife where I live as there just aren't enough in my city. 

I am using a doula again. Which I cannot recommend highly enough!!

sjohns908

I've only ever used an OB and I'll be sticking with it for this one too. I prefer all the drugs after a bad experience going med free with my first, plus I have had PTL and pre-e with previous pregnancies.  I did switch practices between 1st and 2nd babies and I love the office I'm with now. 

crazypuglady

My office is an OB/GYN + Midwives group. I think the norm is to go with the midwives (unless you really prefer an OB) and if you are high risk/have complications, you'll switch to the OB. They work directly with the birth center at the hospital the office is attached to, so you'll always have someone you know around during labor.

bluejeanbabi05

@EmEeGee I like CNMs (certified nurse midwives) because they schedule less patients and are able to spend more time with you. Also, they have a big focus on a non-medical intervention birth if possible. Episiotomies only if completely necessary, which is big to me. They still let you have pain meds!!! I am not badass to go unmedicated. From what I've heard, they also spend much more time with you during the actual delivery and that is also huge to me.

eta: and CNMs only deliver to hospitals. So if something goes wrong help is steps away.

eta also: my CNM told me she goes to the hospital long before the actual delivery if her schedule allows, so ends up spending hours with her patients in many cases.

SwtAnana

I'm open to either but I'll likely be considered high-risk due to hypertension (yay genetics!) so I'll have to see a OB. As long as I have an OB who is open-minded to as little intervention as possible and will listen to my concerns, I won't have any doubts in their capabilities.  I'm not someone who is afraid to communicate my concerns with my doctors so OBs don't intimidate me. I always have the option to find another practice! 

EMakowski

I just switched Ob's from the same practice that delivered my first two.  My first pregnancy delivery was amazing, then 10 years later my second was awful... So I am hopeful that I will like the new DR. I see her next week! Super anxious!

Cythe

I think I will end up going the OB route, and I'd love to have a doula. I'd like to explore the midwife option but my area only has 1 birth center/midwife practice and they're super strict and crunchy. Thats all well and good, but being a FTM I can't say what I will or wont want when it comes to giving birth. So, I'm hopeful I can find an OB who will let me make the medication choices and can get a doula who will help me advocate for myself.

beautyundefined

bluejeanbabi05 said:

I found the best of both worlds! The practice I'm going to has two CNMs and 4 OBs, all women. You see an OB for the first appt then you can choose to stay with the OB or finish out your pregnancy and be delivered by one of the CNMs. And an easy transition if you become high risk.

 My CNM are part of the biggest hospital in our area, so even though they don't have doctors in their practice like yours, they collaborate with doctors in the hospital. So I know I'll be getting the best care even if I end up with another c-section 

beautyundefined

@AlandkeriA with my first i felt the exact same way!


@EmEeGee Both have different benefits. The reason that i am choosing a CNM this time around is because they are way more supportive of VBACs. Plus they are less likely to use unnecessary interventions.  


@marymoore711 I wish that I was more educated on midwives my first pregnancy, because I would have definitely used one.

beautyundefined

mommac2017 said:

We are going with an OB. We did with DS as well. It's really hard to get a midwife where I live as there just aren't enough in my city. 

I am using a doula again. Which I cannot recommend highly enough!!

@Cythe
 

I wish that I could afford to use a doula.  The ones that I look at charge about 75hr.

ac1259

The options for me are very limited. With a history of 2 preterm labors (even though the labors themselves were textbook) I'm stuck with OB all the way. And because of the preterm babies when I get to the hospital I'm stuck in bed on by back with heart rate monitors so I went with the epidural both times. And while it's not what I wanted the first time around, when you're worrying about your baby being 6 weeks early, not being in a crap ton of pain helps. And my labors are fast and furious, the last one I went from 6 cm to complete in a half hour and my DD descended so fast her head was bruised. I don't know that I want to know how bad that would've felt, I did have all the pressure with pushing that time though. It is what it is and the midwife options in my area are also very limited. While I believe in midwife care it's not so much in the cards for me

EmEeGee

@SwtAnana Obviously you'll go over this with your doctor because everyone is different, but high BP shouldn't necessarily make you high risk. To my understanding, so long as it's controlled and there aren't any other factors (pre-e), and it's not affecting the baby, you're just like any other pregnancy. 

@bluejeanbabi05 I may look into my new groups' CNMs. I'm all about avoiding unnecessary intervention. From the time my water broke with my daughter to the time I delievered, it took 54hrs. No joke. So I went through a lot of attendings during my time there and of course I landed on the old school male doc who tried to start me on a magnesium drip, give me an episiotomy, and use forceps during my delivery. I credit my epidural (and knowledge to know that they weren't necessary or required) with allowing me to find the humor to laugh and all but tell him to piss off. It'd be nice to not have to deal with that. 

mnajib92

As to what someone else said, the midwives that I went to with my previous pregnancy had one of them stay with me the entire time I was laboring and delivering at the hospital.  I was there from about 9 p.m. until 10 a.m. she didn't even leave to sleep or eat (I don't think I would've judged her if she did). I didn't ask her to either and didn't realize until now just how nice that was of her. She even fell asleep on the couch in our room with my MIL while they waited for me to deliver. I'll be going with them again this time.  I live in Columbus, OH

rockinro_17

Our first we had a midwife in a hospital. Then we moved towns and the closest midwives covered by insurance were 30 minutes away and they hospital they are associated with seemed to hardly recognize them as legit. So I switched to our family practice doctor. Have had 2 babies with her and it's gone well but this will likely be our last and I would really love to experience a home birth. I feel guilty just thinking about not using my doctor because she really is awesome but I really want to be home for this birth.

In general I think it's much harder to have a low or no intervention delivery with an OBGYN. If you're looking for an unmedicated birth with an OBGYN you really have to be ready to advocate for yourself.

ashcakes921

I use a group of midwives who I saw during both previous pregnancies. They are totally for whatever birth you can safely have so I took the drugs with DD and with my loss they obviously cared so much as the midwife who was checking for the heartbeat that day cried with me. Also the hospital I delivered at has a low rate of c-sections which is really nice

emwj10187

I'm sticking with an OB for now. I loved my GYN that i was going to for my annuals before getting pregnant. Unfortunately he doesn't do Obstetrics anymore, but had recommended one of his partners. I meet her on Monday. My main concern is that they respect my birthing wishes for a non medicated birth. I plan to hire a doula as well. 

kitty4scott

My practice has a team approach where you select a midwife and an OB, but you can have one be the primary provider. With my last pregnancy, I only saw my selected OB once during pregnancy. I scheduled all my other appointments with my midwife. During labor, I also opted for midwifery care but knew that an OB was on site at the hospital should I have wanted/needed one. 

This time, I will be seeing the same midwife and selected a different OB. I plan to see my midwife the majority of the time again like last time.  My midwife is someone whom I trust fully. I have challenged some of the practice policies, and she stood by me. When I was in labor for five days, and the OB on call at the hospital was trying to say labor was taking too long, she pushed back and expressed my birth wishes to that OB. She is compassionate, empathetic, and caring. She answers my million and one questions, and when she doesn't know the answer she gets back to me. She is open minded and willing to listen to my fears and concerns, and reads research I have presented her when I wanted to do something that was different from the practice's policies on things. She cried with me when my newborn son wouldn't latch after birth. She stayed an extra 12 hours past her shift because she knew I was scared I'd be forced into something in labor that was different than what I wanted on the fifth day of labor. Her dad was in Hospice care, and yet she stayed with me. Her strong midwifery skills are evident but the human aspect of her care is also what makes her a winner to me!

nhoover88

I'm going to go with my OB and I am thinking about hiring a doula/Labor Coach to help with the delivery/birth. My sister loved hers and wish she would've used one with her first child. Has anyone used a doula/Labor Coach service?

mylittleversailles

I went with a midwife for my first pregnancy. I did not feel supported or taken care of. I think midwives in Canada are different than in the US, though and more in line with that they have in the UK. 

This time I'll be receiving all my prenatal care through my family doctor (PCP) as she has additional training to be able to do this. I'm really happy with her. I'll go with my obgyn if for any reason I turn out high risk. 

ksf13

With DD I was at a group where my OB and midwife worked together. I saw the midwife at 99% of my appointments and loved her. The OB happened to be on call when I delivered though. I loved them. We've moved away though. As of now I'm seeing an OB and I'm really not sure if there are any midwives in their group or not.

migdala

I had a terrible experience with both OBs I saw during my first pregnancy, so I switched to a midwife group that operates within a hospital and they were amazing.  I'm now using them for all my gynecological care.  *TW* My first ended in a loss, and I knew the whole time that something was wrong but my OB just would not listen to me.  Then the baby measured small and she told me I must have my dates wrong, but I'd been charting for years and I knew my dates weren't wrong but something else surely was.  I saw another OB who tried to tell me the same thing.  Then I saw the midwives, who ordered betas and saw the decline and lack of HB and trusted my dates.  And they gave me their personal cell phones in case I needed anything before and after the D&C, and they called several times just to check on how I was doing.  I'm incredibly grateful to that practice!

aabsolut12

I went with a CNM for my first birth and couldn't have asked for a better experience. From the moment I arrived at the hospital until I gave birth, she never left my side. It was the most relaxing experience, as it was just her, my husband and 1 other nurse the entire time. I had heard so many stories about how their OB was called in just before they pushed the baby out and I knew I didn't want that kind of experience. She was from a practice that also had OB'S and I delivered in a regular hospital so if something were to have happened, they would have been there. She was so open to whatever I wanted to happen and sat there next to me on the floor offering encouragement, tips, and praise the entire duration of my labor. I couldn't imagine having anyone else deliver my second one!

Cythe

beautyundefined said:

mommac2017 said:

x

@Cythe
 

I wish that I could afford to use a doula.  The ones that I look at charge about 75hr.

Oh thats terrible, the ones I've looked into around here have a flat fee and most also offer payment plans so you don't have to eat that cost up front. I wish doula services were more financially friendly (be it insurance or just rates) because I really hear that they can be so good. I'm sorry!

clanbuchanan15

This is my first pregnancy and I am going with a midwife. I was nervous at first but all my friends have used this midwife and she has an amazing track record and has been doing it for decades. I am thankful for her open mind and belief in empowering women. This is my pregnancy and I should be in control right?  

azerimama

I'm using the same Midwife (who is an ND, so an actual doctor) that delivered my 1st child.

My first pregnancy, I really knew what I wanted.... natural birth, natural labor, no medication, minimal to no medical intervention unless absolutely necessary. I wanted to labor at my own pace, without being put on a time clock. From my 1st appointment with the OB, it was nothing but push back on how I wouldn't be able to get anything I wanted, how I wasn't being realistic, and how "that's not how this works." All of which, didn't seem right to me. I have lived overseas for a good chunk of my adult life, and know that women all over the world do exactly what I was describing, but for some reason, was being told that this wasn't normal.

An aunt of mine who has 5 kids, recommended her midwife. I went to an appointment and told her what I wanted, and she then went through my current health, my medical records, and all of my tests, looked at me and said that there is no reason why I can't have exactly what I described (unless I personally changed my mind or either me or the baby were going to die). That is what I wanted to hear, so I switched. I'm glad I did.

The difference between the OB I saw, and the midwife was night and day. OB I got maybe 3-5 minutes with. The midwife was 45-60 minutes. The OB would ask questions that were already answered in my chart, didn't listen to me, and even called me the wrong name multiple times. My midwife covered everything from pregnancy nutrition, to how to flip my breech baby (she did awesome at this!!!) without causing me pain. We regularly met to talk about physical exercise, diet, emotional help with anxieties and fears, she provided additional information for lactation support once I told her I wanted to breastfeed. She also said that if it didn't work out, that she could help me get a lactation consultant or to obtain free formula if needed. She was 100% attentive. She was on call 24 hours a day, writing back to emails and texts within the hour every time. I know that not every state has approved use of midwives, and I know they aren't for everyone, but my experience with mine was so good, that I can't imagine doing anything different for my second child. 

azerimama

nmingram I used a doula with my 1st, but won't use one for my 2nd. She was so good, she taught my husband how to do all the stuff she was doing, so that we wouldn't have to have one the 2nd time around. I will be using her for PE though.

mommac2017

@beautyundefined & @Cythe
I've never heard of a doula charging by the hour. Mine was a flat rate depending on what services you wanted. I think $900 for 3 prenatal visits, the birth, and 1 postpartum visit. I had a 30 hour labour and she was with me for 24 hours straight. She also came to my home twice after birth to help me with breastfeeding. We ended up giving her $1000 because she was incredible!