Midwives

iluvgoldies33

I am a FTM. I have my first consult with a midwife June 14 but have some potentially silly questions. I am a veterinarian so feel like I should have some awareness of this but I don't. 

If if I choose to have a midwife care for me during my pregnancy, how will I have ultrasounds done ? I'm assuming midwives don't do this. I still would want the standard scans including the anatomy scan. Also, DH is worried I won't have a doctor involved in my care at all. I told him as long as things are going well and I'm not high risk this is ok. 

Anyone have any insight for me if you have gone this route with a previous pregnancy ? The group I'm looking into does offer home births but also hospital births which is what I plan to do. 

tdevlindrye

I haven't gone through it in a previous pregnancy, but have been doing a lot of research for this one. I had an orientation meeting with a local homebirth midwife and she said she said she can write prescriptions for ultrasounds. And I went to a clinic with OBs and midwifes and the person I saw was a midwife who did write a prescription for an US. There are third party radiology places who do ultrasounds, MRI's, etc. So, you just take your prescription there and they'll do it and send a report to the person who ordered the prescription. 

As far as not seeing an OB, I would agree with you in saying it's not a problem unless you become high risk. 

You can also watch the Business of Being Born on Netflix. That's what got me and DH really interested in a homebirth and using midwifes, although we still haven't fully decided what to do yet. 

hminer4

We have midwives that practice at my OB/GYN office and I always choose to see them for my appointments. The practice wants you to see a bunch of different providers so that you ill be comfortable with whoever is on call when you deliver. The schedule for appointments (including u/s) is the same - I just see a midwife instead of a MD or NP. The hospital that my practice delivers at also has a team of midwives on staff that you can choose to use for delivery even if they are not from your OB office. We have had great experiences with our midwives!

Lizbeth86

@iluvgoldies33 thanks for asking the question, I'm going through the same decisions now. I had an OB for my first and felt like I was being manipulated to have a c-section (I avoided it but it wasn't easy). So I scheduled an appt with a midwife group this time. I don't have an appt with them until 6/22 so maybe we can trade notes after we find out more : )

chadyse

I'm in Canada so it may be a bit different here. We have the option of using an OB, a GP or midwives, all covered under universal health care. I used a midwifery team with my two births. My first was at hospital and then the second was a home water birth. In my opinion, the care is unmatched. They visit you at home during the first two weeks. They prescribe the ultrasounds which is what the GP's do as well. They draw blood for tests and do all the routine tests during appointments which is great! We got our same team again so I am super excited 

trudytudy

I used an OB for my first and a midwife for my second. I loved my OB, but he retired. I also loved my midwife. Luckily neither of them were pushy about drugs but said if I needed help they would provide pain management if I wanted. My midwife works in a hospital and works with an OB team. So if something unusual happens she would send her patient to an OB. My midwife was relaxed throughout my whole pregnancy but still ran the same routine tests that my OB did. She also took action when my baby had decels during my labor. So she was relaxed but cautious. I had great experiences with both care providers. Just tell them what you want. And I recommend business of being born, just note that it leans to one side pretty heavily, but it's informative. 

BelhurstBride

It's going to depend on your MW. Some run the same basic tests (NT scan, APF, A/S) as OBs. Some only if there appears to be a need. Because yours has the option to have a birth in the hospital I assume she'll be the type to run those tests. 

As long as you're not high risk it's perfectly safe to not have an OB involved in your care. 

My office is half OBGYNs and half MWs. When you go into labor your get whoever's on call- which is always one MW and one OB- but if it's a normal, healthy pregnancy you get the MW before they even attempt to call the OB. 

zamoraspin

This pregnancy is my first but as others have said MWs can prescribe ultrasounds. My previous OBGYN had a practice which included OBs and MWs. My OB somehow no longer could take my insurance and I had some appointments with one of the MWs. I liked her but it was just not an option for me to continue with a practice where some or all of the OBs would not take my insurance. My personal preference is to have an OB who is familiar with me and my chart even if a MW is also involved. But, I am 35 and also I feel like my risk for gestational diabetes is high due to existing insulin resistance and being slightly overweight. In other words I am anticipating some complicating factors. 

Shanski70

For both pregnancies (last one and my current) I have been under the care of a midwife. She is part of a care team/office of OB-GYN doctors (both MDs and DOs). I have loved my experience with her. She's been able to order all scans, tests and scripts as any doctor would. Because of the nature of her job (babies don't have schedules). During my last pregnancy I saw one of her midwife peers for one appointment and one of the doctors (a MD)  in her office for a different appointment.  Last time my delivery rapidly went down hill, and I ended up having a c-sections done by one of the other doctors (a DO) from her office (she was there the entire time assisting and explaining the process to me, which helped me stay calm).

I think its its important that you know what type of midwife you're working with during this process. Make sure she has all of her board licensing, rights at hospitals & is associated with a medical practice that is well respected within your medical community.  Ask her all your questions. Ask her what hospitals she works with, what her typical prenatal care is like and what typically happens with deliveries she oversees. She should be completely willing to answer all your questions and upfront.  Good luck!

agalvarado

I saw midwives for my first pregnancy's prenatal appointments. I had a normal pregnancy and they still did all the routine tests and ultrasounds. I preferred them over an OB because I felt they took care of me as a whole: not only my baby and my physical health but they cared about my mental and emotional health as well. They always listened to all my concerns and answered any questions I had with no judgement. I ended up having a very difficult and long labor that ended in a c section. The midwives were with me at the hospital either way and advocated for me and my health during my labor. If it weren't for them, the OBs at the hospital would have done many more interventions that were not necessary and were against my will. Sorry this is so lengthy but I say if you've got a normal pregnancy, go with the midwives! If anything comes up down the line the OBs will always be there to handle complications.

GraceUponGrace09

Looks like most of your questions have fairly well been answered here. I'll just add that it really helps to meet with them. I was really undecided on what I wanted to do but after meeting her and asking her a slew of questions, I loved her and it made our decision much easier! 
It's important to ask questions because states have different laws regarding what a MW can and cannot do. They all seem to have their own way of doing things as well. 

iluvgoldies33

Thanks for all the replies so far. I have my first consult with he midwife on June 14. 

mashuga5775

If you're in the US and your midwife is not a nurse practitioner she won't be able to write a prescription for anow ultrasound. My plan is to go to an OB and lay midwife the entire time so I can have a home birth but if I have to go to the hospital I'll know my doc. Also so I can have scans and genetic testing done.

tgortney

You and your husband should watch The Business of Being Born (you can find it on YouTube). It sort of has an agenda that's more positive towards home births and midwives but it's really good to watch. The statistics in it isn't wrong and the history of births they presented. I had my husband watch it this time and he even agreed to going to a birthing center. I had a very healthy pregnancy last time, super low risk. 

I also called the birthing center to ask if they do ultrasounds (my first one is at 8 weeks, which is what most OBs do) and genetic testing. My office also has an OB for physicians referrals if needed.

You should call them because every office operates differently no matter where you go. I'm sure they can do referrals to elsewhere if needed but I love that mine is a one stop shop birthing center for low risk pregnancies.

iluvgoldies33

I have seen the Business of Being Born and that perhaps has partially affected me to choose a midwife. Maybe I'll have my husband watch it too. 

Lizbeth86

iluvgoldies33 said:m

I have seen the Business of Being Born and that perhaps has partially affected me to choose a midwife. Maybe I'll have my husband watch it too. 

I just watched this last night for the first time. DH joked, "I already saw that movie live in your delivery room" but we watched it anyway. It was pretty validating of my experience, especially the diagram of the poor mom and baby going through the pitocin/ epidural/ pitocin/ baby in distress cycle. I felt bad for what we put DD through, and blessed that she was able to be born vaginally in spite of all that.

It made me more excited and a little more comfortable for my first midwife appt in a few weeks...

MeggsM

Hi all! Wanted to weigh in on this. I will be a STM and had a midwife with DD. My team of midwives wad amazing! They were gentle and offered not only suppor for the baby but plenty of support for me after. I'm in Canada so its a.bit doffetent but we get 6 weeks of post natal midwifery care as well. Mine were able to write small perscriptions and get refferals for scans too. 

Also they were available 24/7 for anything. I can't coint the number of times I called them at 2am. 

When it came to the birth my midwife only left my side for an hour or two but a replacement came in so she could have a break(she had been on call for a long time).  I ended up with an emergency csection because DD's cord was looped around her so she couldn't descend, but i felt confident in my decision mostly because my midwife had allowed me to labour as long as was safe and talked me through everything. 

They were also a huge help with breastfeeding. My LO had a tongue tie and they suggested everything and finally referred me to a doc to have it snipped. I also had the pleasure of having the only male midwife in canada be one of mine! He was amazing and i would not have succeeded in breastfeeding without him! 

And he's part of my midwife team for this LO! 

Feel free to ask me any questions. I'm happy to answer!