Natural Birth
Choosing OB/Midwife - HELP
First time pregnancy, just found out yesterday, and soooo excited!
4 weeks along and plan to start search tomorrow for OB/Midwife. Plan to try natural/home birth. Any suggestions for what to ask when searching or things you wish you would have been told at this early stage?
THanks in advance!
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Re: Choosing OB/Midwife - HELP
The good news is that you still have several weeks ahead of you before your first appt. Mine was around 12 weeks which I think is typical. Search the internet for midwife interview - here's one link and there were tons.
https://www.babycenter.com/0_midwife-interview-sheet_1428556.bc
Also, check out the website for your most local birth center. The birth center near me has tours every other week and an informational session first and a time for Q&A. I have since moved and the new birth center for me will meet with you for a free consult and you have a time to do an interview or just hear what they have to say. This new birth center near me will do home births. They say their home (the birth center) or yours- all the same. That's why I say check your nearest birth center- you might decide a birth center birth is for you or you might find out they also do home births. They can probably refer you to a midwife who does do home births if they don't. I imagine those midwives are hard to find, depending on where you live. I don't know of any in Delaware where I moved from! Obviously more options here in Seattle. What big city are you near?
Oh and congrats!!
Congrats and welcome!
I'd agree that where you live will have a big impact on your first steps. In my small town, lots of us are home birthers and I had several registered midwives to choose from in my search. While the pp mentioning birth centers sounds great, however in Colorado the only birth center is about 6 hours away from me. You'll also learn that laws are quite different depending on your home state.
For me the actual midwife interviewing process had a lot to do with my gut and feelings. Rather than having a long checklist of requirements, I found a few things that were important to me and focused on them.
As for early stuff to consider, maybe do a little research on first trimester testing (i.e., ~10 week ultrasound/NT scan) and whether this is something you want or not. When we were interviewing midwives, this was one of the things I asked about. It was more timely for us (rather than trying to gauge our fit on topics I didn't understand yet). It was very telling to see the responses we got (ranging from a summary of the pros/cons, to opinionated, to one who didn't know what it was).
GL and don't forget to enjoy it all!
Thanks so much ladies!
I live in Cincinnati, OH and I'm learning that 1. we don't have a birthing center and 2. CNM's can't do homebirths because of legalities. But I've gotten great suggestions for a local OB/Midwife practice and a physician extraordinaire whom everyone loves around here (very low c-section/intervention rate).
This is all so overwhelming so far. Spreading the news was super fun the past two days, but insurance/doctors/finances is whew! Deep breath. . . and thanks for the support. I can tell this website is going to be very helpful.
Awesome
i would suggest, if you're healthy with a normal pregnancy, and you're looking for a natural delivery, a midwife (with or without a doula) is the best option. midwives can still delivery at hospitals, in case there are any risk factors, plus most midwiferies have OB's on call in case of an emergency c-section.
i had an OBGYN with my first, and their "standard procedures" made my natural birth almost unbearable. so with my second i went midwife, and it was the best choice ever!!
congratulations and good luck!
newest addition: Ender Greyson!