In need of a little advice

vintagejjane

To the ladies who have been midwife searching,

We found out midwife and were really excited! Actually there are 2 and they work in a practice together (2 for the price of 1 basically) Hubby and I liked them so much and felt so connected we called them the day after our meeting. I left a message saying how we had thought and talked about it and decided we wanted them to be our midwives. This was a Tuesday. Thursday comes along and they did not call back. I was thinking that maybe they had a birth so they didn't answer. I call midwife 2 and leave a message that day just basically repeating what I said on Midwife 1's voicemail, and asked if she could give me a call back as soon as she got the message. 3 days later I still have not received a call back and I'm a little concerned. 

I'm realistic and thinking well maybe they are on vacation, or have been really busy, but I'm feeling kind of disappointed that they haven't called back sooner. 

What would you ladies do? Try and call again and wait it out till they call back? or continue a search for a midwife? 

TIA ladies  

frostnoel

I don't think there is anything wrong with calling again.  I would imagine that they are busy, but you deserve a response.  Also, if they have email, send them a message there.

Also, I would continue to search for other MWs.  It won't hurt to have some back-ups in place in case your 1st choice falls through.

tbmadeamistake

I'm having the same problems with doulas.  The site I used to find them just has email addresses.  I sent out three or four emails on Monday and haven't heard back yet!  I'm going to try calling those with websites that have numbers this Monday, but it's frustrating to get in touch with someone and not hear back!  I'd call again and then keep interviewing others, just in case.  GL!

moxie9

I contacted a number of midwives, but my favorite and the one I chose contacted me within a couple hours of sending an initial email. She has always responded almost immediately to any questions/concerns that I've had and has been available for any urgent appointments that I needed (I had some spotting at 13 weeks and some irritation postpartum).

My point is that if it takes them a few days to respond to you now, how do you know that they'll be able to respond quickly to you if something urgent comes up? If you feel a connection with them and they just feel "right," that's wonderful, but personally, this would make me a little uneasy.

julyjennifer

If it's any reassurance, my midwife team was a little the same way for early stage communications, but when it came to the end of my pg they were very reachable and very responsive.  My midwife had a regular phone number/voicemail that I used initially, but once I'd hired her then she gave me her cell phone and would call me back promptly if I left a message needing to talk to her about my pregnancy.

Keep in mind they are probably a small operation, they may have been at one or more long births, and calling someone in their first trimester back to confirm that they got your message saying "we've decided to hire you" may just reasonably be toward the bottom of their list of messages to return.  Personally, I wouldn't take it as a bad sign about their practice.

Naturally, you want to close the loop on this and make sure they are still available, etc. I can see where you are coming from in waiting anxiously to hear back.  I'd maybe leave another message saying you were hoping to hear back from them very soon to confirm that they still have openings, so you know whether you need to keep searching.  Then when you talk to them, ask them the best way to reach them with urgent concerns or when you're in labor, and what you can expect about how responsive they are usually able to be.