Bay Area Midwives?

ke19

Hi Ladies - I'm new to this board and I wanted to see if anyone had any reviews about Bay Area Midwives? I saw the post below about Annapolis OBGYN (where I currently go). It seems like most of you ladies have had a great experience with Bay Area. I have to admit - when I called to make an appointment, the receptionist was horribly rude. It almost made me change my mind about even having a consultation there.

What sort of questions should we be asking at this consultation? My DH doesn't really understand midwives vs. doctors and no matter how much I try to explain it to him, he just still seems confused. He doesn't understand why I wouldn't want a doctor in case something happens during labor. 

Any input into questions to ask and general reviews would be great. Thanks so much!

madladybride

Hi!

I went to Bay Area and the one receptionist is kind of rude. She gets nicer as you get more pregnant (which is weird, I know). 

To help DH understand, I would have him watch the movie "The Business Of Being Born". I think it's actually on Netflix streaming. DH was adamant about having a doctor there until he saw that movie.

Questions. Well it depends on what kind of care you want and what type of labor birth experience you are looking for. Do you want to use the birth center, or labor in a hospital ? What are their policies on having an IV in? (Do you care?) What types of positions will they let you labor in? What happens if you need a c-section - who will do it? Do they do inductions (when/why)? What do they do for pain management? What is their episiotomy rate?  How long can you labor before they intervene? Are you allowed to eat/drink during labor? What is their policy on after care for babies? Do they allow you to hold the baby right away after birth (skin-to-skin contact, if that is what you choose)?

For the most part, they seem to let the birth and pregnancy process happen and have minimal/no interventions.You might want to ask for their philosophy of care. I didn't have an internal exam until it was decided that I was to be induced (see below).

I met all of the midwives and only 1 of them I thought was "ok". Jen, the head midwife ended up delivering my baby.

My story - I apologize in advance for the length. I am/was AMA and had 2 previous mc's, so I saw both the midwives and the Center for Maternal Fetal Medicine  - CMFM(on bestgate - just down the street from Bay area). There were concerns about the baby's growth, so I have a ton of ultrasounds and monitoring. Ultimately, the CMFM Dr.'s felt it best I be induced at 36 weeks. The midwives went along with it. I wasn't particularly happy, but made the best decision I could with the information at the time. The Dr.'s wanted me induced by Thursday/Friday, but the midwives "couldn't" get me in until Saturday. I ended up having DD on Sunday.

With the induction, a lot of things that I wanted I didn't get (no IV and wanting to eat more than clear liquids and broth). I had to be constantly monitored because I was being induced, but I did get the telemetry monitor so that I could walk around/walk the halls. I was able to labor in any position I chose (I sat on a birthing ball a lot) and I used the Hypnobabies techniques. I didn't get an epidural or any other pain meds, except a few Tylenol post labor. I got to hold DD right after I gave birth (before they checked her). Also, right before I started pushing, the labor nurse wanted to bring in the NICU Dr.'s. I didn't want an audience, so I said "no". She looked at Jen for confirmation and Jen shook her head 'no'. I was glad that she respected my wishes.

In conclusion, I really liked the Bay Area Midwives, they were not overly invasive and did everything they could to help me make my birth as much the way I wanted it as they could, given the induction and circumstances.I would definitely have them deliver baby #2, if we get to that.

anonsouthernbell

ITA w/the pp.  The Business of Being Born plus the guided tour (at Special Beginnings) is what made my husband change his mind.  We also watched Pregnant in America, which further solidified things for him.  (Both are available on Netflix but TBoBB is the only one that you can stream or at least it used to be that way).