7 weeks, and a little lost

naturallime

Hi everyone,

 

I am hoping to figure out the pluses and minuses to a midwife. Any thoughts?

 

Tx 

 

 

526SadieSadie

I had an OBGYN, but I do know that some insurance policies do not cover midwives.

If you're planning a home birth, there are different rules (I think) but I believe that in a hospital, there needs to be an attending OBGYN in the room in case of a problem during delivery. 

AmyRI

Midwives tend to encourage more natural births with fewer interventions. Overall their care tends to be more personalized and I've heard they also focus time on the emotional aspects of pregnancy and not just the physical health related things.

Basic prenatal care should be the same, however. Check that you're gaining weight appropriately, no protein in your urine, blood pressure is good, you can hear baby's heartbeat on a doppler. Anatomy scan around 20 weeks and a glucose test around 26(?)ish weeks, and a group B strep test later in pregancy should also be routine. OBs sometimes do additional ultrasounds or testing that you may or may not think is necessary, and some midwives suggest less of the "optional" stuff, if that makes sense.

Minuses would be that in the event of serious complications or c-section, your care will be transferred to an OBGYN that you may not have ever met. Pluses include more personal care and fewer interventions during birth.

Certified midwives (and you should verify that any midwife you use is in fact certified) can deliver babies just like OBGYNs can, with the exception of cesarean sections as they are NOT surgeons like OBs are.

Were you looking into a hospital or home birth?

libby421

I switched at the last minute from seeing an OB to a midwife. I'm so glad I did. For low risk pregnancies they are great. Way less clinical but still qualified. I had midwives for my delivery and while I still ended up having an epidural at their recommendation I still felt like I had the most natural delivery possible. They respected my birth plan and never rushed me. They also manage the hospital staff pretty well. I was mostly intermittently monitored, made comfortable, and left alone. It was lovely. Going forward I will only use a midwife.