Finding a midwife group

thismplsgirl

Any advice on finding a good midwife group?

I delivered our daughter in March 2011 at Fairview Southdale with an OB. Looking for a more personal experience this next time around (summer 2013) but I'm not quite sure how to find a good midwife practice.... do you interview them or have an informational appointment? My husband is open to us checking out the possibility of using a midwife but he wants to be sure that we find a "good fit" since the impersonal nature of our OB office is what we want to get away from.

All advice welcome. Thanks! 

schmood

I really liked the midwife group at Fairview Riverside Womens Clinic.  There are 8 of them, so I saw all of them throughout my pregnancy and got whoever was oncall for my delivery.  I was very happy with them.  They have both early and late appts - as early as 7 and as late as 5:45 - I believe.  They were convenient for me as I work in the same bldg that they are in.  I would say the one thing that some people are likely tured off by with this group is that one of the midwives is a male - he was actually the one there when I delivered.  They do their deliveries at Fairview Riverside and they work with an OB group so if an OB is necessary, they are in the same group.   I did work with some of the OBs as well and was happy with them - and I actually had an OB present for my delivery as I needed a vacuum extraction. 

LunaBerk

Hi there! I see North Metro Midwives, who office in Plymouth and deliver at Abbott's new Mother Baby Center with Children's Hospital. They are incredibly down to Earth and very supportive. All of them are Certified Nurse Midwives. I believe they have 4 or so women in their practice. I should admit this is my first baby, so I have no basis for comparison, but if you are looking for personal and supportive with a focus on a woman's strength than this is a great place. Best of luck to you!

 Janessa 

preg_amy

I saw the Park Nicollet midwives at Meadowbrook.  I loved them.  I just went to appts, I didn't do an interview or anything.  They do have a "meet the midwives" event every few months.

 

JGY

I second PP's recommendation of the Fairview Riverside group.  I was a Birth Doula for a while, a few years back, and saw this group in action a number of times.  The male Midwife mentioned above (John) is the reason I picked the group.  I attended a birth with him and was really impressed.  I switched to the group in 2005 in the chance that I would someday be pregnant, and here I finally am in 2012.  Still happy with my choice.

 

thismplsgirl

Thanks for the recommendations ladies! I just found out that we will be expecting around July 4th (still super early) so I will call the practices that you all recommended. Hopefully it's not too odd to request an informational appointment since my hubs is adamant about getting a feel for a place before we commit (that's how we got "stuck" last time).

Any other advice is totally welcomed of course. Thanks again!

stephmarie

Another recommendation for North Metro Midwives here. I love love love them and their practice. Kathrine and Jessie were amazing to work with throughout my pregnancy and I got exactly what I was looking for when I switched to them. I actually 'accidentally' gave birth to my son in one of their exam rooms and despite the craziness of it, I could not have asked for better care.

thismplsgirl

Wow, that's an amazing reference since being calm in crazy situations is definitely so important. I am definitely checking out North Metro Midwives!!

ladygeek83

I delivered with the HealthEast midwives, and loved them, and wouldn't hesitate to use them if we have another baby. But I'm guessing that's the other side of the metro from you. Looks from the other responses like you might have a number of good options!

stephmarie

thismplsgirl:

Wow, that's an amazing reference since being calm in crazy situations is definitely so important. I am definitely checking out North Metro Midwives!!

Yep Kathrine had about 30 seconds notice before I stepped into the exam room and it didn't even phase her. I felt extremely lucky, and I'm super disappointed that due to insurance changes I probably won't get to use them for my next pregnancy.