*Brownie_222*

Re: *Brownie_222*

• Brownie_222 member

  February 2011

  82% VBAC success rate sounds great!  I think you have two promising options to explore.  Keep me posted on what you find out because it may help me, too. 

  I went to an open house at the birth center I decided on, and that answered a lot of my preliminary questions.  Here are the additional ones I typed out so I could make sure I covered everything I wondered about.  My midwife was kind enough to take 40 minutes beyond the tour to talk with me one on one -- and this was before I was pregnant and decided I wanted to have my baby at her center... so, for me, it came down to the high level of touch/time investment she seemed willing to make as well as the other options I talked about in your original post.  A good hospital question to ask might be about monitoring - would they require continuous or intermittent, and do they have wireless monitoring?  My OB option would require continuous and wasn't wireless, and since there's some research that says CFM can lead to increased odds of cesareans without better fetal outcomes, I was reluctant to submit myself to continuous monitoring.  But for me it kind of came down to a feeling I had about the best option for me at this point in my life.  Hopefully you will have that same intuitive feeling after you do more investigating. 

  Ok, here are the questions.  Sorry this got so long!

  Questions for birth center:

   

  Tell us about your philosophies on pregnancy and birth?

  Tell us about your education/certification?

  Tell us about any continuing education, seminars or other meetings you attend regularly.

  Are you licensed by the state?

  Do you keep statistics about your births?

  Are you certified to handle emergencies ? neonatal resuscitation, CPR, Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics, Pediatric Advanced Life Support)

  Who typically assists you during births?

  Are there back-up midwives to support an extended labor or in the case of personal emergency/concurrent birth of another one of your client?s babies?

  How do you feel about doulas?

  What is your VBAC experience?

  Have you ever attended a VBAC that experienced a uterine rupture?  If so, how was it handled and what was the outcome?

  How long have you been delivering babies?  How many babies have you delivered?

  Tell us about times when a woman at a birth center required transfer to a hospital?

  Where is the nearest hospital and how do they treat patients (interpersonally) who require a transfer from your care?

  Are you able to transfer with a patient into the hospital setting when it is required?

  How do you monitor babies during labor/during a VBAC to ensure the baby is tolerating labor?  What are signs that baby is not tolerating labor and what do you do then?

  What is your vaginal birth success rate?

  What if I go to/past 42 weeks?

  What if I am Group B strep positive?

  What do you do if my water breaks prior to labor starting?

  Under what conditions (If any) would you consider artificially rupturing membranes?

  What reading/classes do you recommend for parents?

  What do you do to stop excessive bleeding after birth?

  Have you had any experience with shoulder dystocia?

  Have you had any experience with cord prolapse?

  What percentage of your clients tear?  What do you do to try to prevent tearing?  Up to what degree can you repair?

  How long can a client push during births you attend?

  What conditions would make me high-risk during pregnancy or labor that would require me to transfer?

  Where do your clients have blood work, ultrasound, glucose and other testing done?

  Do you handle the newborn blood screening tests or do we have to see our pediatrician for this?  Tell us about how you check baby?s health before we leave the center and/or in the days following?  Can we call you once we?re home if we have any concerns?

  I?m RH negative.  In the event of an accident during pregnancy, can you administer Rhogam?  Can you administer the shot post-partum if baby is RH+? 

  Do you accept our insurance?  If not, tell us about our options.  If care is transferred midway through the pregnancy or during labor, how does that affect fees?

   

  

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• Harper'smom

  February 2011

  Thank you. There are a few good ones I had not thought about. I'm going to have to grill the O.B. about their VBAC stats. I'm definetly skeptical. A huge concern regarding the birth center is that during rush hour traffic the time to get to the hospital would be way too long. Without traffic I could do the drive in 15 minutes. There is a new hospital about 5 mins away but they don't deliver babies but have an E.R. so that is pretty scary. I'm really glad that the midwives took so much time with you before you were pregnant. I don't want to be perceived as jumping the gun but when BFP day comes I want to be happy and not worried about which provider I will call.(excuse cell phone formatting). GL with the rest of your pregnancy and your upcoming birth. It sounds like you have a great team in place.

  

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