best choice in choosing an OB/Midwife when you want to go natural?

sushi&wasabi · June 2011

Hi girls...I know this is really premature, but I am going to have to start looking for a doctor soon. I am currently seeing my reproductive endocrinologist due to needing to do IVF, but will have to find another doc to transfer over to in the next few weeks. I am in a city where I have never had to see an OB, so I don't really have any connections.

Right now, I don't know if I am having 1 or 2. We put back 2 and I have my first u/s on Wednesday. I'm also not sure if a singleton vs twins will sway my opinion at all on how natural I want to go. I originally thought I would do a home birth, but my insurance covers a bunch at a hospital, so I am now thinking of doing something as natural as poss. in a hospital setting. Any info would help!

CTri17 · June 2011

it depends on your state but for instance here (In AZ) twins cannot be born at home (legally) so I would have had to been in the hospital if that was the case.

Other than that I'd suggest your local Nest/Bump board and mothering.com find your tribe board and ask there. GL

Oh, and regardless of what your insurance covers, really think about what you WANT out of your birth and then make your decisions.

CurbsideProphet · June 2011

In general, if you want a more natural experience than I would suggest a midwife over an OB. You may get a better idea of specifics on your local board, but in a lot of places a midwife hospital birth is possible.

pinksweetpea2 · June 2011

It really depends. Some OBs can be very NB friendly and some MW are very medical (we call them medwives). You are really just going to have to ask around...I second the poster above about checking out the Finding your Tribe area on mothering.com. That is a very helpful resources.

Also, I think it is important to make the distinction that any type of homebirth is not illegal anywhere in the US. It is the attendance of a midwife which legally varies from state to state.

Sharon21 · June 2011

I see you are close to me. I am in Dayton Ohio and was able to have a med-free hospital birth. I saw a group of 4 midwives and 2 OB's. I met all of them throughout my pregnancy and all were very supportive of natural birth. The lead OB of the practice has (if I remember correctly) 8 kids and his wife gave birth to all of them naturally.

The hospital that I gave birth at here has a natural birth center in the hospital which is what I used. It was perfect because I was able to have a low intervention birth there but have the security of the hospital just in case. The only monitoring was with a doppler, no routine IV's, minimal cervix checks, and so on. You can't get an epi or pitocin (unless it is just a shot if needed to stop hemorraging after birth) in the birth center, you would have to be transferred to L&D.

I know that people come up from Cincinnati to use this birth center so if you were willing to travel a little it might be a good option for you. I guess it depends on where near Columbus you are located to how long it would take to get there.

Also because there are OB's in the practice my insurance covered everything they just had to bill all of my visits through the OB's name even when I saw a MW. I think that because there are OB's they also see women who are having twins as long as there aren't other things making them high risk. HTH

Sharon21 · June 2011

Oh and if you want the name of the hospital or my provider feel free to PM me!

Texas77again · June 2011

Sharon21:

The hospital that I gave birth at here has a natural birth center in the hospital which is what I used. It was perfect because I was able to have a low intervention birth there but have the security of the hospital just in case. The only monitoring was with a doppler, no routine IV's, minimal cervix checks, and so on. You can't get an epi or pitocin (unless it is just a shot if needed to stop hemorraging after birth) in the birth center, you would have to be transferred to L&D.

Also because there are OB's in the practice my insurance covered everything they just had to bill all of my visits through the OB's name even when I saw a MW. I think that because there are OB's they also see women who are having twins as long as there aren't other things making them high risk. HTH

i am so in love with all of this! to me, this is the best of both worlds. OB's could let the mw's see the low-risk healthy women and they can handle the complicated cases. they spend the majority of their training on complications and surgery. it would be so wonderful. alas, i slipped into dream world again, but it sounds like this place that you are talking about is pretty close. i think i love them! Lol...

Mrs.Handy · June 2011

I also had my natural birth with a practice that had both OBs and MWs and I agree that it was the best of both worlds. The default was for the MWs to handle the birth if it was low-risk, run of the mill birth and if there were some kind of complications the OBs were there to step in.

My MW that delivered DS was amazing and our doula was so impressed with her patience and candor. I pushed for almost 3 hours, which would cause interventions with most practices, but my MW kept encouraging me and finally DS came out.

cottonlily84 · June 2011

Find out as much as you can about natural birthing BEFORE the first apointment. I knew I wanted a natural birth and so when I went to a dr for my first prenatal appointment and had to explain to 3 people that I did not want a pap smear I knew I was not in the right place. When you have to beg for what you want go elsewhere. My dr now might disagree with me in ways (like about the pap lol) but he doesn't argue. He knows it's my body, my choice. So just go with your gut. If you ever feel odd about something or that you don't feel comfortable discussing with a dr (like asking for natural things not the norm to them) I'd search for another one.

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