At what point in your pregancy did you start to meet with your MW?
I'm just in my first month so I don't know if there is a rush for me to find someone or should I take my time with it?
I liked the OB I went to for my last appointment (before pg) she was really sweet and took a while to sit with me and ask me questions and let me ask questions without feeling rushed. However, I went to her with all the symptoms of a miscarriage and she said it was just an irregular period, even though I told her I had a positive HPT and 2 days later negative. Also, when I asked her about BBT she giggled and said it was old school but it works, however, she suggested OPK which I later found out don't really tell you when you ovulate just when you are most likely to. So that just made me question her knowledge/competence. I don't know if I'm just being critical though. What do you think? Should I give her another chance because she was not pushy and I felt comfortable around her? Or do you think I would have a better experience with a midwife?
Re: prenatal care
I started at 9 weeks with my son, and with my daughter I came in at 6 weeks because of a concern that I had a UTI.
I'm assuming that because you're posting this on the Natural Birth board that you are interested in having an unmedicated birth. In my opinion, given what you said, you might want to shop around a bit, and find someone who can answer your questions without making you feel like they disregard things you tell them or ask them about. If you're already questioning her knowledge or competence, the problem is only going to get magnified as your pregnancy progresses. You need to completely trust your healthcare provider, or you're going to feel vulnerable in labour, and perhaps unnecessarily tense. Also, you haven't mentioned the OB's opinions on birthing naturally, and allowing for things like eating during labour, having freedom of movement, birthing in alternative positions, etc. I don't think you're being overly critical, especially when your sampling of her has been rather small, but from what you have said, I can't imagine her being as open to natural birth as a midwife (although I confess, that's partly my own impression of OB's in general speaking too.)
Could you possibly meet with her and ask her some questions regarding her practice for natural birth, and meet with some other OB's or midwives about it, and then go with who you felt the most comfortable with?
From the info you've provided I think you may be critical and jumping the gun just a bit. First, you could have had a chemcial pregnancy or just an irregular peroid like the dr said. There are many women who get a BFP only to test negative a day or two later. Were they ever pg? Maybe, maybe not.
Secondly, I find it odd that you'd question her competence or knowledge because she suggested that you use an OPK. My fertility specialist has pts use OPKs to determine when they're ovulating so they can come in at the right time for their treatments. The results of the OPK were used to schedule my IUI. OPKs test for a spike in hormones that occur usually with in 36 hours of an egg being released.
You have some time. My OB's office doesn't schedule the first appt until you're 10-12 weeks pg. If you like the dr and fee comfortable with her I suggest staying with her for at least a few visits to get to know her better and question her on her views and policies on birth. If after a couple of visits you don't feel confident in her abilites or her views don't match with yours you can look into changing to a different provider.
I'm seeing an OB and she's very, very NB friendly. I brought it up at my 24 week appt and she said that she's very hands off and will let me labor the way I want to. I did tell her that we're taking Bradley classes so she knows I'm not going into a NB without any forethought or planning. She has no plans to induce me unless it becomes medically necessary. Right now LO is measuring a bit big but my OB isn't concerned. She figures LO will be big because Hubby is big.
What I'm trying to get at is, given the right OB you can have a NB without worry. I have a good rapport with my OB and I don't have any reason to believe that she's going to pressure me into interventions that I don't want. NB friendly OBs are out there you may just have to look a little to find one.