- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
Colorado Babies
Mountain Midwifery
I saw that a few of you recommended Mountain Midwifery. How far did/do you travel to get there?
I'm anxious to make it to an open house and learn more about the clinic. I'm currently seeing midwives attached to a medical facility, and I'm just not sure if it's the experience I'm looking for.
Warning
No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Mountain Midwifery
Hmm, feel free to share whatever you have!
At the group of midwives I'm seeing, I'm still not confident that I'll have a fully supported natural birth. Every time I try to ask about their philosophy and procedures the answer is "Well, but if this happens..." I know what can happen! But I am not high risk and want to plan for the best while of course being prepared for the worst, if that makes sense. I want to plan for a natural birth and know the support system will be there. At this clinic, many patients are seen who are there for insurance purposes only, so I feel like things may be run differently than if it were a clinic for everyone interested in delivering with a midwife.
That being said, the women are all wonderful at my current clinic! I haven't met with one of the delivering midwives yet. I'll definitely learn more and get to ask more questions at my next appointment. I still feel really drawn to MM and their practices.
Where do they send you for testing/ultra sounds? Can you go to a local lab or are you seen at the hospital near there?
I am traveling 1 hour to get to my current clinic. It would be about 1 1/2 hours to Mountain Midwifery. So you say it's worth it?
...Sorry for the length!
I would definitely say it's worth checking out. It was worth it for me. The culture there is completely different than at a standard hospital. They pre-screen, and only accept low-risk mamas. Appointments are not rushed, and they are there to answer all questions you have. They make it conversational. In order to become a patient, you have to attend an orientation so that you can be sure it is for you.
From the insurance standpoint, it is true that many places don't cover their care. BUT it is so much more inexpensive to go that route that you pretty much end up paying the same amount, or even less, anyways. They are located very close to Swedish Medical Center, so that way there is a hospital right there in case there are any complications. And they have worked with that hospital so that they are familiar with some of the more common practices of the mamas who are interested in more natural childbirth. One cool thing about that is that Mountain Midwifery has actually changed Swedish's practices with regard to Cesarean babies - now they will let them stay with the mama for the first hour after being born.
An important thing to be aware of is that you also have to go through some mandatory classes at the center in order to give birth there. There are less required if you have given birth before, but new parents have to take a 4 week birth course, as well as a class on newborn care and breastfeeding. I have found the newborn care and breastfeeding classes extremely informative - but the birth one, not so much (possibly because I self-educated myself beforehand).
Also, they send you and baby home pretty early - generally about 6 hours after birth. That is why you have to take the extra classes. They give you some other really informative material to read throughout your pregnancy that makes you think and educates you in some traditional as well as non-traditional areas. They have midwifes on-call 24/7 to answer important questions that may come up.
I was originally drawn to the center because of the idea of more comfortable birthing rooms. I like the idea of giving birth in something that's like a bedroom rather than the whitewashed hospital environment. I don't know if you've visited their website yet, but there is a lot of good information on there.
For testing and ultrasounds, they definitely will work with you on what is best for you. For me, they have drawn blood there for lab work, and they referred me to a local provider for my ultrasound (although they also do have a doctor that comes on-site periodically to do them as well). I know of others who have done all lab work and other work off-site because of insurance reasons. They are pretty understanding in that area.
The other benefit I have experienced from choosing this birth center is the social aspect. There is a special network online for mamas who have given birth there, and it includes message boards, profile pages, and groups you can join that have social events. Although I expect to use it more once Audri arrives, I have already made some friends from there. And that is nice, because none of my previous friends have families yet!
I hope this helps! The last note I would add is that I did switch providers during my pregnancy, and it really wasn't that difficult to do. I had been hesitant at first since I started with an OB and initially felt some kind of obligation to stay there. Now I am very glad that I did not. I feel like I am in a different world, and that my views on pregnancy and giving birth are much more mature and natural than what I would have received at a "standard care" practice.
If you are interested, I have some books I read that helped open my eyes to the many different ways of giving birth. I could offer you their names.
Good luck!
Thanks so much for sharing your perspective! I will definitely check out the next open house and am extremely interested!
My only concern is traveling so far for appointments. It will mean a lot more time away from work each month for classes/appointments. I'm sure they can fill me in on the schedule when I go to an orientation.
Please do share the books that you found helpful, and thanks again!
The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth by Sheila Kitzinger was a little dry, but very informative.
Ina May's Guide to Childbirth was very helpful to me.
I read a few others, and the ones above were really what I found helpful. Birthing from Within was really boring to me and the only thing I found that I liked was a very helpful structure general diet to follow.