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Natural Birth
luvablegrace154
member
For those who use a midwife...
luvablegrace154
member
What should I expect at my first appointment? My first two babies were born in the hospital with OBGYN's. I'm wanting to do a water birth and maybe home birth this time and I'm using a very reputable and highly recommended midwife. Thanks!
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Re: For those who use a midwife...
For our first appointment, I had to fill out a bunch of paperwork, pee in a cup, discuss last menstrual period/conception timing so they could determine a due date, blood pressure, weight and other vitals. We talked for a bit about their general procedures/schedule of appointments, any questions we had. The MW used the doppler to hear baby's heartbeat, but I was already 12 weeks at my first appointment, so I don't think they would have done it a lot earlier than that.
That's about it!
#2 3/2015
#3 3/2017
#4 10/2019
I'm in NZ, but I imagine the general process isn't too different.
I worked with two different midwives, so my mw for DD2, wanted to know about my pregnancy/birth history with DD1.
She asked all about general health, as well as how I was feeling with the pregnancy.
I pee'd on a stick, and she weighed me.
What I found was over the weeks, both my mw started asking more questions and building a bigger picture for themselves. It was like they don't want to bombard you with questions in that first session, and they don't need to know who you want in the birth room when you're 8 weeks pregnant.
So for me, they really focused on health, making sure I was informed about food safety, and screening tests that are available. Seeing if I had any questions, and I guess just starting to get a feel for who I am.
Elizabeth 5yrs old Jane 3yrs old
If you want a hopital birth you need to find a CNM and if you want a water birth you need to find a CNM that is okay with that and one that delivers at a hospital that has that option. CNMs are a lot like OBGYNs but more open to a natural approach and generally believe women's bodies were built for giving birth. OBGYNs see birth as medical.
I am seeing a CNM who operates a private office not affiliated with a hospital.
My first appointment was all of this above except for the doppler. I asked for an ultrasound as I wasn't charting and wanted an accurate dating and wanted to confirm that we have a singleton. My husband is an identical twin, which I know doesn't have any bearing on me having twins, but it was more for the reassurance. My MIL didn't know she was carrying twins until 7 months!
The midwife asked a lot of questions to get to know my husband and I and made sure all of our questions were answered. She sent us home with a notebook on food safety and information about the genetic testing that we could choose or decline. All in all the appointment was nearly an hour and half.
I had a similar experience... I was going to an OB for the first 21 weeks of my pregnancy so when I went to the midwife for the first time, I had a lot of questions. I was there for probably over an hour and I didn't feel rushed, AT ALL! She kept asking if I had any more questions, she answered everything in a way that we could understand and then would even say, "Did I answer your question?" or "Does that make sense?" It was a completely different experience and it was AWESOME :-)
Just an example- I took a fall at work around 28 weeks and I called the midwives' office around 11PM. An actual person (not an automated voicemail system) answered the phone! I told her what happened, she asked for my name, DOB, and due date, and told me that the midwife would call me back within 15min. Sure enough, 15min later, a midwife called me back. It was one that I hadn't had an appointment with yet, so I had never met her. She told me that everything sounded like it was fine (I felt babygirl moving, I didn't land on my stomach, etc.) but she said that their standard recommendation for any woman that takes a fall in the third trimester is to go to hospital to be monitored. I was an hour away from hospital but I decided I wanted to go, just to be double sure! I went to hospital, was on monitor for a few hours.... the midwife called my cell phone back at 3:30AM, to see how I was doing!!! I had started having a lot of Braxton Hicks due to dehydration... I was concerned but she comforted me and told me it was fine. But she also said that if I had ANY concerns, felt the contractions become stronger and more frequent, etc, that I should NOT hesitate to call!!!
In my experiences with an OB, I just can't picture them having that type of response! She called to check on me, was on the phone with the nurse at the hospital while I was being monitored and she treated me like a normal person, not just a number! I think midwives are awesome :-) GOOD LUCK!