Meeting a midwife tonight- what to ask?

PHNJenna · July 2014

I am a newly pregnant first timer, due first week of March. My husband and I decided years ago when the time comes that we would consider home birth and working with a midwife. I am excited and nervous, we are learning towards home birth but definitely have not made any decisions yet. With my nursing background, I feel a little uneasy with home birth, but also very " I am woman hear me roar" about it. If any of you are/or have worked with a midwife, what did you like/dislike about it? I feel like I have a million questions, along with no questions (mind blanking right now). What should I ask her?

stellasoo · July 2014

Here's the list of questions I complied after reading dozens of websites. Its kind of long.

ETA: We just hired our MW for a home birth last week so I can't really answer your other questions.

What is your philosophy regarding labor and birth?

What is your education and training as a midwife?

How much time do you spend on continuing education?

How many years have you been practicing?

How many births have you attended as a primary attendant?

Are you certified in infant and adult CPR?

How many assistants do you bring?

What is our role in decision-making?

How often will I see you? What do checkups consist of? Any ultrasounds?

What prenatal tests do you recommend? Which tests do you require? Where would those be done? What if I decline a test?

What makes a woman appropriate for home birth? (emotional, personality, health)

What are some specific conditions that would make home birth too risky?

What complications have you seen and how do you handle them? (Prolonged labor, fetal distress, bleeding)

What conditions might arise that would require transfer of care to a hospital?

Do you stay with me if I’m transferred? Do you have a hospital that you prefer?

Do you help with optimal fetal positioning? How? When do you start?

How does care change if baby is breech?

How do you handle posterior babies?

What is your c-secion rate? Transfer rate? Emergency transfer rate? Have you experienced any poor outcomes?

What are your guidelines for weight gain/loss, nutrition, prenatal vitamins, exercise?

How does my care change if I’m diagnosed with diabetes or pre-e? What else would disqualify me from having a home birth with you?

What is your policy if I go past due? Do you induce? How?

Do you carry anti-hemorrhage drugs with you to all births? Which ones to you bring? In order, what do you use in case of hemorrhage?

Do you carry oxygen or other emergency supplies?

Do you monitor the baby? With what tools do you monitor and how often? What do you consider fetal distress? What do you do?

Do you perform episiotomies? If yes, how many have you done? Under what circumstances?

What medical supplies do you carry with you?

How many births to you commit to per month? How many times have you missed a birth? What is your backup plan if you aren’t able to attend birth?

What is your backup person’s experience?

What are your expectations of women during pregnancy?

Cost

Do you take insurance?

PHNJenna · July 2014

@stellasoo- thank you so much, awesome list!

TiffanyBerry · July 2014

We did a midwife at a free-standing birth center. We chose there over home birth because it was closer to the hospital if a transfer was needed (two blocks instead of ten minutes), and because DH liked the set/logistics a little bit better.

I don't remember what all questions we asked, but we asked a lot of the same questions we found online, and a lot about how care goes, the ways people risk out, their rates of transfers and what they transfer for, but we also talked about ourselves (us and the midwife) a bit too. It turns out that all those questions were important, but the fact that we were getting a feel for how the midwife thought/felt about the whole thing was the most important. It was *VERY* obvious, after the interviews we did, who we would go with, and it turned out great.

jmknox · July 2014

TiffanyBerry said:

We did a midwife at a free-standing birth center. We chose there over home birth because it was closer to the hospital if a transfer was needed (two blocks instead of ten minutes), and because DH liked the set/logistics a little bit better.

I don't remember what all questions we asked, but we asked a lot of the same questions we found online, and a lot about how care goes, the ways people risk out, their rates of transfers and what they transfer for, but we also talked about ourselves (us and the midwife) a bit too. It turns out that all those questions were important, but the fact that we were getting a feel for how the midwife thought/felt about the whole thing was the most important. It was *VERY* obvious, after the interviews we did, who we would go with, and it turned out great.

This - same for me. I was a little scAred of a home birth as a first time mom so we did a free standing birth center 2 mins from a hospital with a good Nicu (just in case). It was a great experience. We were even able to go home 5 1/2 hours after the birth with no issues. The experience with my midwives was incredible and I wouldn't have had it any other way. Hope this helps

barnwife · July 2014

I have had 3 HB. When I first met my MW, I went in with no specific questions. I had no idea you should have a list. I mean, I figured she would try to sell me on using her. And that I'd ask questions as they came up.

I'd already done lots of research about the safety of HB.

Anyway, I only considered HB because DH asked me to. I am so very glad he did. All 3 have been amazing experiences.

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