OB doctor or Midwife?

Britness · August 2014

Last pregnancy I had used an OB doctor. Wasn't really impressed or happy through my entire pregnancy and delivery. Someone was telling me to go with a midwife this pregnancy. Curious if anyone has a preference and any experiences you might want to share. Thanks!

mle106 · August 2014

This is my first pregnancy and I am using a midwife. I really want as natural a birth as I can have. They work in the hospital alongside the OBs, which makes me feel more comfortable in case I need more intervention. So far I love the attention and caring that my midwife shows in our appointments!

modernfairytale8709 · August 2014

I have never had a positive experience at on OBs office, so when I got pregnant, I scheduled an appointment with a midwife practice.

I've been through two office visits with my amazing midwife, and I will never step foot into an OB office again, unless medically necessary.

Britness · August 2014

The OB I had was nice, but very rushy and I felt confused almost every visit and very rushed to get out after waiting 30-45 minutes to get in for my appointments. I had an epideral which I regretted. My doctor was in and out probably 3 times through my entire labor and delivery and I felt I had a better connection with the two nurses I had than the actual doctor, and even the nurses were rude. I'm considering midwives because I've only heard good things about them. I know a lot of people have a great experience with their doctor but I just didn't at all.

Mrs.EvilQueen · August 2014

This is my first pregnancy , and Ive only had one appointment so far. But my midwife is incredible and I wouldnt trade her for a thousand OBs.

MommyOfAMiracle · August 2014

FTM mom here and I have a couple of questions since we are on the topic.

Is a midwife covered by health insurance? If you have a midwife, where do you have your visits? Are they more personable? I haven't done a ton of research on this, obviously. But any help in "dumbing this down" for me, is appreciated!

Britness · August 2014

I havnt seen a midwife yet for my pregnancy but I got information on them from a doctor. In my area there are five midwives in their own facility so it's like your going to a regular doctors office but with only midwives. I'm sure it might be different other places but that is what they have here. Yes they take health insurance. I have only seen a midwife once and it was for a regular pap check up and the midwife I had was extremely nice which is also why I'm considering using them for this pregnancy.

ConstanceGoodspeed · August 2014

OBs are trained surgeons, and I did not want a surgical perspective on my labor and delivery.

My midwives are in a regular medical office setting; in fact they are a floor above the obgyn's office (it's a high rise). They do take insurance.

I switched from an ob to a midwife mid-pregnancy last time because I wanted - and got - a vaginal, med-free birth. They were more personable, but I am sure there are personable ob's out there if that is the only thing you're concerned about.

My midwife popped in a few times during my labor but once she entered my room towards the end of transition she stayed. After delivery, I had a retained placenta and needed an emergency D and E. My midwife calmly explained the procedure and stayed with me until I was knocked out. The ob then took over (again, trained surgeon). Overall, great experience and love my midwife practice.

t8keepr03 · August 2014

I am a minority here. I have an OB, he is the same who delivered my daughter. I love everything about him and the office staff. He is all about whatever you want during delivery. I like delivering at a hospital and I like the idea of having an OB in cases where a midwife can't do medical procedures. The hospital I deliver at is awesome with a wonderful staff and my OB will be at delivery no matter time of day as long as he doesn't have another delivery or is out of town. As far as going unmedicated both the hospital and my OB were on board if that's what I wanted. I again, seem to be a minority, I got an epidural.

sweetdreamz6700 · August 2014

Another minority. I love my OB's office and actually drive quite a bit away to stay with them. I plan on cycling through all the OB's in the office during my pregnancy so I can build rapport prior to the actual delivery.

jmcgra06 · August 2014

We did OB the first time, midwife the second, and my experience with my midwife has been much, much better, even though I really liked my OB. I wish I had switched last pregnancy like I considered, but I didn't want to transfer records - kind of silly.

psychobutthead · August 2014

I went with an OB with my first pregnancy. But at the last minute there was no one at the hospital to deliver my baby so the hospital brought a midwife in for the delivery.

With this pregnancy I'm also going with an OB by request of my DH. I don't see much difference in them. Both are well qualified.

jeffsmomma · August 2014

I had an OB last pregnancy and wasn't impressed at all. And when I went into labor (five weeks early I might add) I never even seen the doctor! Or any doctor for that matter until after my son was born! The mid wife was the only one on the floor at the time and she acctually delivered my son. So this pregnancy I just decided that I would just go with a wid wife. Acctually the one who delivered my son. So I think that midwives are awesome!

chickyclg · August 2014

We went with an OB, but I am high risk due to blood issues and we are having twins. My chances of a c-section are high. Also I am a wimp for pain and I don't know what all midwives have access to.

amt0312 · August 2014

ConstanceGoodspeed said:

OBs are trained surgeons, and I did not want a surgical perspective on my labor and delivery. My midwives are in a regular medical office setting; in fact they are a floor above the obgyn's office (it's a high rise). They do take insurance. I switched from an ob to a midwife mid-pregnancy last time because I wanted - and got - a vaginal, med-free birth. They were more personable, but I am sure there are personable ob's out there if that is the only thing you're concerned about. My midwife popped in a few times during my labor but once she entered my room towards the end of transition she stayed. After delivery, I had a retained placenta and needed an emergency D and E. My midwife calmly explained the procedure and stayed with me until I was knocked out. The ob then took over (again, trained surgeon). Overall, great experience and love my midwife practice.

A lot of doctors who specialize in certain fields are trained surgeons, as well. That does not mean they are ONLY surgeons. Obgyns are highly specialized in both the medical and surgical aspect of women's health. I also got a vaginal, med free birth, which is what I wanted and I saw an OB for my last pregnancy. OB =/= guaranteed c-section. Midwives =/= guaranteed vaginal delivery, so it is silly to say that OB's are only surgeons who can only offer you a surgical perspective on pregnancy, labor and delivery. Being with one type of provider over the other does, however, mean that you have a greater chance at one type of delivery vs another, so I will concede that point.

That being said, midwives are great. They can spend more time with you one-on-one and give you more personalized care. I'm a nurse. I think all nurses are great. But I'm with an OB practice for no other reason other than I love all the doctors at the practice and they are excellent in all areas regarding mine and my baby's health, so why switch?I have ample time during my appointments and never feel rushed and this practice has many nurse practitioners as well assisting in the patient education so all bases are thoroughly covered.

Long story short, both are good options, but it depends on what specifically you are looking for and require in your care.

edit: @constancegoodspeed

HeyStVincent · August 2014

University of Illinois at Chicago Midwives just posted this to facebook today:

I am using an OB for this baby. Mostly because H thinks midwifery is witchcraft. We had a pretty big argument about it, but I let him win because I didn't want him stressed out the entire pregnancy over our care provider. I think he is just being a Nervous Nelly as a first time dad. Next baby I plan on using a midwife, after H has had a chance to see that birth isn't scary (and fingers crossed our birth isn't scary!)

My OB is great, but midwives tend to be more open to birthing in different positions (should you feel like birthing in a position other than the lithotomy position) and they tend to have better vaginal delivery rates than OBs do.

Ultimately, what's really important is finding someone you like, someone you trust, and someone who makes you feel comfortable.

mands1125 · August 2014

Never even considered a midwife. I'm high risk and love my OB practice!

Muse1182 · August 2014

I don't know how common this is, but my practice is a combination of Certified Nurse Midwives and OB/GYNs (I'm in the metro Atlanta area). At about 22 weeks, you choose which you would like for delivery. Before that point, you see both doctors and midwives so that you can make an informed decision. They only deliver at one hospital (locally known as the Baby Factory for the quality L&D - I was born there, too), and each day there is both a midwife and a doctor on-call. We're choosing to use a CNM with the knowledge that any unforeseen complications can be handled by the OB on call from the practice, with the midwife assisting in everything up to and including c-sections if necessary. DH liked the practice so much he asked them if they accept male patients.

sunshine525 · August 2014

I delivered my first two with a midwife and could not have been happier with my experience. Both were delivered in a major hospital. We have since moved and my only option is an OB. I like the OB, but I'm really sad I won't have the midwife experience again. She never left my sight, from the time I checked in to the hospital until after I delivered.

one2andnow3 · August 2014

I am using an OB. I really like that they are not pushing tests on me and give me all information so I can make an educated decision as what I want with my body and baby.

firelizard83 · August 2014

I have a mixed ob/nurse midwives practice. I am using an ob and she is great! She doesn't remember me yet, but I've only seen her twice, so it will come as we near. As far as I know she will be the one delivering and she and my hospital support any kind of birth plan imaginable. While I am a ftm, so far, I wouldn't trade her for anything!

mylazypony · August 2014

I was on the fence. After being rushed through my first OB visit, I left feeling confused and frustrated. I quickly hired a midwife, that I love, I'll never go back to an OB.

CogDis · August 2014

With a midwife you have more options. Period. You can have a midwife and a home birth, a dedicated birth centre birth, or a hospital birth. You can still have access to a MD or OB at the hospital, if needed. It isn't unheard of to have both your midwife and OB present at the birth. The statistics reliably demonstrate that your chances of complications are reduced with a midwife.

To me it is a no brainer, but then again I'm a buffet lover kind of person ;-)

Beth.1212 · August 2014

I'm lazy, so I'm mostly copying and pasting a response I wrote to an earlier post

As a rule of thumb, I FAR prefer a midwife to an OB. OBs can tend to view birth as a disaster waiting to happen and want to do a bunch of interventions to manage the process, while midwives tend to view birth as a natural process that are there to facilitate and monitor. In general, OBs tend to do more interventions, and minimizing unnecessary interventions is associated with better outcomes for both mother and baby.

You really do need to look at the individual(s) that may be providing you care, though. Some OBs are really great and very open to different approaches to birth, and some midwives aren't very supportive of the mother's wants/needs.

I had a midwife for my last pregnancy and she was great. I actually had a different midwife for the actual delivery, but she was also fabulous. Both helped me with what I wanted for birth. I was fortunate enough that was possible for me, of course. It's just luck of the draw, really, in terms of needing those interventions. (Most interventions, ex. C-sections, are great tools when used appropriately. My only beef is that they tend to be overused.)

I would have loved a home birth, but I worried that if anything was wrong, it would take too long to get to the hospital and in an emergency sometimes minutes really do count.

One book that I reaaaaly liked was "Obstetric Myths vs. Research Realities." It really opened my eyes to the way that many OBs don't necessarily practice evidence based medicine, unfortunately. Just because something statistically tends to be best for mother and baby doesn't mean that is what most OBs do, which is sad. I got the book from my library through interlibrary loan at first and ended up buying it, I liked it so much.

MommyOfAMiracle My old insurance covered midwives directly. My current insurance doesn't seem to have any midwives in my plan that are in state (crazy, right?), but my current practice (a mix of OBs and midwives) bills under the OB's name even if you see a midwife, so I can actually get a midwife's care but have it be covered under my insurance. I go to the same office I would if I was visiting the OB. I'm sure that there's variability in the personableness (is that a word?) of midwives just like there is among OBs. One thing, though, is that midwives tend to spend more time with their patients and the visits feel less rushed. That's not universal, though.

ConstanceGoodspeed · August 2014

amt0312 said:

ConstanceGoodspeed said:

OBs are trained surgeons, and I did not want a surgical perspective on my labor and delivery.

My midwives are in a regular medical office setting; in fact they are a floor above the obgyn's office (it's a high rise). They do take insurance.

I switched from an ob to a midwife mid-pregnancy last time because I wanted - and got - a vaginal, med-free birth. They were more personable, but I am sure there are personable ob's out there if that is the only thing you're concerned about.

My midwife popped in a few times during my labor but once she entered my room towards the end of transition she stayed. After delivery, I had a retained placenta and needed an emergency D and E. My midwife calmly explained the procedure and stayed with me until I was knocked out. The ob then took over (again, trained surgeon). Overall, great experience and love my midwife practice.

A lot of doctors who specialize in certain fields are trained surgeons, as well. That does not mean they are ONLY surgeons. Obgyns are highly specialized in both the medical and surgical aspect of women's health. I also got a vaginal, med free birth, which is what I wanted and I saw an OB for my last pregnancy. OB =/= guaranteed c-section. Midwives =/= guaranteed vaginal delivery, so it is silly to say that OB's are only surgeons who can only offer you a surgical perspective on pregnancy, labor and delivery. Being with one type of provider over the other does, however, mean that you have a greater chance at one type of delivery vs another, so I will concede that point.

That being said, midwives are great. They can spend more time with you one-on-one and give you more personalized care. I'm a nurse. I think all nurses are great. But I'm with an OB practice for no other reason other than I love all the doctors at the practice and they are excellent in all areas regarding mine and my baby's health, so why switch?I have ample time during my appointments and never feel rushed and this practice has many nurse practitioners as well assisting in the patient education so all bases are thoroughly covered.

Long story short, both are good options, but it depends on what specifically you are looking for and require in your care.

edit: @constancegoodspeed

--------------------------------------------------

You're right; it is silly to say that, which is why I didn't.

It seems like most of us love our providers, whether midwife or ob. Glad to hear it!

ETA: Ugh, quote fail. Blaming it in mobile bumping

Lrjjj08 · August 2014

I have an ob that I love, and she did my first emergency c-section and second scheduled c-section. She will also do this one, and I have no complaints. I think there are advantages to both, but I would prefer a medical doctor.

LilTiger15 · August 2014

For my first pregnancy, I used an OB. I personally didn't have a problem with the prenatal care (other than the long waits in the waiting room), but when it came time to delivering in the hospital, there were several uphill battles because they are just not used to unmedicated births there. That became clear almost immediately when nurses were looking at me like I was nuts.

With this pregnancy, I decided on a complete 180. I'm going with a midwife and doing a home birth. I hope for a water birth. We'll be setting up a birthing tub in my living room, as there is no carpet there. If you are low risk with no pregnancy complications and deliver full term, I so no reason to insist on an OB or the hospital for that matter.

runawaylaurel · August 2014

Midwife. Homebirth. My mom had my brother and I at home back in the 80's and I grew up seeing pictures of my mom sitting comfortably on her own bed, my dad and brother on the bed too, minutes after I was born. She loved the experience. I am going to a 5 midwife practice, rotating through all of them, but will have a dedicated birth assistant for my delivery.

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