how many midwives did you interview?

2junebabies · October 2014

Hi ladies. For those of you who planned a home birth, how many midwives did you interview before you hired one? I sent out e-mails to 5 or 6 in the area and I have received responses from 4. I think I should speak with all of them in person to see who is a good fit. Does that sound reasonable? We are meeting one tomorrow morning. What was it that helped you make your final decision? Was it your personalities clicking? Any other advice you have is welcome. With my daughter I jumped into an OB practice without doing any research, so I'm new to taking the process slowly. Thanks!

ETA: If you had a home birth, did you also have a doula? Or were you comfortable forgoing a doula?

soulcupcake · October 2014

#3 - Just the one, because there was only one in the area I lived at the time.

#4 - Four, one was a phone interview.

#5 (this time) - A few. They were all great. The one I chose lives the closest, and has a CPM, doula and OB in her practice. She also has a payment system/plan for those with my insurance, so it's a greatly reduced fee.

Despite there only being one in the area I was living with #3, she was/is awesome. I love her. We totally clicked from the start, and was awesome throughout my pregnancy and postpartum period. All of the midwives had apprentices that also acted as doulas, so I didn't need to hire a doula or anything.

SidraJedi · October 2014

I interviewed two but would have interviewed more had they not been booked through my due date.

I think personality played the biggest role in who I chose.

We did not hire a doula. One of our midwives kind of helped in that capacity which would not have been necessary had DH prepared/done his homework or if my mom was helpful at all and I had invited her to be there.

painttheair14 · October 2014

Just interviewed one. There was another we could have interviewed, but there was NOTHING we didn't like about the first so we didn't see the point.

It is reasonable to interview as many as you want though!

We did not have a doula due to price. Also, I'm very introverted and wanted as few people around as possible.

LilTiger15 · October 2014

I only interviewed one. My doula that I used with my first pregnancy (I had an OB/hospital birth for #1) recommended her, as she delivered my doula's last two babies. I also asked my hypnobabies instructor for her recommendations, as she works with a lot of midwives. She also recommended the same midwife. So, I decided to meet her and we clicked right away. I felt comfortable with her, so I decided not to interview any others.

2junebabies · October 2014

Thanks ladies. The interview yesterday went well. We really liked the midwife. We are meeting the other midwife whom she works with on Wednesday. She's also a little closer to our house. I will most likely end up hiring one of them, and it will be nice because they'll both end up being at the birth.

How many births has you midwife attended? The one we just interviewed said she's done about 500. I thought that sounded good until I read 4000 on this board.

painttheair14 · October 2014

Ours had done under 100 and we were OK with that.

She was extremely knowledgeable and was able to thoroughly explain all possible scenarios we brought up (and more)!

jennypolkadots · October 2014

I am so jealous of some of you with so many choices!! The only midwife in our area that was delivering in a hospital (meaning insurance pays) retired when I was 6 weeks pregnant. Go figure. Then there are two midwives that work together and deliver in a birth house about 30 minutes north of us. We are in Alabama and midwife assisted home birth is illegal and practically no CNMs deliver in hospitals either. We also drove over 2 hours to meet a midwife who owns a birthing center, she was fine but it was too far of a drive for us. The hospitals in our area are not NB friendly and I would be fighting tooth in nail to get the things that are important to us.

We ended up being happiest and connecting the best with the midwives that live in our area. They are just really wonderful women and feel like friends, but have so much experience that we feel totally comfortable. Having started off with an OB, the experience is night and day. All of my prenatals are over an hour long and I can call my care providers any time with any questions. I have become a midwife advocate and hate that so few women realize this type of truly personal care is within reach.

I also have 3 appointments with an OB (different than my starting OB) spread out throughout my pregnancy just to have an emergency back up. He is known to be an excellent surgeon so if we need a cesarean, I feel comfortable with him. He is the most NB friendly doctor in our area, but is really more indifferent than supportive so I still prefer the midwives.

Typing that made me realize how glad I am to be later in pregnancy and settled in our birth plan. Around week 12 is when we were sorting all this stuff out and it gave me serious anxiety for a while. So many things to consider!

blue+skies · October 2014

I talked to 3 on the phone and then interviewed 2 of them. I picked based on experience and gut feeling. I'm not sure how many home births my midwife has attended, but she's been doing them for the past 4 years. Before that she had her own practice at a birthing center, before that she had rights at a hospital, and before that she was nurse at a large hospital and dealt with mostly high risk patients. What I liked most about her experience is she had seen a lot of different scenarios, including some scary stuff as a nurse, so I felt comfortable that she knew how to react to complications or in the case of an emergency.

2junebabies · October 2014

Thanks ladies. This is all really helpful. I think my biggest dilemma now will be how to choose between the two midwives who work together. We loved the first one, and I'm sure the second one will be great too.

Want a personalized experience?

how many midwives did you interview?

Re: how many midwives did you interview?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards