WHC midwives or OBs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used the GW midwives and although I can't wholeheartedly recommend them (and likely won't use them again), I want to reply to the 'axe to grind' comment above - prenatal care with midwives vs. OBs (I switched at 16 weeks) was night and day. No feeling like I was boring them or bothering them with my questions, no feeling like they had something better to do or they were internally rolling their eyes at FTM questions. And no unnecessary tests (not all OBs do this, but Reiter Hill definitely did to me). If I could find a way to only use midwives for prenatal care and deliver with an OB that would be my gold standard.

Okay but wouldn’t the eye rolling just be a bad OB? I mean doctors vary but I’ve never felt like that from a doctor. I don’t see why a midwife would be magically nicer. And I wouldn’t know the first thing about what tests are necessary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I used the GW midwives and although I can't wholeheartedly recommend them (and likely won't use them again), I want to reply to the 'axe to grind' comment above - prenatal care with midwives vs. OBs (I switched at 16 weeks) was night and day. No feeling like I was boring them or bothering them with my questions, no feeling like they had something better to do or they were internally rolling their eyes at FTM questions. And no unnecessary tests (not all OBs do this, but Reiter Hill definitely did to me). If I could find a way to only use midwives for prenatal care and deliver with an OB that would be my gold standard.

Okay but wouldn’t the eye rolling just be a bad OB? I mean doctors vary but I’ve never felt like that from a doctor. I don’t see why a midwife would be magically nicer. And I wouldn’t know the first thing about what tests are necessary.

I can't speak for all OBs but Reiter Hill is a big practice, I saw maybe 6 people, and had bad experiences (from ignoring questions, to just leaving and saying they had to go without asking if I had any questions, to the rudeness that made me feel like they were rolling their eyes, to telling me "I'm not really good at reading sonograms, I'm not sure why they asked me to do this" when I was called in for an extra appointment to discuss -- something they saw on the sonogram) with every one.

I had a gynecologist at that practice I loved, but she doesn't deliver.

If I have another kid I'll be looking for a new practice because I didn't have a good delivery experience with the midwives and want to avoid a teaching hospital.

You seem very skeptical of midwives, so you shouldn't use them. But I'm not sure why you're so consistently pushing back on anything positive anyone says about them. It's not magic that midwives are more compassionate and spend longer in appointments, it's the Midwife Model of Care, which has a different focus than OBs.

[Anonymous]

I’m pushing back on the idea that you are saying midwives are more compassionate than doctors. Midwives are individuals. So are doctors. All have the capacity to be kind and compassionate, or not. I’ve met some midwives who are wonderful and some who are not. I’ve met some doctors who are incredible and some who are not. The broad generalization that a midwife would provide a kinder and more compassionate experience than an obstetrician is inaccurate. People have a range of experiences with all providers. Pushing someone towards midwifery care by saying that the midwife will care more and spend more time with you is nonsense. It’s a great argument to try and push women to the midwifery model, but it’s just not accurate. Plenty of obstetricians are caring and spend lots of time with their patients. Maybe the typical slotted time for a midwife visit is longer than for an OB if you’re just going by how their time is billed but plenty of OBs adjust their schedules to spend more time with patients than the time slots they are typically given for appointments. And unlike midwives, OBs are not midlevel providers and they can handle all kinds of complications in birth, which midwives cannot. Oh and most OBs are women nowadays anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m pushing back on the idea that you are saying midwives are more compassionate than doctors. Midwives are individuals. So are doctors. All have the capacity to be kind and compassionate, or not. I’ve met some midwives who are wonderful and some who are not. I’ve met some doctors who are incredible and some who are not. The broad generalization that a midwife would provide a kinder and more compassionate experience than an obstetrician is inaccurate. People have a range of experiences with all providers. Pushing someone towards midwifery care by saying that the midwife will care more and spend more time with you is nonsense. It’s a great argument to try and push women to the midwifery model, but it’s just not accurate. Plenty of obstetricians are caring and spend lots of time with their patients. Maybe the typical slotted time for a midwife visit is longer than for an OB if you’re just going by how their time is billed but plenty of OBs adjust their schedules to spend more time with patients than the time slots they are typically given for appointments. And unlike midwives, OBs are not midlevel providers and they can handle all kinds of complications in birth, which midwives cannot. Oh and most OBs are women nowadays anyway.

I'm not pushing anyone toward anything; I said explicitly that I will not be using midwives if I deliver again. Your reaction seems very disproportionate to the actual conversation, mostly because you are ranting against a great number of things that were never said.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m pushing back on the idea that you are saying midwives are more compassionate than doctors. Midwives are individuals. So are doctors. All have the capacity to be kind and compassionate, or not. I’ve met some midwives who are wonderful and some who are not. I’ve met some doctors who are incredible and some who are not. The broad generalization that a midwife would provide a kinder and more compassionate experience than an obstetrician is inaccurate. People have a range of experiences with all providers. Pushing someone towards midwifery care by saying that the midwife will care more and spend more time with you is nonsense. It’s a great argument to try and push women to the midwifery model, but it’s just not accurate. Plenty of obstetricians are caring and spend lots of time with their patients. Maybe the typical slotted time for a midwife visit is longer than for an OB if you’re just going by how their time is billed but plenty of OBs adjust their schedules to spend more time with patients than the time slots they are typically given for appointments. And unlike midwives, OBs are not midlevel providers and they can handle all kinds of complications in birth, which midwives cannot. Oh and most OBs are women nowadays anyway.

I'm not pushing anyone toward anything; I said explicitly that I will not be using midwives if I deliver again. Your reaction seems very disproportionate to the actual conversation, mostly because you are ranting against a great number of things that were never said.

This is what I’m responding to. All of my comments were in response to this inaccurate generalization you made. The midwife model of care doesn’t make a midwife any more compassionate than a physician. There are midwives who are far more medical than OBs and vice cersa. It comes down to the individual provider and the practice philosophy, and we are lucky In DC to have many great options of OBs and midwives who support women in their birth preferences.

“It's not magic that midwives are more compassionate and spend longer in appointments, it's the Midwife Model of Care, which has a different focus than OBs.”

[Anonymous]

OP, please ignore the people that are giving their impression of midwives based on their experience with GW midwives or other groups that are not WHC. I went with the WHC midwives specifically because I found the GW ones to be way too focused on natural birth. The WHC midwives have NO natural birth agenda at all. They ask you what you want and help you achieve those goals. I could not be happier with the care I got from them. I can't speak to the OBs because I didn't see any, but I don't see any reason not to go with the midwives.

[Anonymous]

I love the WHC midwives. They are very different from the GW midwives. They do not have a unmedicated birth agenda nor do they have a list of regulations like GW midwives.

Having an all-female practice makes me feel very
safe. They let me know when and why they are going to touch me, they don’t harp on weight, they make me feel listened to. If you need to transfer to OB care they are right there.

I will say I do not like Dr Katz, the MFM I ended up with for ultrasounds. There’s other drs in the Perinatal center though—I just went in blind and ended up with him based on when I was able to schedule an appt.

[Anonymous]

OP, I delivered twice with the OBs at MWHC and found them to all be fantastic. My favorite is Draoui but really I had good experiences with them all. I am very risk averse so any additional testing is ok with me. I never felt rushed or like I was asking stupid questions. It sounds like you can’t go wrong with either decision. MWHC is an excellent hospital.

[Anonymous]

I've delivered three babies with WHC OBs and had wonderful experiences each time. Two of those were unmedicated, and the other was a pretty complicated (and long) birth that the OB single-handedly got me through. I cannot say enough good things about them. My favorite is Dr. Muangman (spelling?), but I can't say I had a bad experience with any of them. I've also heard wonderful things about the midwives, although I have no personal experience with them. Sounds like you'll be in good hands either way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've delivered three babies with WHC OBs and had wonderful experiences each time. Two of those were unmedicated, and the other was a pretty complicated (and long) birth that the OB single-handedly got me through. I cannot say enough good things about them. My favorite is Dr. Muangman (spelling?), but I can't say I had a bad experience with any of them. I've also heard wonderful things about the midwives, although I have no personal experience with them. Sounds like you'll be in good hands either way.

Dr. Muangman did my C-section (scheduled for breech baby) while my WHC midwife was in the operating room. Midwife focused on me and (once out) DD and getting skin-to-skin and breastfeeding while Muangman finished on the surgery. Best of both worlds and no extra charge for a "gentle cesarean".

[Anonymous]

I went with he WHC midwives because they were the only program that offered nitrous oxide (laughing gas). Yes, I'm serious. It's a normal thing in other parts of the world but we mostly do epidurals here; absolutely no judgement of epidurals but I had a phobia about being immobile. I also wanted to lower my chances of c-section, which happens at much lower rates with midwifery care. I really liked the team but did not getting ultrasounds at WHC. This one sonographer (?) insulted me every time I went in for a scan, which was often because I was "high-risk"- over 35, IVF, large baby. I ended up asking for a referral to a separate facility for ultrasounds and ended up with a scheduled c-section (had a very large baby and extra fluid) but the midwives literally held my hand during the c-section prep before my husband could join me and helped facilitate skin-on-skin and breastfeeding in a way I don't imagine a regular OB might. I continue to go to them for regular care- paps, etc. Good luck! And congratulations!

[Anonymous]

I love the WHC midwives and would use them again in a heartbeat, but OP, it sounds like an OB is the right choice for you.

[Anonymous]

It's all kind of luck of the draw, I think, so either choice is fine. I went with the WHC midwives and did not have a good experience because I got unlucky! The midwife was attending multiple births at the same time and was with me very briefly during a protracted and complicated labor. She was not warm or compassionate and her only advice was push harder. After it was evident she was in over her head an OB came and she was no longer present. The OB was amazing and managed to delivery my baby with a vacuum assist after giving me pitocin. The midwife should have asked for medical intervention much sooner but she was too busy with other births it seemed. She provided no post-partum assistance or support to me, I guess because my baby was in the NICU. She just told me I was traumatized while they were stitching me up - helpful! I'll be going with the OBs this next time but really I think you just don't know what's going to happen when you give birth. You don't know who will be on-call and you don't know what will happen during your labor that might make one a better option than the other. Not very useful advice I guess but my experience!