Best doctors and hositals for a natural birth

[Anonymous]

Question for PP 16:59: Is Ferrier ok with doulas and do you know who covers for her when she herself is unable to do the delivery? Glad you had a positive experience!

[Anonymous]

Just FYI - I totally want to second, third, fourth the replies from people who were told their insurance didn't cover home births, but then got the insurance carrier to pay a percentage, no problem.

I had the exact same situation. But my company's benefits advisor told me that all the midwives had to do was be certified in DC and "bill like an obstetrician", i.e. submit the entire bill at time of delivery. And the advisor was right. No problems getting them to pay, none at all.

It's very worthwhile to ask the homebirth midwife how she bills, and whether she has been successful with your insurer in the past.

[Anonymous]

Op, I could have written your post prior to my first birth. I went to a hospital, ended up with a c/s due to failure to progress by a doctor at a partner practice I had never met. Afterward my DH admitted he regretted not going to birth care.

For my second, I wasn't interested in home birth but I insisted on working with a midwife. (birth care won't take VBACs) I looked at Whitney and Karen, and went with Karen at AWC, since I had been seeing her since my first birth. Happily, I had a VBAC in december with her.

All this to say, if you are going to a hospital, go to a midwife And get a doula (didn't have one for our first either). You will be glad you did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Question for PP 16:59: Is Ferrier ok with doulas and do you know who covers for her when she herself is unable to do the delivery? Glad you had a positive experience!

16:59 here. I believe she would have been fine w/a doula if we wanted one, but her attitude was more like: If your husband is fully prepared/equipped to do everything you need to help you, you may not need one. We decided we didn't want one, so this wasn't an issue for us. She also didn't encourage the use of a birth plan (which was fine because my birth plan was basically just to do it without drugs--no big list of specific requests). But for someone who wants a detailed birth plan and a doula, maybe she would have seemed less supportive. She's fully supportive of natural birth, though, and that's what was important to us.

I don't know who covers her, because I think it changes, since she's not connected to a larger practice. I remember her telling me it would probably be one of two people.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your response 16:59/9:14. It all makes sense. Is there a class you would recommend to prepare myself and my hubbie? What else made natural birth a success for you? Thanks again!

[Anonymous]

9:14 here again. We took a Bradley class, which was great for us. Honestly, I would have been nowhere near prepared without that class, even if I had read a lot of books. Forcing DH and me to sit down and think about/discuss some of the issues was invaluable.

I'd definitely take some kind of class to prepare yourselves. (Not just the one at the hospital, but a more intensive one.) Other people like hypnobirthing, and there's another thread on a Bradley method alternative.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for responding to my questions, 9:14. If you liked your Bradley class place/teacher, could you share the info please? Thanks a lot! I'd like to aim for natural birth, but would like to stay flexible and ultimately do what's best for the baby.

[Anonymous]

malcolm de souza may fit your bill. good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for responding to my questions, 9:14. If you liked your Bradley class place/teacher, could you share the info please? Thanks a lot! I'd like to aim for natural birth, but would like to stay flexible and ultimately do what's best for the baby.

Her name is Annie Harold, in Arlington. She's listed on the Bradley Method website. best of luck!

[Anonymous]

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am looking for recommendations for the best doctor/ practice in Northern VA/ DC who are pro-natural child birth, as in respecting my birth plan for no interventions. My husband isn't comfortable with us having our baby at home or in a birthing center (this is our first) and I've conceded to delivering in a hospital. I've heard good things about Alexandria Hospital and Georgetown, but need a good doctor/certified nurse midwife. Thanks.

I cannot believe that women leave this up to their scared husband to determine. How much reading has your husband done? How much research has he done? How many birth center/homebirth midwives has he interviewed? How many couples has he spoken with who have given birth outside the hospital? How many out-of-hospital birth videos has he watched? He doesn't get to have an opinion until he has truly, thoroughly done his homework. I just don't get how men, who usually know nothing about the birth process except that they are freaked out, wind up being the final decision maker. It is YOUR BODY.

My husband was a naysayer. I made him watch The Business of Being Born and I made him read Marsden Wagner's book "Born in the USA". Then I made him write down every single possible question or concern he had, then took him to the info night at Birthcare. I don't know what I would have done next if he hadn't agreed, but luckily by that point he was very open to whatever I wanted. After it was all over (great birth, perfect baby) he swore that he would never want to do it any other way.

If for whatever reason you just don't want to go down that path, then I highly encourage you to meet with Whitney Pinger. She is a solo practice midwife who works in DC (delivers at GW from July on) who is committed to natural childbirth both in theory and in practice.

Jeez, you sounds like a scary person to be married to. Do you not realize how one-sided that documentary is? Not to mention how anecdotal your "great birth, perfect baby" story is? You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but so is your husband.