Bay Area Midwifery

[Anonymous]

If anyone has experience with this practice, I would love to know more about it. I would like to have a hospital birth but receive midwifery care. Shady Grove is too far for us, and Anne Arundel Medical Center would work location wise. People are always raving about Special Beginnings, but I think they are a little too "crunchy" for me. I liked the Bay Area midwifery site because although they have birth center births they make it clear that they are accepting of all women's pain relief choices by specifically mentioning support of women getting an epidural in the hospital. Criticisms of the Bay Area Midwifery Center that I have read center on it being somewhat more medically oriented which is exactly what I want! I plan to get an epidural and want a practice accepting of this. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

I chose this practice because it is a nice median between my tendency towards a little more crunchiness and my husband's tendency toward a little less. I'm closer to Shady Grove and didn't Special Beginnings is just too far. Bay Area is a little over 30 min, but I really liked their balance of birthing choices when I was first looking. (My husband was traveling during my first trimester, so I did most of the research by myself.)

I'm over 8 months and planning a birth at the center. The midwives have been great for the most part. The four midwives each have VERY different personalities, but all of them seem very competent and most importantly PRACTICAL. Some are more comforting/relaxing than others, but I'm comfortable enough with all of them. They seem very cool and supportive of a natural birth for low risk women, but also acknowledge that several of their patients ask to be transferred for pain killers. They are also no nonsense about risky women giving birth in the hospital and NOT the center. If you are in the hospital, the midwives are your caregivers unless surgery becomes necessary so if you are just risky and nothing goes wrong you can still have a natural birth.

The only 'medical' things that I've HAD to have seem to be more for liability purposes to ensure that the pregnancy is low risk. There was some blood work and the g-diabetes test, but no more than my friends who have given birth at home had to have. I did HAVE to have an ultrasound. Otherwise, they don't poke around my cervix and don't plan on it until about 40 wks, they trust me when I report what's going on with my body, they don't encourage accessory tests but present you with information and let you decide whether you want it.

I would recommend, however, that you don't allow the students/interns to see you. They ask you at your first visit if students/interns can see you and they generally just take blood pressure and other routine activities, but they are not necessarily good with patients. If this isn't your first baby, let them learn on you, but I've found them annoying...one messed up my pap smear and I had to have another one, another walked into the exam room and cheerily announced to me I had a high risk pregnancy, which I did not. Having a second pap smear is not the end of the world, but it was irritating and the other student caused me undo stress since the 'risk' was something my mother almost died from when she gave birth to me...though there was only a slim chance I had the risk and it ended up I didn't. Luckily, the midwife on duty swooped in to correct the student and give me more information on the situation and the LOW potential for risk. (I'm sure I've given enough info for them to know who I am if they read this.)

Basically, two thumbs up on the midwives, but don't sign the form allowing the students/interns to learn on you unless you are really comfortable with it (I thought I was, but apparently I'm a little higher strung about my first pregnancy than I thought I would be).

It also helps that there are only four midwives, so you easily meet them all before you go into labor. You'll not likely be surprised with some random person you've never met or only met once in a large practice. I have heard several women who have used other OB practices say they really didn't want a particular person in the practice to be on call when they went into labor, but I'm comfortable with each of these midwives. I even like the office assistants.

Drop by for an interview with one of the midwives. Good luck deciding on a practice.