Midwifery at GWU

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[Post New]05/23/2011 16:47
Anonymous
rquintilian wrote:I'm a Doula and just attended a birth with Whitney. She was amazing. It was an unmedicated VBAC. She spoke to everyone in the room throughout the 12 hour birth, referring to and treating all of us as a team - Mom, Dad, Nurses, Doula, and herself. She seemed to utilize the technology to her advantage, while focusing on the Mom, not the machines, and it was like a homebirth in a hospital. She was so committed to this Mom, very vocal, very reassuring yet strong, and very physical with her. I felt like she was exactly what Mom needed to pull off this very challenging birth. It is apparent that Whitney believes in birth, and believes in Women.


I just had a natural VBAC with Whitney and this describes my experience exactly. Amazing.
[Post New]05/23/2011 16:48
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Something happened to Whitney when she moved from WHC to GWU. She's so nervous about any possibility of a less than perfect birth, that she's freaking out and pressuring women to test more and accept more medical interventions when there's the slightest issue (one bad BP reading, measuring big or small, unusual weight gain). She's not the midwife she used to be. Laura has been apologizing for her but it doesn't stop her from derailing some women's births.


I delivered with Whitney last January. I signed up with her just as she was transitioning over to GW. Wisdom Midwifery is a new practice and while I don't know exactly why Whitney is testing more (if in fact she really is), I would imagine she and her group are under some pressure to deliver within the guidelines set by the hospital. If high risk women (PE, GD, etc) were trying to deliver with Whitney, the outcomes might be less than desirable and I don't think GW could support a midwifery practice with these outcomes. I think it's AWESOME that GW is on board with this. How many other hospitals have a midwifery practice?

For me, the extra testing was a PLUS. I wanted someone like Whitney at my side during labor AND I also wanted an OB in the event things went south and required immediate intervention. I think it's the best of both worlds. I had an unmedicated delivery which was exactly what I wanted. I didn't want any of the other things (music, incense, etc) that one might associate with a midwife-assisted delivery. Highly recommend her practice.
[Post New]05/23/2011 18:30
Anonymous
the extra testing was a PLUS

what exactly shall I imagine under extra testing?
[Post New]05/23/2011 20:50
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
the extra testing was a PLUS

what exactly shall I imagine under extra testing?


Use your overactive imagination, fear the worst, and then commence snarkiness. This is DCUM after all.
[Post New]05/24/2011 09:44
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Something happened to Whitney when she moved from WHC to GWU. She's so nervous about any possibility of a less than perfect birth, that she's freaking out and pressuring women to test more and accept more medical interventions when there's the slightest issue (one bad BP reading, measuring big or small, unusual weight gain). She's not the midwife she used to be. Laura has been apologizing for her but it doesn't stop her from derailing some women's births.


Whether or not Whitney performs more tests is debatable. Either way, she is still the best thing happening inside hospital walls in the metro area. Her outcomes rank amongst the best in the country. As a birth doula who has had a lot of opportunity to work along side her during many deliveries I can attest that Whit makes a serious effort to help mothers achieve their ideal birth. This is a little different for everyone. My best advise is to be clear and open about what you want. Ask questions. Convey your preferences clearly. You are much more likely to get what you want.

Laura is just as fantastic. I worked with both Laura and Marcia when they were at Sibley years ago and am thrilled that they have joined WISDOM. The best midwife for you will just come down to personal preference. They are really a great team.

I'm not sure who asked, but last time Whitney and I spoke (about a week ago) her c/s rate was 3%.

[Post New]05/24/2011 11:05
Anonymous
To PP - I was told the same re: cs rate (3%).

Something for all of us to remember - the GW midwives are a HOSPITAL-based practice, so of course they are going to approach the birthing experience differently than a home birth CNM. I feel like Whitney and her staff are VERY upfront about this and what the differences are - what you can expect to gain and what you give up when you choose a hospital-based practice - in person, on their website, and in their introductory materials. I am with 16:48 - I actually really appreciate knowing that there is a full hospital and OBs supporting the midwifery practice - if, god forbid, things went south, I would have all the support I needed. And, even though I am 100% committed to delivering with a midwife, I also like having access to geneic screening, tests, etc. that I would not necessarily get with a birthing center/home birth.

[Post New]05/24/2011 12:06
Anonymous
Can't speak to the whole "new vs. old Whitney" debate since I just started with the practice but I had a first appt w/Nora this morning and found her to be totally great.
[Post New]05/27/2011 23:50
sybersus
Member Offline
I have seen Whitney, Nora, Erica, and Laura thus far and like them all. Each has a different style, but I wouldn't say they have different expectations. Can you elaborate. On what you mean by this?
[Post New]05/28/2011 09:37
Anonymous
I honestly do not believe the c/s rate for WISDOM midwifery is 3%. *Maybe* if you are only counting those women who go into spontaneous labor, it might add up to 3% who wind up with c/s. However, to get the true number (to compare to the local OBs, for example), you need to include ALL women who use WISDOM from the beginning of their pregnancies. I heard that the c/s rate for this practice was extremely high in the last year that they were at WHC.
[Post New]05/28/2011 18:11
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I honestly do not believe the c/s rate for WISDOM midwifery is 3%. *Maybe* if you are only counting those women who go into spontaneous labor, it might add up to 3% who wind up with c/s. However, to get the true number (to compare to the local OBs, for example), you need to include ALL women who use WISDOM from the beginning of their pregnancies. I heard that the c/s rate for this practice was extremely high in the last year that they were at WHC.


They are very careful in keeping accurate stats. Before you go slamming their CS rate you should contact them and find out whether what you say is true. At a minimum, even you would agree, if you go into labor with them you know their CS rate at that point is 3%. Whitney is actually doing work on primary CS prevention.
[Post New]05/28/2011 18:33
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I honestly do not believe the c/s rate for WISDOM midwifery is 3%. *Maybe* if you are only counting those women who go into spontaneous labor, it might add up to 3% who wind up with c/s. However, to get the true number (to compare to the local OBs, for example), you need to include ALL women who use WISDOM from the beginning of their pregnancies. I heard that the c/s rate for this practice was extremely high in the last year that they were at WHC.


And why wouldn't you? The midwives specialize in normal pregnancies and deliveries, which means if you are high risk you are referred to an OB. OB's are surgeons, they are expected to have a higher c/s rate. Midwives are expected to have very low c/s rates.
[Post New]05/28/2011 19:25
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I honestly do not believe the c/s rate for WISDOM midwifery is 3%. *Maybe* if you are only counting those women who go into spontaneous labor, it might add up to 3% who wind up with c/s. However, to get the true number (to compare to the local OBs, for example), you need to include ALL women who use WISDOM from the beginning of their pregnancies. I heard that the c/s rate for this practice was extremely high in the last year that they were at WHC.


And why wouldn't you? The midwives specialize in normal pregnancies and deliveries, which means if you are high risk you are referred to an OB. OB's are surgeons, they are expected to have a higher c/s rate. Midwives are expected to have very low c/s rates.


Yes, of course, but to have accurate comparison statistics, midwives should not get to just discount every women that they transfer over to OB care either during pregnancy or for an induction or other situation which becomes high risk. It's like the homebirth midwives who transfer a dying baby to the hospital, and then fail to count that dead baby in their own statistics. It's easy for a midwife to brag "I have a 3% c/s rate" when they are only including a small subset of their patients. A 3% c/s rate is pretty much unheard of these days. Even homebirth midwives, who tend to have the absolute lowest c/s rates possible, hover more around a 5-6% rate. I really like Whitney Pinger and her practice; it's just that I am curious about how those numbers are being calculated.
[Post New]05/29/2011 15:46
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Yes, of course, but to have accurate comparison statistics, midwives should not get to just discount every women that they transfer over to OB care either during pregnancy or for an induction or other situation which becomes high risk. It's like the homebirth midwives who transfer a dying baby to the hospital, and then fail to count that dead baby in their own statistics. It's easy for a midwife to brag "I have a 3% c/s rate" when they are only including a small subset of their patients. A 3% c/s rate is pretty much unheard of these days. Even homebirth midwives, who tend to have the absolute lowest c/s rates possible, hover more around a 5-6% rate. I really like Whitney Pinger and her practice; it's just that I am curious about how those numbers are being calculated.


And how many midwives do you know of that induce labor? Whom do homebirth midwives report their stats to? Maternal Fetal Medicine OB's have the highest c/s rate of all, gee I wonder why?
[Post New]05/29/2011 21:09
Anonymous
I don't think that Whitney only allows a "small subset of patients" to continue through pregnancy to delivery. That is ridiculous
[Post New]05/30/2011 15:34
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I don't think that Whitney only allows a "small subset of patients" to continue through pregnancy to delivery. That is ridiculous


I think what the PP (not quoted poster) fails to realize is that only a small subset of women require interventions. Most women have normal pregnancies and deliveries, it's how we've survived as long as we have without surgeries etc. Women are built for birthing babies.
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