Forum Index
»
Expectant and Postpartum Moms
recommendations for OB/widwife practice in DC or Silver Spring?
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
Hi, I am looking for an OB/midwife collaborative practice in DC or Silver Spring area. It's my first pregnancy and I want something closer to home instead of driving to ALexandria all the time. The thought of driving on 395 while in labor also freaks me out. I like the model of the collaborative practice, but don't know how common they are. I appreciate your feedback, |
Anonymous
|
There's a useful list of midwives (including hospital based midwives who collaborate with OBs) on the Birth Options Alliance site at www.birthoptionsalliance.org. Might be a good place to start.
Midwifery Care Associates is in Rockville ...not Silver Spring but close ... http://www.midwiferycareassociates.com/. They get mixed reviews but many families are happy with them. Whitney Pinger in DC gets excellent reviews, as do the Family Health and Birth Center midwives. Their info is on that list of midwives mentioned above. Good luck! |
Anonymous
| WISDOM midwifery is a collaborative midwife/doctor model, they see patients and deliver out of GW. Whitney Pinger is one of the midwives and a pioneer in this area for expanded midwife care. But warning--since starting up at GW they have been inundated with women who want to go to them so contact ASAP if you are interested. I contacted Whitney when I was 5 weeks and just got in the practice for my month--it filled up within a week or two! |
Anonymous
| The Family Health & Birth Center midwives are not a collaborative practice in the same way that, say, Physicians & Midwives is in Virginia or Wisdom Midwifery at GW is. But they are quick to consult/collaborate with OBs when necessary. They deliver at Washington Hospital Center in addition to the birth center. |
Anonymous
| Thank you all. This helps me get started. |
Anonymous
|
As a PP has indicated, there are a number of models of midwifery/OB care. ALL midwives consult with OBs sometimes, although some actually work for the OB and are required to consult on a daily basis, while others truly work for themselves and rarely look to OBs for advice. I personally believe that when the midwife works for the OB, she has much less leeway to practice true midwifery care. In some of these practices, I believe that the OB don't necessarily support the midwifery model of care and felt it was simply a good marketing move to have midwives on staff. Those midwives who have their own independent practice, yet work in a hospital environment, have much more say over how they manage your care. However, they also have OBs literally down the hall and are even required to consult with them for certain situations. Birth center and homebirth midwifery practices are even more independent, and some do not even have any requirements regarding when they are required to have OB consults.
OP, it would be helpful to figure out what you have in mind when you are seeking midwifery care. Do you basically want typical OB care, yet a bit kinder and gentler? Or are you seeking a practice that is firmly entrenched in the midwifery model? One who will work hard to help you achieve a natural birth? One that practices true informed consent with their patients? Just based on your geographical preferences, it would make sense for you to interview both Whitney Pinger's practice, and the DC Birth Center. They are both very solid midwifery practices, yet work in the hospital setting. If you think there is even a small chance you might wind up wanting a birth center/waterbirth delivery, then you might more strongly consider the DC Birth Center, since you can wait until the end of your pregnancy to make a decision about where you want to give birth. |
Anonymous
|
good advice. It is really a hard decision. I want a natural childbirth, and I want the process to be driven by my instincts as much as possible with the safety of modern medicine nearby. I am concerned with too much intervention and would like an advocate in a midwife. thanks,
|
Anonymous
|
I'm also a FTM in Silver Spring and am using Midwifery Care Assoc. which has offices at White Flint and delivers at Shady Grove. I'm hiring a doula too, to help me while I labor at home and to give me extra support at the hospital, make educated decisions about interventions, etc... I'm really happy with MCA so far @16weeks.
Another option is Kim Severn who is a Midwife with Capital Women's Care. She works out of the Bethesda office near Montgomery Mall and delivers at Sibley. I was seeing her for a time for well woman visits, but found the waiting time at appointments unbearable so I left. But she is another closer option than VA and I liked her personally. |
Anonymous
| I'm also a FTM & live in silver spring. I started with capital women's care at holy cross due to location & I loved one of the midwives there. But after touring both holy cross & shady grove hospitals & finding out that midwives don't have delivery privileges at holy cross, I switched to midwifery care associates. I've been very happy with them & am looking forward to having this baby any day now! |
Anonymous
Kim Severn is about as far from a midwife as you can possibly get philosophy-wise, she is employed by an OB team who are extremely pro-intervention, and as far as I am aware is not usually allowed to even attend births. Bad choice for someone who is looking for true midwifery care. Fine choice if you are merely looking for a provider who can spend a few more minutes with you during your prenatal care. |
Anonymous
| OP: I'd suggest figuring out where you'd like to deliver (at home, which hospital, or which birthing center) and then finding a provider you like who has privileges there. Take all the advice you get here with a grain of salt. There are several DCUM posters who are adamantly anti-doctor and anti-hospital and subsequently only approve of those few midwives who share their philosophy. That doesn't mean one of those other midwives - or doctors - won't best meet your personal needs. Good luck! |
sybersus
Member Offline
Member Offline
| I love WISDOM midwifery at GW. I think it's the best of both worlds -- I'm seen by the midwives, but if anything comes up I can very easily transfer to the doctors there and they will have all my records and be up-to-speed on my case. I also really am happy to be delivering at GW, where I've heard the nursing staff is great (and most are supportive of unmedicated childbirth), and where they have all private rooms, which insurance covers because there are no semi-private rooms (unlike, say, Sibley). Good luck OP! |
Anonymous
|
I'm interested in this stuff too, though looking to deliver at Holy Cross or Shady Grove for our next!
We live in SS and had our first at Birthcare in Alexandria. It was a sucky ride in, that's for sure! Even on a holiday early morning! I'd do it again if we didn't think we'd need a NICU again - the midwives and the birth were great! But that drive... ugh... |