When I had done my L&D clinicals I just got a better vibe from the midwives.

I was low risk and healthy and wanted to try an unmedicated birth and they seemed the least stressful medical people to interface with. That being said, I decided to go with midwives at a hospital rather than a home birth because I was worried about the risk of having to move if something went wrong and I do think that was the right choice for me; I wouldn’t want a home birth unless the baby came so fast it was unavoidable.

I got pregnant with my first DD via IVF. I asked my RE for a couple of recommendations for OBs and, when he asked if Ixwas open to considering midwives, I said yes. He recommended a local practice of CNMs that delivered at the hospital closest to me, I scheduled an appointment, and I was thrilled with what I found. They did hospital deliveries with an OB as backup if necessary and were open to epidurals for pain management. LOVED my experience so much that I remained with them for my yearly checkups and delivery of my second DD. I was AMA for both pregnancies, and I liked the fact that they didn't treat me like a disaster waiting to happen. My care was excellent.

I wanted evidence-based care and looked at several practices. I only felt confident I'd get it from midwives.

I did have a hemorrhage with my first kid and midwife handled it beautifully, btw.

Not something I thought much about before getting pregnant. When getting my blood work done the lady asked me a few questions and recommending a midwife. After looking into it, I
quickly knew I wanted to go the route of a hospital birth with a midwife. Natural childbirth with not a single stitch needed.

^^

plus 3 mid-wives in training! Such loving carers with me for my 3 kids' entrance into the world.

Ya just gotta go with your instinct.

Because the doc wouldn't come to my house for my water-birth.

3 babies and 2 midwives later I loved my birthing experiences without -- gasp! - a doctor present.

Easy - I went with midwives. I wanted someone who would listen to my questions and concerns and work with me to have the birth I wanted. I wanted to be on the baby's schedule, not the doctors schedule.I also didn't want to end up with an unnecessary C section - better chance of not having unnecessary medical interventions with midwives.

I didn't have any health concerns, I was in my 20's, and the truth is I was friendly with a woman who was a doula and training to be a midwife and she talked about it sometimes. About how happy it made her to help people when they were anxious, to help people bring a new person into the world, how much she liked having control over how much interaction she had with new mothers, etc.

So one day I asked her "how would I determine if I'd be a good candidate for a midwife?" and she said "ask your obgyn." And when my obgyn said sure go for it, I asked my midwife friend for a rec.

My midwife brought a doula. I got foot massages. I got personalized nursing lessons once in the hospital and twice at home. They brought soup. They taught my husband and I how to bathe the baby. Practiced with DH how to swaddle. I felt like they went above and beyond but they swore "this is just what we do."

I just don't think I'd have gotten that level of attention from an obgyn.

I wanted someone who would work with me, not just tell me what they think I should hear. I also wanted someone with strong training, who could safely manage a low risk pregnancy and delivery, and could safely risk assess and transfer care if things changed.

So, I chose a CNM with physician backup and hospital priviledges, who also did home births. It was awesome. Next time around, she had retired so I chose an ob with midwives. That went well also (in hospital that time, I was older then).

I'm done with babies but I still see the midwife for well woman care.

I just think they're nicer. I feel the same way about nurse practitioners vs. pediatricians for my children. Doctors talk down to me, but they are really nice and deferential to my husband - it has happened again and again. The midwives and nurse practitioners I see are both in groups with MD's, and I know I could see the actual doctors if I had an issue.

Personalized attention.

I went to my long time OB/GYN for preconception counseling, and felt super rushed. And very.. assembly line? She told me to do X, Y, and Z. When I asked follow up questions, I got what felt like the "party line" - very difficult to engage or discuss. Whole thing was maybe 10 mins, and I left with more questions than I came with. A very frustrating experience.

That combined with some of what my sister experienced in her birth (with an OB in a hospital). She was given a really large episiotomy (her husband said at that point the baby just fell out) that took a really long time to heal, and was really painful. Also, her baby was born at 6:30pm, totally healthy, no issues whatsoever but it was "policy" that she had to have IV fluids for I think it was 12 hours afterwords? Despite that fact that she could not get to sleep with the IV in (she found it very uncomfortable) and that she was perfectly capable of drinking water/gatorade, whatever, and again, a completely normal birth.

I was in a bit of an odd spot because I absolutely wanted to be in a hospital, and in case of an emergency, I wanted to be in the OR FAST. Things can go very seriously wrong with a birth. Plus I DEFINITELY wanted an epidural. But the midwifery model of care just seemed like a better fit for me.

I ended up going with the Washington Hospital Center Midwives and I had such a positive experience. Just phenomenal. It was exactly what I wanted. Most of my prenatal appointments were 60-90 mins. They were available by phone when I had issues or questions. My birth ended up a bit more complex (basically just a super long induction) and they were amazing. I'll definitely use them for all my deliveries (this was just my first).

Anonymous wrote:Nothing beats the thrill of not knowing if you'll die from a PPH.

Just kidding. Bleeding out from a PPH is actually quite tiring. And I felt sick to my stomach, too. Or at least I did until I lost consciousness before waking up as a different hospital 24 hours later.

you have issues.

Nothing beats the thrill of not knowing if you'll die from a PPH.

Just kidding. Bleeding out from a PPH is actually quite tiring. And I felt sick to my stomach, too. Or at least I did until I lost consciousness before waking up as a different hospital 24 hours later.

Curious - please share