Doctor? Midwife? Deciding and Finding the Right One

It's getting to be about that time where I need to pick the type of care and the person to care for my baby and I thoughout the pregnancy. How do I decide? Once I decide how do I find the right practitioner or midwife for me? Is there some sort of resource where I can find reviews of local doctors and midwives in my area (austin, tx) and the experiences other's have had with them?

This all just seems so overwhelming...I want to make sure I make the right choice. I have read plenty of horror stories of apathetic doctors and want to avoid them at all costs!

 

Just go with whomever you feel the best with.

I loved my OB from my first birth. He was this short, little, Russian man with a heavy accent and red hair. A total sweetheart. He reminded me of Robin William's character in Nine Months.

I went with a nurse-midwife for my second birth and she was excellent as well.

 

well, think about what style of birthing experience would be ideal for you. If you prefer the hospital setting and want everything checked and tested, then an OB is probably your best choice. OB's, I find, tend to treat pregnant women like they're kinda dumb, even if that's not their intention.
If you want more of a natural approach and feel more in control of your own experience, go with a midwife. They encourage you to make you own decisions, generally streer away from pain meds, and will only prefer c-sections if really necessary.
The best way to ultimately decide is go do some interviews. If you have a regular family doctor, he/she should be able to give you some referals of OBs and Midwives to check out.

 

I do think i would be more comfortable in a setting where everything is able to be checked and tested, but I am afriad that I will be treated like a sick person and not a pregnant woman in labor in a hospital, or with the wrong doctor. I also do want to be in complete control of my experience. My sister had a baby in the hospital six months ago and the nurses started her on a bottle, after that my sister had the hardest time getting the baby to breastfeed. Those are the things I would definitely like to avoid - something like that would make me furious.

I really want someone who pays attention to what I want throughout labor and delivery, and I want to be in a place where I can keep the baby close and not have to wonder what's going on with it when it's out of my sight.

I've never really considered a midwife before because I had always just assumed I'd use pain meds. I thought the women who didn't were crazy. They're there for our use so we should use them, right?! But now that I am pregnant and I have to seriously consider this I think I understand better why many women perfer to give it a go naturally. But it all just seems scary!

 

I would go with a midwife, but that is me. There are many wonderful docs out there, but remember they work in hospitals and you will probably be subject to various hospital protocols. A nurse-midwife, is another route, though many lean to the medical model and are also held to medical protocols. A birth center is a happy medium for many people. If you are really looking for a midwife, www.birthpartners.com has a searchable database. You could also go to midwiferytoday.com and join their forums. There are many many midwives of all kinds there. A lot from Texas and they can answer your questions. Texas midwives association should also be able to put you into contact with local midwives, for you to interview. In a lot of doctor practices, who you see for you prenatal care, may not be who ends up with you when you deliver. There are pros and cons to each side. In order for a midwife to deliver your baby at home, you will need to be open in discussion to make sure there are no health issues that may keep you from having a home-birth. these circumstances depend on the midwife and to some degree( if they are licensed by the state) what state they live in. In Texas midwifery is legal and recognized by the state. After that I am not sure of the midwife's individual policies. There is also a grass-roots group called citizens for midwifery their site is www.cfmidwifery.org. they can get you info to. Even if you decide on a hosptal birth, please support you state midwives.

 

You really do sound like a birthing center would be ideal for you. You would use a midwife, but also have avaliable pain meds, any testing you would like done and have a supportive staff. You would also be more in control, since it is a midwife assisted birth. But still make sure that you know your rights, as there are pushy people who will try to make you do something you may not want to.
It is possible to make it without pain meds, lol! I was doin ok until they hooked up the Pitocin without my consent and the contractions hit me like a ton of bricks. They said that I was going too slow and they needed my bed (I was in a hospital, BTW, with an OB), yet I had only been in actual active labour for 6 or so hours!!!! Pitocin should only be used (if not asked for by the mother, in emergency, or in the case of an induction) unless 24 hours minimum has gine by with no progress at all.
So yeah, I opted for the epidural after that. I was able to build my tolerance up the worse they got before the Pitocin. They were painful, but I was able to manage it on my own, too. I'm SURE I could have gone the whole way it not for that damn pitocin!
My OB also was so adimate that I have a c-section (I'm a smaller girl, height-wise anyway, with a very small pelive area, and Leane was a big girl), and he restricted any food, water and ice chips, which is bull. I knew that I was going to do it naturally, but the nurses actually stopped dh when he tried to sneak me some water. I was sick with the flu, to boot, and should have been allowed fluids! By the time I had to push, I was so dehydrated my lips were cracked and bleeding! It SUCKED! And on top of it, about 12 hours after she was delivered, Leane came down with an awful fever and was severly dehydrated, dispite my desperate attempts to breastfeed her....I was, and still am, CERTAIN this had to do with the fact that I was so sick when I was in labour and had not been able to eat for over 24 hours at the hospital.
I also had fainted in the shower about 4 hours after she was delivered, and afterwards was told that I needed some sugar and sleep. No nurse would stay to help me learn to breastfeed, dispte my begging them(!) (TAKE A CLASS BEFORE YOU HAVE YOUR BABY, BTW, I DEEPLY REGRET NOT TAKING ONE ), and Leane was given a bottle. I was unconsious, so I couldn't fight them to let me breastfeed.
So yeah, I'm definately going with the birthing center next time. I would like a homebirth, ideally, but I also have a negitive Rh factor and GBS and it just gives me piece of mind to have access to anything, if need be.
Ah, all this baby talk makes me want to have another one......shit.....

 

what I have always done when choosing a doctor or other care-provider (I also chose midwives after my first horrific hospital birth experience), is to bring a long list of questions to the first visit. This will rule out anyone who can't bother to take the time to answer my questions and make me feel comfortable. The answers they give to my questions will rule out anyone who is not on the same page as I as far as what I want from them. The questions I ask will not be the same as what you would. For prenatal care, I asked questions like "What is your cesarean birth rate?" and "What is the cesarean rate at the hospital where you attend births?" and What percentage of women in your practice are induced, have epidurals, have totally unmedicated births, etc... I also present a lot of hypothetical situations, and ask what they would recommend in those circumstances. The first time I met my midwives, we spent four hours going over my concerns. Very few doctors will spend that kind of time with a patient (some do, though, my OB always schedules me to come in as his last patient, or before office hours, because it takes so long to answer all my questions).


always remember, they work for you and you can fire them at any time for any reason at all! don't ever be afraid to seek out a different care provider.

 

My husband and I have discussed it, and have decided to look into local birthing centers to deliver our child. I like the idea of having some control over the labor and delivery and what gois on with the baby after, and not being in a place where I am treated like a sick person is what has sold us on the idea. If I were refused water during labor I would be horrified!

I am also rh negative, will that affect my being able to use a midwife? I thought I just needed a shot in the ass to fix that!

 

yeah, you do just need that pain in the ass shot (litterally!!!!that thing hurt, more than my epidural!)
It won't affect your ability to use a midwife, i don't think so at least. After the birth, they test baby's blood type. If it's also negative, no worries, no one needs any more needles. but if it's positive, then both you and baby need a shot once the results are back.
Thankfully, Leane has the exact same blood type as me, so we were lucky!

 

do your own research about the rhogam shot. I refused to have it unless my baby was born with positive rh factor. You have 36-72 hours after possible blood contamination/mixture to get the rhogam to prevent your body from making antibodies. Find out for yourself what the risks are, and how likely they are to happen. I had a wonderful midwife-attended homebirth-away-from-home without any problems whatsoever!

 

Educating yourself on all the issues surrounding your individual pregnancy/birth/labour/breastfeeding relationship is PARAMOUNT to getting as close to your ideal as possible.

Be sure to research all of the procedures and equipment used in both the birthing center AND the hospital, because there are no guarantees.

Being educated about your options will make it easier to say no if you find yourself in a hospital with pushy, manipulative hospital attendents.

KNOW WHAT AND WHY YOU WANT!