Do you want to have a normal, healthy birth, with genuinely compassionate prenatal care? In comparing the general care of an OBGYN and a midwife, you will defintely receive more attentive and compassionate care with a midwife. Just in comparison of practitioners from my old OBGYN office alone, the midwife always spent the most time with me and focused on keeping me healthy and learning about my lifestyle. Each of the three Doctors that I met with in the office spent less than two minutes with me and typically only read my stats making sure they were “normal” or within what the polls say is normal for a pregnant woman at my stage of pregnancy. Come to think of it, even the Nurse Practitioner at my old OBGYN office was not half as attentive as the midwife was.
Generally you would choose a midwife if the following apply:
1. You want a normal birth free of harrassment from practitioners that might induce you and push you to have a c-section so that they can make it home for dinner.
2. You are a “low risk woman” which means you are healthy and want to stay healthy throughout your pregnancy.
3. You enjoy prenatal visit where you can converse and establish a relationship with your practitioner.
4. You want a partner or supportive practitioner instead of a directing practitioner.
5. You want more options of places, settings, or environments in which to give birth.
When I was 6 months pregnant I switched from a standard OBGYN to a birth center. That was the smartest thing I’ve ever done. The Hollywood Birth Center is the best of the best from what I hear. The environment is warm and cozy with the focus being on keeping you happy and healthy. Visits are never less than 45 minutes and the entire staff is focused on helping you determine which methods of care are best for your and your baby. Some people might think that at a birth center you will find only extremsits or a bunch of crazy feminists who are completely opposed to advances in the medical field. It has been nothing less than the opposite from my experience.
I am encouraged to be a well informed consumer and not simply inject my baby with whatever drugs or vaccines a doctor tells me to. I am encouraged to gain weight appropriately for my body and eat a healthy variety of foods. At my old OBGYN office, for example, they emphasized that I gain weight less quickly. Meanwhile, 37 weeks into the pregnacy I am of a perfectly healthy weight and my body just happened to gain weight more so in the begining than in the end. It is terrible that I was scolded for eating well and healthy simply because I gained a pound or two too quickly according to what is “normal.”
This is a great resource for some reasons to choose midwife care by Robin E. Weiss on about.com.
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