wrote:
birth junkie wrote:
wrote:

I'd guess that a bigger difference (allowing the typical midwife to
spend more time with the laboring woman) is simply the size and scope
of the practice. Midwives have fewer patients (and since they usually
only handle childbirth they DON'T also have patients with gyn-related
concerns), and are able to plan their schedule so that they won't have
more than a few women due any single week. I'm sure that when OB's are
hanging out in the hospital anyway, they aren't just sitting in the
doctor's lounge watching Oprah while waiting for Mrs. Jones to crown.
They are tending to the other 5 women who are in labor at the same
time, being called down to the ER to check on OB/GYN-related cases,
doing emergency c-sections, and much more.

Naomi

All the more reason to hire a midwife OBs can have their
emergencies and women can get better one-on-one care. Everyone's happy.

Though (just being practical here) until there are more midwives
available, everyone CAN'T hire a midwife. If a midwife finds herself
with 20 patients all due in the same week, she won't be able to sit
with them for hours on end either! (

This may not hold true for hospital/medical practice based midwives,but
the midwives around here who do homebirths all have a limit to how many
they schedule. Mine did no more than 5/month, and generally only 4 with
one per week. Sometimes there is overlap, but she says she's only been
stuck with two deliveries in one day once.