Elaine wrote...
her a copy). Now I'm starting to have second
thoughts. My midwife has gotten excellent
reviews on her technical skills, but I'm
not sure that she does enough hand-holding
for me.

Hi Elaine,

See my other thread on this group about our midwife situation.
It illustrates some warning flags that may pop up later on,
and would be worth trying to spot early into the relationship.

I didn't add that there were also some religious differences
that became apparent later on (our midwife appears to be
born-again Christian; we're agnostic with Eastern leanings)...
which in itself is ok. However my wife wants to feel free
to meditate in whatever way she wants to during labor (this
includes with Buddha icons if need be) without feeling that
the midwife will fail her or disapprove, and not to have
expectations placed on her about what the wife's role is
supposed to be. I think there needs to be some sort of
dialogue about religious beliefs been mother and midwife
early on in the interview. If the midwife doesn't care to
share them, then it must be agreed that she will not
from that point on.

~ Arthur