OB/GYN vs. Midwife

Wonderful explination. Thank you. My question now is, since this is my
first time, how does one go about finding a midwife that isn't in the
office with an OB? If I am cared for by a MW (or a group of MW's) for
nine months, I want her to deliver as well (if possible of course). I
don't want a Dr. I've never seen rushing in to *catch*, ya know?
Especially if the pregnancy is normal and healthy. I guess my question
is....Are there MW only offices, or is there always an OB/GYN in the
office with them? Is this making any sense?

~Cassie


Well I have a midwife and she is the only one at the center of 3. The other
2 are both OB's and I have not been seen by either of them. She is my
caregiver and will deliver my baby. Im pretty sure that if you start with
the midwife and things go well, she will be the one to take care of you the
whole time. Of course, ask just to be sure but I can't imagine why not!

Im sure there are Midwife only offices but not around here unless you are
having a homebirth. And the one midwife that does that is not certified so I
felt a little apprehensive about going that route. We're using a birthing
center which is located in a hospital instead and I feel great with that
decision.

Good luck ~ I had an OB with my 1st, a Midwife with my 2nd and this time
too. The care, the birth, everything was like night and day. I'd never use
and OB again unless I really needed to

Kari
mom to Kaylie (7) Noah (4) and #3 due in 9 days!

Mrs. Evil wrote:

Why is this? Do MW's deliver? Help me here, Mommies. I want some
opinions.

A woman can start of with mw care but move to OB/GYN in case her
pregnancy develops a risk factor, e.g. she's having twins, or she
or the baby has some kind of medical issue that needs treatment.

Nevertheless, I was forced to OB/GYN care with DS, since I had
a thyroid condition, but not once did I experience the benefit
of OB/GYN supervision during my prenatal visits. He measured BP,
fundal height, fetal heartrate and that was it. Any midwife could
have done that. When I went into labour, I was forced to stay in
the hospital, even though contractions ceased, and in the end DS
was delivered by a midwife and the OB/GYN was nowhere in sight.
I didn't have a postnatal visit to complain about this, but I
know for sure, next time I will go to a midwife, no matter what!

This is clearly a YMMV issue, but for me it comes down to: a MW
treats you as a healthy woman, an OB/GYN tends to see you as a
patient who needs a cure.

--
-- I
mommy to DS (14m)
guardian of DH
EDD 05-17-2004
War doesn't decide who's right - only who's left