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Midwife vs. OB
ok, i just called about 10 different ob/gyn offices in the area. we only have 3 hospitals that deliver babies...... and only one has waterbirthing. and not all ob/gyn offices are affilated with which hospital i choose. uhh, so confusing. ANYWAY..... sorry for rambling on............. what do you think about a birth with a midwife vs. an OB.............
tell me all you know........... im getting confused....... do midwives help you with breathing throughout labor? or maybe other techniques???? LET ME KNOW GIRLS....... I want to get everything to go like i plan on. (first pregnancy i saw like 3 or 4 diff docs. --- i couldnt connect with any of them........ I hope this time around will be different!!)
tell me all you know........... im getting confused....... do midwives help you with breathing throughout labor? or maybe other techniques???? LET ME KNOW GIRLS....... I want to get everything to go like i plan on. (first pregnancy i saw like 3 or 4 diff docs. --- i couldnt connect with any of them........ I hope this time around will be different!!)
I adore my OB and could not be happier with my decision to have him deliver me when the time is right.
I am very lucky with my OB. I have his cell phone number and he stresses to me to contact him anytime I have a question or a concern. He is all for natural childbirth and against unecessary C-sects... I however did my first delivery without pain meds and for me do not wish to repeat that. I want an epid once I hit the 5cm mark. Once in labor he remains on the L&D floor... He respects the birth plan set by his patients and his bedside manner is awesome. The guy is an absolute hoot.
It is a very personal choice btwn a midwife and an OB and neither decision is the wrong one. Choose whoever makes you feel most secure and happy.
Good Luck!
I am very lucky with my OB. I have his cell phone number and he stresses to me to contact him anytime I have a question or a concern. He is all for natural childbirth and against unecessary C-sects... I however did my first delivery without pain meds and for me do not wish to repeat that. I want an epid once I hit the 5cm mark. Once in labor he remains on the L&D floor... He respects the birth plan set by his patients and his bedside manner is awesome. The guy is an absolute hoot.
It is a very personal choice btwn a midwife and an OB and neither decision is the wrong one. Choose whoever makes you feel most secure and happy.
Good Luck!
There is absolutely nothing wrong with choosing a midwife to deliver a baby from a healthy woman experiencing no complications. I had absolutely no complications or danger signs, and I was actually contemplating a natural, mid-wife delivered home birth. If i had done that, I would be dead.
Contrary to popular belief, the epidural does not NECESSARILY slow down labor (although it can, i understand). My active labor contractions lasted 2 hours, and I pushed for about 15-20 minutes. My pushes were very strong and, yes, I did feel pain but it was manageable. I also felt myself tear, but not nearly as bad as I would have had I been without an epidural. I think I would have been sick with pain instead of holding my baby girl if I wasn't on the epidural. My OB saved my life by transferring me to the OR immediately after delivery and literally walking at my side holding the needle and thread in his hand so he wouldn't lose any time trying to start a new sewing loop. But for whatever reason, I bled out so far and so severely that when I stabilized after they closed the tear, I was at BP 60/40. Almost dead, and darned lucky that I was in a situation that allowed me instant medical treatment with a person experienced in ALL complications and qualified to handle the situation.
I am NOT saying midwives are a bad choice, at all. They do care more than OBs and they WILL spend more time at your side than an OB, hands down. They are more personable (in most cases) and they are more dedicated to keeping your wants and wishes foremost in the birthing plan. They are also very competent in most medical emergencies and can stabilize you in MOST emergency situations, but not all.
All I'm saying is...if I had gone home-birth, natural, with a midwife like I originally wanted, I would be dead, and there were NO signs to point to something like this. There was no reason to expect that complication. So my fear (which is what led me to a hospital birth with an OB) saved my butt.
I won't lie, my OB was a pain in the rear end. But it was worth it, and I won't take another risk this time around. If you really want someone with the personality of a mid-wife but the medical expertise of an OB, considering choosing an OBGYN who is a DO instead of an MD. they are RARE and hard to find, but I think that they are the best compromise possible. But again, if you really really prefer bed-side manner then DEFINITELY go with a mid-wife, there is no comparison, and your birthing experience will be pleasant and, barring unforeseeable complications (which is the big problem, I think) absolutely fine and healthy. I was afraid, so I went OB, and I'm not being dramatic when I say it is the only reason I'm still here. Coward? sure. Alive? yep. Hehe, and consider; my best friend has had 3 home births (one without any medical intervention on accident, and 2 with midwives). We have interesting debates, LOL
Contrary to popular belief, the epidural does not NECESSARILY slow down labor (although it can, i understand). My active labor contractions lasted 2 hours, and I pushed for about 15-20 minutes. My pushes were very strong and, yes, I did feel pain but it was manageable. I also felt myself tear, but not nearly as bad as I would have had I been without an epidural. I think I would have been sick with pain instead of holding my baby girl if I wasn't on the epidural. My OB saved my life by transferring me to the OR immediately after delivery and literally walking at my side holding the needle and thread in his hand so he wouldn't lose any time trying to start a new sewing loop. But for whatever reason, I bled out so far and so severely that when I stabilized after they closed the tear, I was at BP 60/40. Almost dead, and darned lucky that I was in a situation that allowed me instant medical treatment with a person experienced in ALL complications and qualified to handle the situation.
I am NOT saying midwives are a bad choice, at all. They do care more than OBs and they WILL spend more time at your side than an OB, hands down. They are more personable (in most cases) and they are more dedicated to keeping your wants and wishes foremost in the birthing plan. They are also very competent in most medical emergencies and can stabilize you in MOST emergency situations, but not all.
All I'm saying is...if I had gone home-birth, natural, with a midwife like I originally wanted, I would be dead, and there were NO signs to point to something like this. There was no reason to expect that complication. So my fear (which is what led me to a hospital birth with an OB) saved my butt.
I won't lie, my OB was a pain in the rear end. But it was worth it, and I won't take another risk this time around. If you really want someone with the personality of a mid-wife but the medical expertise of an OB, considering choosing an OBGYN who is a DO instead of an MD. they are RARE and hard to find, but I think that they are the best compromise possible. But again, if you really really prefer bed-side manner then DEFINITELY go with a mid-wife, there is no comparison, and your birthing experience will be pleasant and, barring unforeseeable complications (which is the big problem, I think) absolutely fine and healthy. I was afraid, so I went OB, and I'm not being dramatic when I say it is the only reason I'm still here. Coward? sure. Alive? yep. Hehe, and consider; my best friend has had 3 home births (one without any medical intervention on accident, and 2 with midwives). We have interesting debates, LOL
I guess I view this a little differently than most, though neither view is wrong in my opinion. I do NOT want a medical professional in the room with my while I labor unless there is a reason for them to be there. My DH and my mom are my support staff during labor. They both know the breathing techniques and I am never hooked up to any machines. I can get up and walk, sit on a ball, get into the tub, ect...and I don't need a nurse, OB, or midwife to do help me with it. Yes, my OB and the nurses come to check on me, it's their job, but for the most part I labor without them. I am not a person who like people hovering over her and I trust in my body to do what is needed.
The hospital I go to is very supportive of a woman's choices on how they want to labor and deliver. You do not have to lie in a bed if you do not choose to. You can birth in basically any position you want to, even in the tub (as long as there is no medical condition, of course).
While I love my OB AND the midwife's in the practice, I don't think one is technically better than the other. They all have their pros and cons and it's a personal decision on who YOU choose. I really love the fact that my hospital and my OB and the midwife's, gives you the 'home feeling' while still being in the hospital in case something happens. There are bad and good in any profession and the best thing a person can do is to educate themselves and choose what they are comfortable with.
Just a little story. When my son was born, he was facing up instead of down. Some doctors may have said to do a c-section as it would be far easier than a vaginal delivery. My OB wouldn't even think about it. Her c-section rate is very, very low. She told me that there would be more pain, even with the epidural I CHOSE to have. It was actually the midwife that was more worried than the doctor. She was the one that first brought up a c-section. I know that not all midwife's will do this, but this particular one did. My OB said that unless I or the baby was in distress, the best way to deliver was vaginally and I completely agree. At that point she stayed with me for the duration and coached me though the different positions to make the delivery easier. I would have hated to think that I would have been cut just because it would have been easier for someone else.
This is just my story and what happened to me. I know that not every situation is like this one and yes, for the most part an OB is more apt to offer medical intervention and a midwife tends to do things more natural, but like everything else in life, there are exceptions and it is our job as educated woman to find someone that agrees with out values, whichever one it happens to be. :)
The hospital I go to is very supportive of a woman's choices on how they want to labor and deliver. You do not have to lie in a bed if you do not choose to. You can birth in basically any position you want to, even in the tub (as long as there is no medical condition, of course).
While I love my OB AND the midwife's in the practice, I don't think one is technically better than the other. They all have their pros and cons and it's a personal decision on who YOU choose. I really love the fact that my hospital and my OB and the midwife's, gives you the 'home feeling' while still being in the hospital in case something happens. There are bad and good in any profession and the best thing a person can do is to educate themselves and choose what they are comfortable with.
Just a little story. When my son was born, he was facing up instead of down. Some doctors may have said to do a c-section as it would be far easier than a vaginal delivery. My OB wouldn't even think about it. Her c-section rate is very, very low. She told me that there would be more pain, even with the epidural I CHOSE to have. It was actually the midwife that was more worried than the doctor. She was the one that first brought up a c-section. I know that not all midwife's will do this, but this particular one did. My OB said that unless I or the baby was in distress, the best way to deliver was vaginally and I completely agree. At that point she stayed with me for the duration and coached me though the different positions to make the delivery easier. I would have hated to think that I would have been cut just because it would have been easier for someone else.
This is just my story and what happened to me. I know that not every situation is like this one and yes, for the most part an OB is more apt to offer medical intervention and a midwife tends to do things more natural, but like everything else in life, there are exceptions and it is our job as educated woman to find someone that agrees with out values, whichever one it happens to be. :)
Worrieddd612- so your ob is with you the whole time helping you breath, and give you all the support like a midwife or doula? That's great never new obs did that. Ive always been taught that doctors only come at the end when it is time to push. I would hate to be labouring in pain for hours til a doctor popped in for a second to check me and then run off. I'm glad that I'll have a midwife around to support me the whole time.. Here they call a doctor for precautionary reasons when it is time to push but the midwife is there the whole time as I mentioned.
i never said that they were bad or unknowledgeable or anything of the sort, simply that i would prefer someone delivering my child with an ob license. and i never said a midwife wouldn't be the best care for a child, i simply said bedside manners aren't the most important thing. i think you should fully read my comment before you attack me.
i LOVE reading what you have to say, your always right to the point!!!!!!!! and im soo happy i posted this up, cuz i have gotten a lot of info im not sure i wouldve noticed it on the web!!!!! this is great!!!!! now where is that BFP?????? ;) cant wait, and guess what no one even knows we want a 2nd!!!!!! i am trying SO hard not to spill it to my momma!!!
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