Midwifery

I feel like writing about midwives today. I've had birth on my mind since I read that article I posted yesterday. I will admit right now, at the very beginning, to making plenty of assumptions in what I am about to write. One, I'm assuming that my experience with my midwife is what a typical experience with a midwife is like. Two, I'm making generalizations on what an experience with an OB is like. Both of these assumptions are somewhat grounded in fact though, because I have read a lot and talked to a lot of people.

These are just some of the many reasons I loved seeing a midwife:

-My prenatal care was amazing. I never had to wait more than ten minutes to be seen. My appointment never got postponed (now, I know had someone been giving birth it would have been, but the fact that it didn't either tells me that I'm lucky or that my midwife doesn't take on too many women at one time). I was greeted with a hug every appointment. She asked about names and various other things and seemed genuinely interested. She never rushed me. I could ask all the questions I wanted to without feeling like I was being pushy.

-Midwives cost less than OBs. Yes, that is because they are technically not doctors. But guess what, in most other developed countries, women are seen by midwives unless they have a high-risk pregnancy. Watch "The Business of Being Born."

-Midwives have lower c-section rates than OBs. That is why I choose to see a midwife at first. I had no idea if I would actually choose to have natural childbirth, but I knew I wanted to see the provider with the lower rates. My midwife told me her c-section rate is about 4-5%, which is amazing seeing as the hospital she delivered at, Utah in general and the U.S. as a whole all have rates that are much higher.

-Near the end of my pregnancy, she gave me her cell phone number. I don't think that routinely happens with OBs. They have you call the on-call doctor, or go into the hospital and have the hospital call them once you are admitted. Here's how my day started on July 2nd. I called her on her cell phone at about 6:00 am. She was already at St. Marks and told me to do a couple things and then come in around 8. When we got there, she was right there. She did the initial exam to see if I could be admitted. When that inital exam showed I was dilated to a 5, she told me "Looks like you're going to have a baby today" and hugged and reassured me as I broke down crying, scared to death. She saw me multiple times throughout the day, in between the other two births she was attending that day and seeing her patients across the street. She was with me from probably 3 pm until the hour or so after I gave birth. In other words, she was very involved in my birth experience. I've only ever heard about OBs showing up at the very end, just in time to deliver the baby and take the credit.

-I know this has gotten long, but I have one other thing. My midwife (so I'm assuming most midwives do this) had me come in at 2 weeks postpartum AND 6 weeks postpartum. The 6 week visit was just like everybody else's- a physical check and the birth control discussion. But my two week check was basically an emotional check-up. I thought that was really amazing. Really, it should be the norm. I think they could detect PPD earlier, help with general breastfeeding/new mom issues, etc.