How does having a midwife work?
ByI keep hearing about midwives vs. doctors, midwives give you more personal care than doctors do. But Does that sill mean that i have to go to the dr’s to get blood work and physical exams done? And what about delivery if im gonna have a c-section? Ive never experienced a midwife before, ive had 2 c sections and all my appts with Dr.’s.
Im 8 weeks pregnant and trying to decide whether i should go with a dr or a midwife. Can anyone share with me some of their experiences?
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3 Comments
April 7th, 2010 at 8:09 am
Midwives still do all the same things as doctors do, or basically they can. Often they don’t do many of the useless tests that doctors do, but they certainly can.
Even if for some reason where you live midwives aren’t allowed to say draw blood, they would just send you to a lab where a lab tech would draw the blood.
April 7th, 2010 at 8:51 am
Yes, you will still have to see your doctor for blood work and physical exams and things like that.
A midwife is a knowledgeable and experienced person (usually a woman) who helps a woman have a healthy, normal pregnancy and give birth to a healthy baby. A good midwife does this by offering education, counseling and support before, during and after the baby is born, by not interfering unnecessarily with the birth process, and by getting appropriate medical attention for mother or baby if it should be needed.
The midwives model of care is based on the fact that pregnancy and birth are normal life processes. The midwives model of care includes:
Monitoring the physical, psychological, and social well-being of the mother throughout the childbearing cycle
Providing the mother with individualized education, counseling, and prenatal care, continuous hands-on assistance during labor and delivery, and postpartum support
Minimizing technological interventions
Identifying and referring women who require obstetrical attention1
What is a midwife?
A midwife is a healthcare professional that provides an array of health care services for women that may include medical histories and genealogical examinations, contraceptive counseling, prescriptions, and labor and delivery care. Providing care during labor, delivery and after birth is a specialty of midwifery that makes them unique experts.
What services do midwives provide?
The services of a midwife depend on the certification and licensure credentials obtained and the practice restrictions within each state. Because of the additional licensure in nursing, a nurse-midwife provides the most comprehensive array of healthcare services to women.
These services include: annual gynecological exams, family planning and preconception care, prenatal care, labor and delivery support, newborn care, and menopausal management. Midwives generally provide reproductive education directed at fertility, nutrition and exercise, contraception, pregnancy health, breastfeeding and quality infant care. Midwives often serve as a quality economical option for birthing care.
What are the benefits of using a midwife?
One of the main reasons that women elect to use a midwife in their home, at a birthing center or in the hospital is to experience the childbirth process as naturally as possible.
A focus on options is another benefit associated with electing midwifery care. Midwives often have payment plans, sliding fees, and accept most insurance plans, including Medicaid.
According to the doctoral research conducted by Peter Schlenzka, an election to use a nurse-midwife and natural delivery may result in the following benefits:
Lower maternity care costs
Reduced mortality and morbidity related to cesarean and other interventions
Lower intervention rates
Fewer recovery complications2
Electing to use a nurse-midwife is appropriate for low risk pregnancies which make up 60 to 80% of all pregnancies. In Schlenzka’s review of over 800,000 births, he reports there are no advantages of an obstetric hospital approach as compared to a nurse-midwife setting inside or outside of the hospital.
What are the concerns related to using a midwife?
Low risk pregnancies make up 60 to 80% of all pregnancies, which means that between 20 to 40% of all other pregnancies could have a potential complication. There are times when either the mother or the baby will require medical interventions that are outside the scope of services offered by a midwife. Midwives routinely consult with obstetricians, perinatologists, and other healthcare professionals and will refer women to the necessary medical professionals if complications arise.
If complications are anticipated, it is recommended that women elect a hospital setting where there is easier access to obstetricians, perinatologists, and other experts prepared to deal with a variety of complications related to either the mother or the newborn baby.
http://www.americanpregnancy.org/labornbirth/midwives.html
http://www.womenshealthchannel.com/midwife.shtml
April 7th, 2010 at 9:50 am
I am a midwife, you can email me privately if you like. Midwives take care of low risk normal pregnancies. Our practice does not have a doctor in our office, our back up has their own office, but some midwives work in the same office with doctors. Midwives see you on the same schedule as doctors and do the same tests, but we look at pregnancy as a normal process and are hear to advise the patient and support the natural process. We spend more time with clients and give you options and control over your care. Doctors tend to look at pregnancy as a disease state that needs to be managed. However seeing that you are having a cesarean delivery I would recommend you see a doctor with a midwife in their office. You can get the midwife care and develop the relationship with the surgeon who will be delivering your baby.
Jen