Education is the Key to a Positive Birth Experience...
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Want an OB or a Midwife for your care?
Deciding what kind of medical staff will attend your birth is sometimes decided by your insurance coverage but education in picking the right person or group of persons is key. You are the consumer and you really do have choices.
If you want the doctor that you picked from the directory and if he or she is in a large practice with other physicians - the likelihood of them attending your birth goes down. It will depend who is on call. You will need to make sure that each doctor in that practice is on board with your birthing wishes. You don't want to get to "birthing day" and have any confrontation or disappointments.
All of your birthing preferences should be discussed ahead of time, special notes made in your chart if necessary and a few copies of your birth preferences handed to your care provider to be put in your chart. It's not a bad idea to have your care provider sign off on them with a signature. You should also find out how often the doctor(and the other physicians in the office) induce labor, when they do it(38,39,40,41,42 weeks) and what their practice is when it comes to giving moms an episiotomy.
It is essential to have a relationship of trust with your care provider. You need to feel safe and protected in order to have the calm and gentle birth that you are working towards. Doctors are there to help and provide support but they need to know exactly what you expect from their care so there are no unexpected surprises. If the care provider is not exactly what you need - shop around. You are the consumer. Sometimes we spend more time researching and picking the best car for our family than we do our medical professionals. Your baby's birthday is one of the most important days of your life - it should be planned for and treated as such.
Which
would work better for you - find out with this care provider survey. Some people don't know the differences between midwife and doctor care. It
helps you explore what things are most important to you for your birth
and gives you a list of questions to ask your care provider(s).
