Midwife, OB, or Family Physician?

Question

My husband and I just had our confirmation appt yesterday for our first baby (6wks 4 days yay!). We are unsure what route to go in regard to a midwife, obstetrician or OB focused family physician.

What have been your experiences with each and what would you recommend?

Thanks!! :)

Answer

For my first 2 babies I went the OB/hospital route. It was hard for me because the second I got to the hospital they hooked me up to pitocin. I had no medical concerns it was just a business for them, at 2 different hospitals. I was no longer in control of my body. I then found an amazing midwife and had a home/water birth for my 3rd and we are planning on doing the same for our 4th. If you have no medical concerns and are open to "enjoying" your birth experience, I recommend a midwife.

Answer

I am young and healthy and at least as of right now, there's no reason to think my body won't be able to give birth the way we are created to. That made me feel like a good candidate for a midwife/home birth, especially because I don't live near a birthing center or in a place with many in-between options. And I found a midwife that is great and really supportive which is important since we don't have any family nearby. So we are going for it! I have info on some hospital-based midwives just in case I do need to switch gears, but as long as things progress as expected I'm excited to birth at home :)

Answer

I've had an OB  for 3 pregnancies and a midwife for this last one. I personally love the midwife the best. She takes her time with me and always takes my wants and needs into account whereas the OBs were much more "this is how it is" and seemed like they wanted to be in and out of the room as soon as possible. They were all great Drs I just felt like the midwife treated me like a person and not just a patient. Good luck!

Answer

Personally, we are going the OB route. We had fertility issues so had to see a specialist just to get pregnant. I did not explore the midwife thing because I intend to get whatever meds necessary during birth. I have a fantastic OB who will let me run the show rather than forcing things on me which I appreciate. He will only force things if medically necessary. A family physician, while good, does not have nearly the training that a regular OB does so I am not comfortable with that option. Just my opinion.

Midwife, OB, or Family Physician?

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