Are you supposed to have a midwife?

Question

First time mom hear and I keep seeing people talk about their midwife and I don't have one nor heard what exactly they do. Can someone please explain?

Answer

A midwife has 6-8 years of college education, with or without one year of training. An OB has 8 years of college with 3-4 years of residency (training). They do the same things, but a midwife will need an OB if surgery is required.

Answer

I have a midwife and i actually had no idea I chose one tell she asked me if I knew the difference between a midwife and a doctor lol. I honestly love midwifes better, they are a little more personally with you yet still as educated as a doctor and do all the same stuff. My midwife told me the only difference is if I need a c section or there are complications during birth then she will have the on call doctor there with her other then that they do all the same stuff. I hated all the doctors I saw but loved every midwife and mines funny lol

Answer

As others have said, you choose between an Ob/Gyn or a midwife. One has a medical degree (the OB) and one does not, though midwives do go through extensive training in most (though not all) cases.
Midwives typically strive for as little intervention as possible, and allow you to birth outside of a hospital setting (birthing center, at home, etc). It’s just a different approach to the birthing experience and to prenatal care. Some midwives are pretty crunchy but not all. One downside is they cannot perform surgery of any kind so if there are complications the patient is transferred to a hospital. 
I liked the idea of a midwife in theory, but knew I wanted All The Drugs. I also just feel more settled going with a licensed medical doctor. I got the best of both worlds with a female OB that is totally focused on empowering her patients to make the best decisions for themselves. She’s wonderful, and so is our clinic.

Answer

Where I live everyone has a midwife, and it’s the midwifes that deliver babies at the hospitals, unless the baby is breech, twins, or something else special.

Answer

You either choose between a midwife or OB. A midwife is usually for at home births while OB’s are in the hospital. A lot of midwives aren’t covered by insurance (or just aren’t as much as an OB) so I’d recommend doing some research on which you would prefer.

Answer

I had a midwife the first half of my pregnancy and then an OB. Both were great but my midwife definitely is more personal. She is now my daughter pedi 😌😌

Answer

Are you in the US? Because it’s more common in a lot of other countries to have a midwife unless you have some sort of high risk situation that requires a doctor. So you’ll hear it a lot on this app because we’re a big ol’ melting pot on here! And I love it! ❤️ 🇺🇸

Answer

A midwife is the same as your OB doctor. They do your regular prenatal care and labor and delivery.

Are you supposed to have a midwife?

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