What’s a midwife?

Question

What do they do?
How much do you pay them?
Do they live with you?
How long do you keep one around?
You ask for one or is it mandatory?
Would you recommend it?
Do they provide more information through the pregnancy?
What’s the difference between a midwife and a duela... if that’s how it’s spelled..
Are they normally older?

Answer

The main difference between a dr and a midwife is that an ob/gyn may do more than just pregnancies but a midwife solely focuses on pregnancies. I had a dr with my first and a midwife with my last two. Midwives tends to spend more time answering questions and giving you information than a dr will spend and they over all (in my opinion) care more and have better bedside manner than drs. The difference between a doula and a midwife is that the midwife will deliver your baby and take care of you during your pregnancy while a doula is there to be your advocate/cheerleader during the birth and also to provide some postpartum care. As far as I know a doula does not have as much medical training and will not do anything medical for you, that’s all a midwife or dr. A doula can come to your house and help you out but I think what all they do depends on where you are/who’s available/how much you spend. I’ve never had a doula so I don’t really know too much about that but google can help you find who’s in you’re area and the pricing.

Answer

It depends on what kind of services the midwife offers. I have both a midwife and a gyne. The gyne will be doing the birth itself and has been doing all the scans. The midwife is mainly there for prenatal and postnatal support. She's been great and so helpful! I have a full hour with her at every visit, where she does the routine checks then answers any questions I have, not just about the birth but also about things like breastfeeding, making sure I have home care support after the baby comes (e.g. is there someone to cook and clean?), telling me about local playgroups etc. and also checking in on how I'm coping with the pregnancy. She also did the prenatal classes, which covered the labour and birth process in great detail, and then breastfeeding and early parenting. Surprisingly the classes were perhaps even more helpful for the dads!!!  She'll be stopping by my house daily for at least three days after the birth to check on everything and help with breastfeeding. As you can tell, I'm slightly in love with my midwife at this point 😍😍😍 so would highly recommend one if they provide similar services.

Answer

Love my midwife! Birthing at a birth center where all the midwives are NPs or RNs and a lot are previous L&D nurses. Less medical intervention, they don’t usually deal with high risk pregnancies, although if you end up needing a transfer to the hospital they go with you and help deliver! They spend more time with you each visit (my visits tend to be about an hour long,) and are more focused on nutrition and natural options during pregnancy and birth. No painkillers at the birth center available except gas, and they are wayyyy cheaper, and deal exclusively with pregnant women.

Answer

They help deliver your baby. They don't typically live with you. Prices vary. Yes, they provide information on pregnancy. Ive never used one and cant. (Csections)

Answer

I have a midwife for my hospital birth. I don’t honestly really know what the major difference is but I know personality wise I prefer the midwife over the doctor and idk if that’s just a thing in general or if it’s the two specific people. I dealt with the doctor for my miscarriages and then when I was pregnant I requested to see someone else because I felt like the doctor was kind of cold and clinical, not a lot of bedside manner and seemed very business so they assigned me to my midwife. From day 1 I liked her so much more. This is entirely possible it’s just how these two individuals are in comparison to each other and not indicative of all drs vs midwives but I know many people in the area I live in use the midwives at the hospitals in the area.

What’s a midwife?

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