Expreinces with Midwives?

Question

I dont know much about Nurse Midwives or what their practice is exactly all about. Ive had a very terriable experince with my current Doctor and am looking to switch, but what was reccomended to me was a Midwife a lil further away from where I live. My visiting nurse has had no complaints from ladies who go to the midwives. I was wondering if anyone can tell me what they know about Midwives and their expreinces with them. Thanks so much I am about 5 months pregnant

Answer 1

Oh, go with the midwife. Mine's great; a huge improvement over a doctor.

Of interest is how much it lowers your odds of iatrogenic complications.

For example:

"ABSTRACT: Background: In 1990 a pilot nurse-midwifery program was implemented in a tertiary care hospital in a major western Canadian city. A randomized, controlled trial was conducted to determine if when maternal and newborn patient outcomes were compared, the midwifery program was as effective as traditional, low-risk health care available in the city. Methods: All low-risk women who requested and qualified for nurse midwifery care were randomly assigned to an experimental or control group. Results: One hundred one women received care from nurse-midwives and 93 received standard care from either an obstetrician or family physician. The rate of cesarean delivery in the nurse midwife group was 4 percent compared with 15.1 percent in the physician group. The episiotomy rate, excluding cesarean deliveries, for the nurse-midwife group was 15.5 percent compared with 32.9 percent in the physician group. The rates of epidural anesthesia for pain relief in labor were 12.9 percent and 23.7percent, respectively. Statistically significant differences were found for ultrasound examinations, amniotomy, intravenous drug administration during labor, dietary supplements, length of hospital stay, and admission of infants to the neonatal intensive care unit. Conclusions: The results clearly support the effectiveness of the pilot nurse-midwifery program and suggest that more extensive participation of midwives in the Canadian health care system is an appropriate use of health care dollars."

http://www.asac.ab.ca/resResearch.html

I'm guessing you're not in Alberta, but every study I've seen says you lower your risk of c-section &c just by scrapping the doctor idea.

Worth noting: with the obstetrician I saw briefly, I was asked to pee on a stick at each visit; ditto with the midwife. With the OB, I had to wander around his office with said pissy stick to show a nurse; the midwife has figured I'm capable of figuring out whether it's yellow or green by myself. The average midwife assumes you're not a moron who needs or wants her pregnancy 'managed' to death.

Some articles that, while not written as such, strike me as good reasons to go with a midwife over a doctor:

http://www.hencigoer.com/articles/

Answer 2

Nurse midwives have extensive training in maternal-fetal health...most have a master's degree in nursing and then extensive training in a NMW program. They WILL NOT do high risk pregnancies, however. They work very closely with an MD/DO OB/GYN.
Since they are a nurse, they do not have as much of a tendency to be a butt to their patients...
good luck and I would go for it!

Answer 3

Midwives are the experts in helping you through childbirth (as they have been for centuries!) Where Docs can be evasive and ''medically minded'' midwives tend to be passionate about mums and babies and this normal and healthy part of life.(you are not ill.. you are pregnant!)....good luck with your pregnancy and trust your intuition on this one!

Answer 4

I used a midwife with both my pregnancies and births. Midwives tend to be more tender and alot less clinical. I loved mine!

Answer 5

midwives are just like dr, but dotn have the title, they do everything the same

Answer 6

yes, i used a midwife with my first daughter. i highly recommend them.