Midwives, birthing centers, planning...

Shades of Grey · #1 December 29th, 2011, 07:24 AM

This week, I went with my cousin to interview midwives. She is also pursuing a career in this area-she is a doula-still in training, and working towards one day being a midwife. So to me, it was really interesting to be in on these conversations as they were not just about her pregnancy but the career field and laws in Utah. I was interested in birth center/water birth before but they have totally reinvigorated my interest. I would so love to hire a midwife like the women we met with. I dont think a home birth is for me, but I love the idea of a birthing center, a specific place designed to create the most comfortable and soothing environment possible to labor and have your baby. So now, I cant stop looking into the birthing centers in my area! Part of me is so inspired, the other is afraid I'd chicken out and want drugs... The fact that it can be soo much cheaper is another plus!

So, have you put much thought towards what you will do when you are pregnant, what your care will be? Where or how you want to deliver? Or have I just completely jumped ahead of myself? lol I knew this would happen when she got here-its only been 2 weeks! This is going to be a long wait...

Memi · #2 December 29th, 2011, 07:32 AM

I've thought a lot about it. With DS I had 18 hours of labor and then a c-section. My labor and recovery was AWFUL!!! I honestly feel like my body was doing exactly what it needed to but the minute my feet hit hospital ground they started pushing unnecessary interventions on me.
Bc of my previous birth I'm adamant on finding a midwife in my area that I know will fight for me to have a real try at a VBAC and good birthing experience. I tried someone new at my yearly but they werent what I was looking for...so I'm still searching.

Shades of Grey · #3 December 29th, 2011, 08:02 AM

Im sorry you had a bad experience. I was really lucky it seems with my hospital birth. I had a great dr, she never made me feel like a number or anything. Great nurses, too. Because I cant have the same dr, I would like to have someone who will encourage me to trust my body and labor how I choose, all those things. I cant believe how much cheaper it is too! I dont think I'll have any trouble at all convincing my hubby to go with a midwife/birthing center over a dr/hospital this time!

plan4fate · #4 December 29th, 2011, 08:04 AM

DH and I have this all hammered out. He's not ok with homebirth (Reme was a "get him out or he's going to be gone" delivery), but he's ok with the birth center because he could pick me up and run me across the street to the hospital in a minute or two.

He doesn't wan to see me miserable during labor with an IV, and lots of "this needs to happen by this time or...." going on. So he agreed if I think that I can take the pain, we can do the birth center.

this is all pending of course that they will provide me with the level of security I need during pregnancy. With 8 losses, I'm not willing to go with minimal pregnancy monitoring.

SammyJ · #5 December 29th, 2011, 08:04 AM

I did the same thing a few months ago, even well before we our TTC date. LOL. However, I am sooo glad that I did. Even the midwife I met with was super glad I'd taken the initiative to meet with her. I don't think being overprepared for this sort of thing is ever a bad thing!

I am also considering the midwife/freestanding birth center concept. At this point, unless something crazy happens in the meantime, I will definitely be doing this when I have my baby. There is only one freestanding birth center here in town, and they just opened about a year ago, so I am really excited that we have one here locally.

I bet there are quite a few up there in SLC! I do like the idea of a homebirth but our house is actually a 30 minute drive from the hospital, so in case something were to go wrong, I wouldn't feel very comfortable there. The birth center here is literally less than a minute walk to the labor and delivery part of the hospital. They are practically next door to each other, so if something did go wrong, I know my baby and I would get immediate medical attention.

I think never having a baby before kind of puts me at an advantage here because I have no idea of what kind of pain to expect. So I am not really afraid of that, and I know once I get to the birth center, I won't be able to ask for meds anyway, so I am kind of setting myself up for the birth experience that I want. lol.

Shades of Grey · #6 December 29th, 2011, 08:15 AM

There are a few birthing centers to choose from up here, more than 4 yrs ago when I looked. I only found one then. Only 3 are close enough, and one of those is way too pricey. Are you close enough to st george? I thought I saw more than one in that area. But Im not as familiar with South utah cities either.
So, 2 centers to choose from. Then deciding if I want to use their team of midwives or choose one and just use their facility.
I agree that choosing a center will kinda reinforce the decision since drus aren't dangled in your face. I wonder sometimes if Id have taken the epidural if it hadnt been offered multiple times.

SammyJ · #7 December 29th, 2011, 08:29 AM

Yeah there is one birth center here in St. George, but that is the only freestanding one though. Since, I live in Hurricane (about 30 min away), that is part of the reason I would not want to do a homebirth. They are also adding a birth center to the hospital though, I believe, but I doubt it will be done before we have our first baby anyway.

There are several midwive's down here though, so if I wanted to do a HB, I would have more options that way. But I really like the ladies that run the birth center here, so it works out.

Hope you are able to find a birth center that works well for you and your budget! I know the one down here is still a lot of money to come up with since insurance won't cover any of it, but it would still be cheaper in the long run to do it there with all of my prenatal care than in comparison with my high deductible insurance at a hospital.

Irish_Wristwatch · #8 December 29th, 2011, 09:00 AM

I will have another homebirth with a midwife, hopefully a water birth, we planned to have a waterbirth with William but he came to quickly and we couldnt get the pool hot enough fast enough, so he was born on land

2Corinthians10:4 · #9 December 29th, 2011, 09:36 AM

I am hoping for a home water-birth the next time around. I had a hospital birth with Addi and although I loved my doctor I hated the nurses and the experience. Dh has been studying it and says he will make his decision soon after we get a bfp so I will see then.

Keakie · #10 December 29th, 2011, 11:47 AM

We've looked into our options already.

I don't think there's anything wrong with gathering your information and figuring out what you'd like early on.

Assuming that there are no risks involved in any future pregnancy, I would ideally like a home birth with a midwife. Currently, we're pretty close to not one but two hospitals so I would feel comfortable on that front -- however, I'm not sure that we'll continue to live where we are now once our lease is up. We moved here for dh's job, and he would really like to change jobs or transfer to a different position in the same company. Neither of us really like the town we're in very much, so I think, assuming he finds another job elsewhere or one where he can work from home, we'll likely move again later this year. Distance to hospitals is something we will likely take into consideration then, too.

If there are risks involved, well... we will re-evaluate the home birth decision.

Initially, we really liked the idea of a birth center too.

Unfortunately, that was when we lived in another state and currently, the closest birth centers are about 4 hours from where we live, so that's kind of a no-go now.

midnight.train · #11 December 29th, 2011, 04:22 PM

I had a water birth in a hospital last time. I'd planned to labor in the water, then move to the bed for the actual birth. But well, I didn't wanna get out of the water! So, DS was born in the water, it was a great experience and one I can't wait to repeate, this time in a birthing center with a midwife. I'm not really sure if I'd ever want a homebirth, but I'd love to be in a birthing center. I wasn't sure about leaving my OB (she's pretty nice), but she's been trying to convince me that it's time to start weening DS off the boobie.

I've actually started wondering about interviewing midwives now, that way I won't feel pressured to take the first one that comes a long with I get pregnant (thats how I got my OB, hated original gyno, found OB, stuck with her). And I need to research the birthing centers around me.

bellabri287 · #12 December 29th, 2011, 06:40 PM

insurance is a big factor for us. the closest midwife birthing facility covered by our HMO is 45 min away, so we are risking things a bit with that kind of drive. then again we have a 20 min drive for the closest emergency center for our HMO so... meh. i dont know what I want yet, but I know I want to explore options and interview and tour places. but then again with my hmo... that may not be an option. $100 co-pay for my baby though.

PurpleStar · #13 December 29th, 2011, 09:58 PM

OMG!! I'm dying with envy and jelousy of all you that have birthing centers as options! Seriously, Maui sucks on this front! I hear medical anything here is super sh!Tty, so its somewhat daunting an idea having a child here.

If it was possible...a birth center would have been hands down my first choice. Home birth second but that option is no longer available. Hospital last because I did that once and for me, it left a bad taste in my mouth. The nurses were wonderful...I did like my OB but the whole process and experience was just not what I wanted and so part of me feels like something was kept from me.

Anyways, giving what is AVAILABLE to me...seeing a midwife for prenatal care as well as for guidance/counseling in conjuction with an OB and then flying to Oahu for a VBAC, because Maui has banned them.

Shades of Grey · #14 December 30th, 2011, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PurpleStar

Anyways, giving what is AVAILABLE to me...seeing a midwife for prenatal care as well as for guidance/counseling in conjuction with an OB and then flying to Oahu for a VBAC, because Maui has banned them.

That is just baffling to me... I cant believe they banned them!! More and more I see how many people view pregnancy and birth like an illness that they are in a race to cure. Im sorry you have so little choice.

PurpleStar · #15 December 30th, 2011, 11:19 AM

It is very disheartening...at one point I was just ready to call it quits...and for us that would've meant not having anymore children because we are here for at least another 2-3 years and it goes beyond my cutoff for having kids.

But then I thought "screw that"!!! TPTB can suck it and no is going to tell me I CAN'T do something. I have every intention of approaching a VBAC safely and keeping my health, and that of my baby a priority...but some umbrella ban to cover THEIR ***** is unacceptable to me.

And seriously, its kinda ***** backwards...Maui has both a deep rooted need to keep Hawaiian culture preserved and respected, as well a progressive "new age" artsy holistic community...and between the two I'd think VBAC wouldn't even be an issue??? grr...sorry, vent over.