What to Know About A Midwife Hospital Birth
Childbirth is a wonderful, amazing, and somewhat scary thing. As a mother, you want the absolute best outcomes and prenatal care for your new baby and yourself. Many of us these days are choosing alternative options to traditional hospital birth. After looking at several options, we chose to deliver at a hospital with a certified midwife. Here’s the story of our childbirth experience.
Why did we decide on a midwife hospital birth?
I have five friends here in the United States who became mothers before I did. Of those five pregnant women, three had c-sections, one had other complications that required medical intervention, and only one had her babies in a hospital with no problems.
My friend Charlotte is English and has two sons. She told me it is primarily midwives who deliver babies in the UK and doctors only come in when medically necessary.
She had two midwife-assisted deliveries with no complications. I also knew several people in my life who have had home vaginal births, and they had nothing but positive things to say about it.
The cesarean birth rate with my domestic friends is a bit higher than the national c-section rate of over 30%. Ina May Gaskin (probably the world’s most famous certified nurse-midwife) has a birthing center with a rate of less than 2%. That’s with 3,000 births.
There are things in childbirth you can’t control—the ultimate goal is a healthy baby however it needs to happen. And, of course, women with high-risk pregnancies or another health condition might require a medical doctor or surgical intervention for their medical care.
Still, as a woman with a low-risk pregnancy, I wanted to avoid a c-section at all costs. After researching how epidurals can affect the birthing process, nursing, and postnatal recovery, as well as seeing footage comparing birth with and without one, it was clear I didn’t want an epidural for pain relief in my birth plan either.
A midwife seemed like the right choice from the start.
What birthing options did we explore?
We were incredibly fortunate that we had many good options for bringing our baby girl into the world.
I began by calling friends who I knew had a planned home birth to find out who their midwives were. I did some googling to find a listing of certified nurse-midwives in my state. In the end, we visited with four different midwives. I made a comparison spreadsheet so I could keep track of important information of each.
Midwife Practice
A little over an hour away in a small unassuming town there is a whole midwife practice. We visited their clinic and their four certified midwives that were on staff.
These women all seemed great, were knowledgeable in pregnancy care and deliveries, and it was cool that there was a formal clinic we would be visiting. The drawbacks here were distance from home, and that with four midwives on staff, there was no promise of who would be there during delivery.
Birth Center
A friend of mine from many moons ago now works at a birth center. It is around two hours from where we live, right near my hometown. The facility is a beautiful old house that has three different rooms you could deliver in.
When you arrived, they would get pre-homemade dough from the freezer so after your baby was born you could have fresh warm bread—much homier than a traditional hospital setting. The expected time for your stay was 6–24 hours total. We liked this place, but a two-hour drive was too much. We also found the cost to be prohibitive.
Midwife With Their Own Practice
My cousin had a home birth and we found we were within her midwife’s service range. We met with her and her apprentice and liked them a lot. Unfortunately, we would have been traveling over an hour for appointments, which would make it difficult for my husband to attend.
Insurance was another issue as our provider did not cover the delivery costs, the most expensive part. It was still more affordable than freestanding birth centers. If we lived closer to her office, we may have gone with her.
Midwife Hospital Birth
We are very fortunate to be a half hour away from a hospital with a midwife on staff. We set up an appointment with her, and I went through my list of questions. Each answer was exactly the same as other midwives.
We could have delayed cord clamping. I could get up and move around as much as I wanted. I could labor and deliver in the tub. There would be a golden hour after the baby was born where she wouldn’t be fussed with unless medically necessary. Bathing would be delayed.
We would do intermittent fetal monitoring instead of constant.
Ben could make it to all the appointments with me. Insurance would cover it completely except for a $100 copay. In short, I could get exactly the kind of care and the more natural birth that I wanted—the choice at this point was easy.
What was the experience like using a midwife during pregnancy?
We had a great relationship with our midwife. She was easygoing, honest, and didn’t rush through things. Our appointments never felt like we were on a time clock. She always made sure to talk with us about what was coming up at our next appointment so we could learn about the procedure (things like ultrasounds, checking for dilation, vaccinations, etc.) ahead of time and decide if we were comfortable with it.
For example, we opted for example not to do an 8-week scan. She checked my cervix at 36 or 38 weeks (can’t remember now), and I didn’t want to be checked for labor progress after that, so I wasn’t.
It’s important to ask a lot of questions of your midwife up front to learn what her style/preferences are, in addition to what hospital policy is.
Delivering Our Baby with a Midwife Hospital Birth
Here are the positives of a midwife/hospital birth as I experienced them:
Here are the positives of a hospital birth with midwifery care as I experienced them:
Natural As You Want
I felt no pressure to use any sort of pain medication. It wasn’t even offered!
Movement
We tried a half dozen different positions using birthing balls, the hospital bed, and the tub.
Golden Hour
This hospital was in the process of gaining its Baby Friendly status. All the more “natural childbirth” practices you get with a home birth, you get at the hospital as well.
Care
I didn’t have to worry about a darn thing for postpartum care. We could call down and order food whenever we wanted and it would be in the room in fifteen minutes.
I never had to fill a water glass or lift a finger. Ben was able to run home and take care of chores.
I had peace of mind and wasn’t worried about me or baby girl as we were checked regularly by registered nurses.
If I had done a home birth, I would have been worried about food, animals, farm chores, laundry, etc. That little bit of time at the hospital (46 hours) was almost a mini vacation.
What About a Doula?
I opted not to use a doula for my first birth. I think they are wonderful. If you have the resources and believe one would help your birth journey then by all means hire one. I knew I would already have my husband and mother in the room for our birth, which to me was plenty of people.
However, when I first wrote this blog post it was just after my first birth. Since then, I have had two more babies with the same midwife. Birth number two went well.
Birth three, however, left me with a bad relationship with my midwife and some serious PTSD.
The birth itself was honestly my easiest. However, I had a terrible experience with the nursing staff and my midwife did not arrive for the birth until I was literally pushing my son out.
Long story very short, if we have a fourth baby it will be at a different facility and I will absolutely be hiring a doula.
It’s All Your Decision
I hope you have a few options in your area that allow you to pick the birth settings, healthcare providers, and support that makes you feel comfortable and confident.
Remember, this is your decision. Mothers, in-laws, and even your husband may have strong opinions to share, but you know your body best and what makes you feel safe and supported—whether you end up choosing a traditional hospital-based birth center, a freestanding birthing center, or a home birth.
