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Antony & Rene
Today We Brought Home a Magnificent, Precious Little Boy. As we look
at him, all the ups and downs in life seem to fade away. We thought we had
experienced all the highs and lows of life through multiple IVF cycles.
However, the last 15 months were pretty tough too. Thanks to ParentProfiles.com, about
25 birthmothers contacted us. That was about 2 per month. We only had a handful
of contacts through other advertising, like Little Nickel. Like everyone more ...
Midwife
Once you have your pregnancy confirmed, you will start to make a number of decisions which will govern the way your pregnancy care and eventual delivery of the baby will progress. One option you have is to use the services of a midwife rather than just an obstetrician.
There are two different categories of midwife available in the United States. The first is a direct entry midwife. This is someone who has come to midwifery through a non-medical background and has a training that has been through a hands-on apprenticeship. If you choose a direct entry midwife, make sure that it is someone who is a certified midwife so that you are sure that her ability to support you through your pregnancy is of an approved standard. The second type of midwife is a nurse-midwife. This is someone who has come to midwifery after completing a registered nurse program. A nurse-midwife is someone who can offer a wide variety of care during and after your pregnancy, and can write prescriptions in some instances.
One of the first things you will need to verify is whether or not your insurance company will cover the cost of care by a midwife, and what costs incurred - if any - are outside the boundaries of your policy. Then you will need to be assessed to see if there are any pre-existing health conditions (personal or hereditary) that you know of that could indicate pregnancy complications occurring, in which case you will be safer being monitored by a obstetrician. Once you have the financial go-ahead, and no medical reason why you shouldn't have a midwife involved with your pregnancy, you need to find one in your area.
Your family doctor or ob/gyn's office will have a list of registered midwives local to your area. Make an appointment with one of the offices and see if you can talk to a few midwives to see if you feel comfortable enough with any of them to put your care in their hands. Take with you a list of questions, together with the kind of response you want to hear, so that you can locate the best possible midwife for your situation. Questions should include asking about their qualifications and experience, what medical back-up systems they have should complications arise (especially important in the case of home births), do you have the same midwife all the way through from the point you sign up until after the baby is born, what fees are involved - including any extras, do they accept insurance or is it private billing only, what views do they have on how a baby should be delivered and who should be present, and will you be able to contact your midwife at any time of day or night, should you need her assistance.
If you are hoping for a natural childbirth, and particularly a home birth, with as little intervention as possible, then a certified direct entry midwife or nurse midwife will be able to support you through this, while at the same time giving you the security of having someone with you who is experienced enough to advise if things aren't going according to plan.
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