Consumers Supporting Midwifery Care

Okay, I wear Birkenstocks but I have short hair. I try to eat healthy, but I’m no granola cruncher. Really I had never heard the term “granola cruncher” until someone used it in reference to having a midwife.

I love midwifery. I love the concept. I think it’s a great idea. I had a great experience with my midwife. But before you tune me out, hear me out. I have given birth to 2 healthy girls. The first in July 2002 and the second in May 2004. I feel that I have an authority to speak on the subject because I had an obstetrician with my first and a midwife with my second. I actually thought a midwife was what I wanted with my first, but I really knew very little at that point. By the time that we announced our pregnancy to friends and suggested that we wanted a midwife, they told us that we’d probably not get one as the waiting lists are so long and you have to call the minute you find out you’re pregnant. I was discouraged and didn’t bother trying for a midwife. I believed my friends. So I went the OB route. I used an OB that my friends had used and liked. They did warn me that he wasn’t super friendly at first, but as your pregnancy progressed, he’d warm up. Boy that was accurate. He was good enough, but it took a while for him to warm to us.

Some of our experiences with the OB are that we would have to wait a LONG time in his office to be seen. He was often triple booked for his appointments. He was still seeing patients after dinner time because he was so busy!

We were first time parents so we had many questions. We learned that if we didn’t have them written down, ready to ask in our allotted time, tough luck. We were given only 5-10 minutes for the whole appointment, after waiting at least ½ hour. It really felt rushed.

I also felt very unaware of the tests that were being offered and why. It was usually “You have to go and do this.” I never knew that I had a choice not to take certain tests. I’d never been through this before and didn’t have many friends who had either (we were the start of a large boom of friends with children).

I also knew right off the bat that the chances of having my OB deliver my baby were slim. It would be whoever was on. As a result of this and other things, my husband and I hired a doula, who was very supportive before and during the birth. I learned many things from her.

When it came time to have our baby, I had a long early labour and arrived at the hospital about 3cms or so. I was finally admitted. I went through 4 shifts of nurses. (Most of whom were fantastic!) The resident OB wanted to break my waters and give me pitocin right away. I was in no hurry and we managed to fend him off.

At one point there were 10 people in my room: me, my husband, my doula and her apprentice, the OB, resident OB, nurse, student nurse and another doctor and resident. I kid you not, TEN people in my room when I’m in labour. I was not thought of as a person, a woman, a human being, but a specimen.

Over all, I am happy as I had a vaginal delivery, but with nubaine, nitrous oxide and finally an epidural (it took 3 tries) then the pitocin. I wanted no medicines, but I was too tired. Over all it was a 66 hour ordeal. The nurses were really good, but the OB…let’s just say that my husband wouldn’t let her in the room because she had upset me so much. She was only allowed in to catch the baby. And I mean the nurse said “Okay, stop pushing. Somebody call the doctor in NOW.”

By the time I was considering a second I had enough friends who had midwives who could attest to how good the experience was. I called the minute I found out I was pregnant and found out a couple of weeks later that I had gotten in. I got a midwife that 2 of my friends had and really liked. I was thrilled. I met my midwife when I was about 10 weeks pregnant and decided that I liked her and the philosophy right away. (It was at about 16 weeks that I saw the OB for the first time).

I was not rushed. We often had close to one hour to talk and ensure things were going well. I wasn’t forced into tests that I didn’t want. I felt like I had options. One test that was huge for me was for Group B strep. I had no recollection of having it the first time. I guess the OB just did it and it was a negative result. Because I was considering a home birth, I thought long and hard about having the test and finally decided to go ahead with it. A healthy hospital birth was better than a sick home birth.

I was made aware that I may not have my midwife present at my birth as they work a rotation. But I met 3 other midwives who could be present if my “primary” was not. So no matter who would be at the birth, I would have met them at least once before.

I felt like my midwife really cared. There were little details that she remembered that blew me away. Even if it was from reading my chart before I got there…she had read it at least! I really felt that I was the one making the decisions. There was no pressure for home or hospital birth. My husband and I had decided slowly that we would like to try a homebirth, but knowing that we were literally a 5 minute drive from the General Hospital if we needed to go.

Once again I had a long early labour. It did take a while for a midwife to see me because due to unforeseen circumstances they were short 2 midwives that weekend and there were other people in labour. That was a frustrating time but it was also so short in the whole scheme of things. It worked out really well for me as my primary midwife was able to come to my house to assess how things were going. And they were going. We discussed my options and I decided to wait it out some more (I had already been having contractions for 24 hours with no sleep). We decided that I would TRY to sleep, my midwife would go home and we’d call if we needed her in the night. Well, we decided to call her in the night. I couldn’t even rest. She came again and supported me for a while before we decided to go to the hospital. (By this time my toddler was awake and my in-laws were sleeping in the basement). I needed a change of pace.

My husband was actually hesitant to go to the hospital as he remembered the chaos from the last time. I knew from friends that no one would see us other than the midwives. We arrived at the hospital around 9am, broke my water, laboured for a bit, but my second daughter was born before 11:30 am. I used the nitrous oxide as I had 2 sleepless nights already, but it was little more than a distraction. The midwives, in their wisdom, had me stand up to push. I remember saying, “So this is what they mean when they say ‘urge to bear down’”. What an experience. I kneeled to push the rest and was kneeling when my daughter was born. Gravity IS your friend! I pushed for only about 15 minutes and felt emotionally supported through the process. The midwife told me when to push more or less (to minimize tearing). It was an amazing experience!

We went home a few hours after. (I didn’t even get into my experience from staying in the hospital with my first. Let’s just leave it at I left early.)

I was supported by my midwife for 6 weeks postpartum. I wish I had that with my first. I think this is such a critical area. I had an experience with a public health nurse with my first that left me in tears and to this day I wouldn’t see one about my children. The midwife, because she was able to follow me for 6 weeks, could tell that my baby was well-fed.

Anyhow, all this to say…I’ve done it both ways and I had an over all more positive experience with a midwife. If you chose to or have to have an OB it will be okay as well, but I’d recommend a doula for sure.

I am now pregnant with my third and have a midwife again. Things have been smooth and I have a good relationship my midwife, who is the same as before. Our meetings are relaxed and I am able to talk about whatever I need to. I am looking forward to this whole experience again!