Ob vs Midwife

Personally I’m using a midwife but in a hospital setting. I’m hoping for a “home environment” but with the security of a hospital, low lighting, lots of low intervention pain options, water therapy (shower) the ability to choose what position I deliver in. All of which the midwife offers. But I can still get an epidural if I decide to and be supported by my midwife.

I was going to the do the same but I opted for OB instead of a midwife. Midwifery is just not what it used to be. They told me I could only contact them if it’s an emergency 😂 like come on, if it’s an emergency I’ll contact 911 & a medical professional, not a midwife. However if you go with a midwife, you need to be able to demand to see a doctor in the case that something is not going right. My friend recently gave birth and she’s also low risk, and she nearly died because her midwife decided to try to rip the stuck placenta out of her womb by playing tug of war with the umbilical cord, my friend nearly bled to death after the MW waited 45 minutes before she finally decided to call the OB in the room. She needed emergency surgery to remove remaining placenta and repair damage caused by the midwife. I just don’t see the point of a midwife honestly, if you have issues or questions you can see or call your OB/family doctor whenever you need to unlike the MW

Also the your OB is medically trained, qualified, and prepared in all shapes and forms to treat you , so in my opinion I’d rather have them with me the whole time instead of midwife, but that’s just me! I pray you have a healthy pregnancy, a safe delivery, and speedy recovery 😊❤️

I’m sure it’s different everywhere but midwives are trained and registered medical professionals, I can contact my midwives for non emergencies whenever I need it just may take a day or 2 to get a response (example before I even saw my midwife for the first appt I had to request medication for severe nausea vomiting and I got help within 6 hours). For mine I can page them in any emergencies because they are also trained for emergencies and will support me if I have to go to the hospital. It would be best to ask both potential providers about their policies surrounding contact. Not saying midwives are better it’s to each their own but I’m 15 weeks and my care has been amazing so far and I’m looking forward to delivering with them

@Anna that still seems a tiny bit slow but still much better than where I’m based, I’ve heard nothing but bad things from others and I’ve already had a crappy personal experience with them lol I wish they were better here.

@Reem my family doc takes at least a business day if not more to refill a prescription if I can even get ahold of the receptionist so 4-6 hours from me emailing saying “hey I’m having a problem” to getting a prescription to a pharmacy was lightning speed to me 😂 I’m also in AB so our midwifery might be different here

@Anna most of the time I can get an appointment to see my family doc and get a prescription filled within 2-3 hours of calling the clinic for an appointment ! there’s always one day of the week when it’s a little bit busy & I have to wait until the next day but I never have issues. But also don’t forget, you’re entitled to see a walk-in doctor if you want lol , I hate waiting so I have a go-to walk in doc I like to see when my doctor is unavailable

@Reem im jealous! Our family docs and walk ins here are brutal. Also with the 6 hours for the meds bear in mind i was also at work and was delayed in responding with my pharmacy info and the midwives aren’t always in the clinic answering messages as they are at births overnight. So it was super quick care for me.

@Anna Awh well I hope the midwives take good care of you and I also hope that the healthcare system gets better in your city 😢

I’m a NICU RN and went with an OB for my first, I found it very impersonal. Appointments were 5mins and I had to wait 1-2 hours every time. Postpartum I had some issues and called and they just told me to go to the ER unless it could wait for my 6 week appointment. This time I’ve chosen to go with a midwife and so far I feel very comfortable, she is on top of all testing and monitoring and my 1st appointment was 45 mins long.

It's possible that your OB wouldn't be at your birth since someone else could be on call when you go into labour. OBs are also not that familiar with physiological birth - they are trained for complicated births. I would go with midwife every single time since it's a team of 2 so one of them will be at your birth for sure. The likelihood of c-section is lowered immensely if you have a midwife (and a doula). But you also need to know a few things on how you want the birth to go - do you want interventions? If not, and then you change your mind, how do you want to proceed? Do you want them to manage the third stage or lay off? Etc...

Midwives are great. The only downside my friends have experienced is sometimes they want to try “natural” for too long during the birth and it lasts way longer than it should have. Being able to ask to see a doctor if it’s not going as planned is key.