This is something I like to do even
before I am pregnant: find a health care provider I like. There are a few options out there, the most common is using an obstetrician or a midwife. Below are my experiences on how I choose some of my health care providers.
OB/GYN
If you’re choosing to use an obstetrician,
developing a relationship with your obstetrician / gynecologist during
gynecology visits and fertility help when you’re trying to conceive maybe a
great place to start, if the doctor provides care for both gynecology and obstetrics.
Also what kind of practice your obstetrician works at. Some maybe large and
rotate doctors, so you would not be guaranteed to have the same doctor for
every prenatal visit. The obstetrician that I have used for my previous 2
pregnancies and currently during my third pregnancy, you see throughout the
entire pregnancy and delivery. Although my obstetrician was not the same doctor who diagnosed and removed my Endometriosis, he did provide me with adequate prenatal care for both pregancies, delivered my first baby, delivered my placenta since baby 2 came in the waiting room, sutured me with tears from my first and second pregnancy and when I healed I felt normal again. He is also a doctor who does remembers me (more than a number) - as I was getting my dating ultrasound for my 3rd pregnancy, he informed me that he never forgot that I had my 2nd baby in the waiting room and can't go pass the waiting room without thinking about that. I actually ended up choosing him, because the one who removed my Endometriosis was booked for like a good month or two, and being it was my first pregnancy I didn't want to be seen like at 10-12 weeks, when I could have been seen at 6-8 weeks. I met him when he provided my dating ultrasound with my first pregnancy and my husband and I decided we liked him and kept him as our obsetrician.
Midwife
During this third pregnancy, I’ve
decided to do something a little different. Instead of a hospital birth, I am
planning a home birth with a midwife. That means I will be seeing two
healthcare providers during my third pregnancy for several specific reasons for my situation listed below. I also met my midwife through a friend, and later became friends with the midwife at the end of my second pregnancy. So I developed a friendship with her, as well as choose her, because she is highly recommended by her clients. Even though, I already knew her personally, met her spouse and children, did play dates with her, my husband and I still went for a midwife consult. We wanted to make sure she was a good fit and also to know how she felt about us using our insurance to cover what she didn't offer with the obstetrician. We came prepared with questions we felt were important to ask and got question ideas from online on what kind of questions you may want to ask a midwife.
1.
The midwife will not delivery your
baby if you do not do prenatal visits with her. So I can’t see my obstetrician
for prenatal care and deliver with the midwife.
2.
The midwife does not take insurance, does
not provide ultrasound or labs (unless labs is necessary she can order them). A woman who needs
the rogam shot must pay for it. The midwife also do not provide gestational diabetes
screening unless they suspect the mother has it and will do a modified version - different from the OB/GYN.
I will be using my insurance, to receive prenatal care, lab work, gestational
diabetes screening and ultrasounds from the obstetrician and using cash to pay the midwife for prenatal care, delivery, postpartum care.
3.
Midwives who work alone and not under
a doctor cannot deliver in the hospital in my current city. They can deliver in
a Birthing Suite or the home.
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