Questions You Need to Ask Before Hiring a Midwife for the First Time
If you’re going to hire a midwife to provide support during childbirth, make sure that its someone you can fully trust. Remember, childbirth is an exciting yet complicated moment. It is therefore important to choose your midwife carefully. When you choose a midwife carefully, you’ll need little intervention from health practitioners or even none.
Also, moms assisted by midwives while giving birth are able to breastfeed easily and have little chances of experiencing perineal lacerations as opposed to those without midwives.
But choosing a midwife is not easy. You’ll need to know the right questions to ask the midwives during the interview.
We’ve listed a few questions you should ask a midwife or a midwifery service to help you make an informed decision.
1. How Does Your Practice Operate?
You should start by looking at the midwifery practice. Some reputable practices such as Hearth and Home have websites that clearly state how they operate. In some parts of the country, you’ll find services that offer a different set of services and have different standards of operation.
Some practices will give you one midwife to be with you the whole time, while others have multiple midwives working as a team.
Inquire to know what to expect from each midwifery company. Will you be assigned one midwife during your pregnancy? Or will they be a team? It is also important to inquire from them what to expect if your midwife isn’t there during birth.
2. What Prenatal Care Services Are Offered?
Ask your midwife the number of appointments to expect, and what to expect from a typical appointment before the childbirth.
In most cases, you’ll visit your midwife once a month until you’re seven months (28 weeks) pregnant. From there, you’ll see her every two weeks until when you’re nine months (36 weeks) pregnant, and then once a week until you give birth. Usually, your appointment will last between 30 and 45 minutes.
It is also important to ask what clinical tests are done during this period.
3. What Happens in Case the Unexpected Happens?
Midwifery colleges responsible for regulating this profession have set guidelines on when to consult physicians. It also spells out the situations that would lead to the transfer of care.
In case there is a complication like placental abruption, the patient can be transferred to a physician. In such a situation, your midwife will be required to provide supportive care if it’s within her abilities.
4. Can a Student Midwife Attend to Me?
It is essential to understand how your midwife practice integrates training and teaching during birth. Some clinics have student programs going on. If you don’t want student midwives to attend to you, you should ask about it when choosing a midwife practice.
5. What Happens If I Go Past Due?
Various practices have different ways to deal with a patient who has gone overdue. However, all of them provide an informed approach when it comes to deciding induction timing.
Some midwife practices follow hospital policies, and so does induction at a specific time. Others have their policies that guide how care is provided during this situation. In all cases, midwives are encouraged to approach care in a way that requires little intervention as this will determine when to do induction.
Your midwife must discuss with you these policies as the date draws closer. This will help you understand how their practice is run.
6. What Should I Expect During Labor?
In the case of early labor, you’ll need to inform your midwife by phone.
But when in active labor, your midwife will be with you so she can give you continued care and support. She will provide support during labor, birth and a few hours after delivery.
In general, midwives will be there to help you during and after birth. For instance, a midwife will encourage mobility, keep the umbilical cord attached until pulsing stops, etc. They’ll also show you ways to manage pain naturally, such as positional changes, massage, and water, which are available at birth centers, hospitals, and homes.
7. Should I Deliver at Home, Hospital, or Birth Center?
No matter the place where you choose to give birth, your midwife will provide care for you. You can give birth at the hospital, at home, or a birth center, depending on the facilities close to you. Some hospitals do not allow midwives to be present during childbirth. However, most midwifery services have a list of hospitals nearby that do.
Midwives understand that it can be challenging to decide where to give birth in advance and so they don’t compel you to choose a birthplace.
