As an aspiring midwife (and an aspiring mother!), I have researched many midwives and birth centers in Southern California. Now, my family is planning a big move to Austin, Texas, so my research continues!
I thought it would be simple: get pregnant, find a great midwife, and get started having a natural birth experience. Then, I realized how much there is to consider, and what a big decision it is to choose your birth assistant. A friend of mine is expecting her first child, and I am learning so much as I watch her make decisions about health insurance coverage, midwifery care, physician and hospital back-up, and more.
Just as there are good and bad teachers, doctors, and nurses, there are also good and bad midwives. It is not a good idea to choose a midwife only because she supports natural birth, because she has an informative website, or because she practices near your home. Those reasons may be convenient, but choosing a caregiver requires careful thought and research.
Important things to consider when choosing a midwife:
- The midwife is documented and certified to have the education and experience required in order to practice in her state, and obtains current and continuing education
- The midwife practices according to research and standard safe practices (information about the safe midwifery model of care can be found at www.maternitywise.org)
- Learn about how certified nurse midwifes (CNM’s) and certified professional midwifes (CPM’s) practice in your state (it is usually more common for CPM’s to offer homebirths, while CNM’s often practice in hospitals or birth centers)
- The caregiver and/or birth center are recommended by other people in the community, and the midwives have a good relationship with nearby physicians and hospitals
- Contact your health insurance, and investigate how you can get coverage for your midwife-assisted birth
- You should be able to develop a strong relationship with the midwife; ideally you will be working together very closely for the next nine months, and will be sharing very personal experiences with that person
- The midwife will support you in creating a personal birth plan that will encourage a safe and positive outcome for you and the baby
16 Responses to “Choosing A Midwife”
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My name is Bethany, and I am the author of this site.
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February 28th, 2006 at 07:07 PM Holy crap, you're moving to Texas?
March 1st, 2006 at 05:23 AM Hi, how are you?! Yep, my family moved out there a few weeks ago, so we'll be following them as soon as I find a job. We've been out there quite a few times, and we're beginning to like it!
March 3rd, 2006 at 02:31 PM Bethany, I'm sure you've found this but there is a birth center that is really good in Austin...a friend of mine had her baby there and loved it! Unfortunately, I cannot remember what the name of it is though...I'll ask and get back to you. Kristin
March 7th, 2006 at 07:24 AM Wow, they left a-town?!
March 14th, 2006 at 09:13 PM i wanna b a midwife but i'm onli twelve but i dont no what i'll have to do in the future to become one
March 15th, 2006 at 04:59 AM Bethany, I was directed to your site from Matt D. I have recently decided I want to become a doula. I look forward to reading more of your posts. I don't know if you are in TX yet, but you might experience a little culture shock especially related to natural child birth. We recently had a natural child birth (and live in Waco), and found an amazing Bradley instructor that made all the difference. I've wondered why more midwives don't send their clients to Bradley classes (at least of the people I've talked to). Any thoughts on this? Or is this just a local thing?
March 17th, 2006 at 09:59 AM Hi Lee Ann, It's wonderful to hear that you have had a natural birth and that you're interested in becoming a doula. I've researched DONA International, and they are offering doula certification courses in Austin coming up in April, July and November. I am going to try and attend the July one, so maybe you can come to Austin for the weekend and attend the course with me! It does seem like a lot of mothers don't really know what the Bradley method is. I have read several books about it, and I think it sounds wonderful. The birth center I visited in Austin does recommend Bradley classes to all of their clients, so hopefully more women will find out about it. Hmm, I think I need to write an article about it! Thanks for the message, and blessings to you as you pursue your goals!
March 17th, 2006 at 10:11 AM Hi Denise When I was your age, I already knew that I was interested in childbirth, but I really hadn't even heard of midwifery. But, even back then, I read any book I could find about birth and babies. In high school, I started taking classes to get ready for nursing school. So, just do anything that you can to learn about midwifery and natural birth!
April 6th, 2006 at 03:43 PM What a great site-- I love reading about your passion for childbirth and midwifery. I really appreciate your perspective because I am a nursing student who has felt a lot of the same things... I loved my the birth experiences in my labor and delivery rotation last semester, but I had a hard time seeing myself working as a L&D nurse because of the impersonal and "unnatural" emphasis. My other love is pediatrics, so I am glad to hear that the two aren't as strange a combination as I had thought! Right now I'm praying about job decisions for when I graduate at the end of this month... I would love to be a part of something like your trip to Haiti. How did you get involved with that trip (was it through a specific organization or someone you knew)?? Midwifery seems like such an awesome way to demonstrate the love of Christ. I'm planning on working a year or two as a nurse while reading and investigating more about midwifery. Do you have suggestions for me as I make career decisions and explore midwifery?
April 7th, 2006 at 09:23 AM Hi Kirstin, Thank you so much for your message. I'm excited to hear about what you are doing - it sounds very similar to my story! I think that pediatrics is a great field, and working for a few years while you learn and gain experience is a wonderful idea. I'll email you more about these things!
April 10th, 2007 at 03:00 PM
My wife and I lived in Austin for 5 years. Ifyou are looking for a method, consider hypnobirthing. There’s a place in Austin that is great. My wife has delivered 4 babie using hypnobirthing. Similar to bradley, but more about relaxing and letting your body do what int needs to and letting your mind control your body. Endorphins are strong. They teach so many good things about how to cope and how to alleviate.
Go here if you haven’t already:
http://www.texasmidwives.com/
Anyway, We had twins in San Antonio and used Ann Dignan from Blanco, Texas. She was great. We also used Holly Manzanera in San Antonio. We needed 4 midwives for twins. It was great. Second baby was footling breach…no problems.
Anyway, congratulations moving to Austin. Oh, here’s a list of restaurants to try:
Hut’s hamburgers hula hut chuy’s kirby lane mr. naturals magnolia castle hill west lynn cafe mothers
fun
April 10th, 2007 at 03:18 PM
Hi, congraulations on moving to Austin. My wife and I were there for about 5 years. If you are looking into a method to help with delivery, check out hypnobirthing. It’s similar to the bradley method,b ut a little deeper. We went to a hypnobirthing center in austin. Can’t remember what it was called, but it’s there. There’s probably a couple now. It was 5 years ago.
We’ve had 4 babies. The last 2 were twins at home. So great. Surely would have gotten cut if we were at the hospital. 2nd baby was footling breach.
If you haven’t yet, go here:
http://www.texasmidwives.com You are in travis county (I’m sure you know that by now.
We used Ann Dignan from Blanco Texas. She was great. I built her website http://www.hillcountrymidwife.com
So, here’s a list of our favorite restaurants in austin (that we miss so much)
kirby lane mr. naturals magnolias hula hut hut’s hamburgers mothers west lynn castle hill chuys yum
have fun
April 10th, 2007 at 03:31 PM
Sorry about that double entry. My browser crashed and I wasn’t sure if it had submitted. Also, I think on the first one I may not have put the correct address for my website. (my children stories blog) Sorry again. Hope you are well and I’m not being a bother.
August 13th, 2007 at 04:45 PM
Hi Bethany, I know you wrote this article so long ago but i would love to talk to you. We moved to Austin 2 years ago and i am pregnant right now. I would love to know if you are a midwife now, and your process in doing that, and who did u use as a midwife? Thanks, Hesperia
August 30th, 2007 at 10:37 AM
Hello Hesperia! I don’t see a way to get a hold of you, so I hope that you find this comment. I’m trying to get back to my blog, after almost 9 months on hold – yikes. I would love to talk, and I can tell you about my birth here in Austin with a midwife; it was wonderful! My birth story will be here soon!
May 12th, 2008 at 08:35 PM
Hey..i just wanted to say that midwife is one of the best career ever because it provides independent prenatal and postpartum care to maternity clients as well as labor and delivery services which by the way i have dream my whole life as a midwife but, the question is how can i start becoming one and what are the requirements for this field.Please write me back!!!