Choosing a midwife

[ChocolateNummies]

The midwife I like has 4 clients due the same month already. I, obviously, would be her 5th. Is this too many? I suppose it could indicate she's really good but would she be overbooked?

Not sure what the average number of clients/month is that a midwife usually takes on.

Thanks for any opinions!

[MsBlack]

I think it really depends on how far she will travel for a birth. If everyone is within an hour or so of each other, it should be fine. If she's travelling 2hrs or more, then I would wonder if she would have enough time for you at prenatal visits, and would come to your birth soon enough for your comfort (or miss it altogether, if your labor is short).

[cocoanib]

I don't know what the average is, but that would make me nervous. I'm sure she has backup, but I would want her to be there, not another MW.
My MW takes on 2, sometimes 3.
Do you have any other options?

[wbg]

In that situation, I would want to interview/ meet with her back up midwife too to make sure that you connect with her as it seems a likely possibility that she might have to attend your birth.

[ChocolateNummies]

I do have other options. I'm still in the process of interviewing. I really liked this midwife's philosophy and her backups/assistants are already candidates with whom I'd like to speak. She just felt right, but 5 clients does seem like a lot. sigh Maybe it will all work out for the best anyway and I'll get this one as a bu/asst instead of a primary.

I have another midwife that I've interviewed that has tons of experience and that I felt comfortable with except I get the feeling she'll be a bit more business-like and/or clinical than I was looking for. The impression I got was that she'd be less comfortable with any requests I made that were out of her 'norm'. I think she'd honor them (and she says she would) but I'm afraid when it came down to it she would be reluctant. I don't want tension around me during labor (of course!) We did, however, have a good rapport and very similar hospital birth experiences. In fact, the only thing holding me back from her is her slightly more clinical approach.

This is such a hard decision. Anyone have a crystal ball?

[cileag]

My midwife and her partner typically take 4-5, and also have an apprentice with them as well. It doesn't seem like a dramatically larger load than I've heard of before.

[cocoanib]

Originally Posted by ChocolateNummies

I do have other options. I'm still in the process of interviewing. I really liked this midwife's philosophy and her backups/assistants are already candidates with whom I'd like to speak. She just felt right, but 5 clients does seem like a lot. sigh Maybe it will all work out for the best anyway and I'll get this one as a bu/asst instead of a primary.

I have another midwife that I've interviewed that has tons of experience and that I felt comfortable with except I get the feeling she'll be a bit more business-like and/or clinical than I was looking for. The impression I got was that she'd be less comfortable with any requests I made that were out of her 'norm'. I think she'd honor them (and she says she would) but I'm afraid when it came down to it she would be reluctant. I don't want tension around me during labor (of course!) We did, however, have a good rapport and very similar hospital birth experiences. In fact, the only thing holding me back from her is her slightly more clinical approach.

This is such a hard decision. Anyone have a crystal ball?

I say go with your first instinct on that second midwife. If she is not as warm as you would like, its probably best to go with someone else.

Keep interviewing and you may find another that you connect with just as much as the first one, but with a smaller clent load. If not, then at least you know all your options.

[redpajama]

I think five births in a month is reasonable. It might make for a moderately busy month for *her,* but I don't think it should adversely affect you. Obviously, the statistical likelihood of her missing your birth to be at another increases with every client she takes on; still I think 5 is reasonable and there's no reason to be particularly fearful of that.

If you're concerned about it, perhaps you could ask her how many times she's missed a birth (or had to send a back-up midwife until she could make it) in the last couple of years--that will give you an idea of whether she has a tendency to over extend herself. Unless her answer is unsettling, I'd say you should go with the midwife with whom you feel most comfortable.

Good luck!

[Sijae]

5 sounds reasonable to me. Have you asked her how many total she might take on? If she keeps adding them after you that would make me pause. But even though that would technically average slightly more than one per week, some will go early, some will go late. The one birth my preceptor has ever missed due to multiple births was just a couple months ago and was with a 37 weeker and a 42.5 weeker on the same morning.

You might ask if she has an apprentice that would be at your birth with the back up if she was not there. That way you would have at least one familiar face.

Her birth philosophy is way more important than whether she has 3 or 5 clients that month!
Laura

[Fly Girl]

My midwives (a team of 2 midwives) take 4-5 a month. They recently had 4 babies in one week. Crazy! If they have multiple moms in labor then they will split up and have a back up come with them to each birth. I would just make sure she doesn't take any more than 5.

[ChocolateNummies]

Thanks for the responses!

We've finished interviewing everyone we were interested in. I think we probably will go with this midwife anyway. She told us she normally takes 2-4 but occasionally 5, so I would be the last she'd take on. She also told us the time she had two ladies go into labor at the same time was a month she only had 2 clients. So go figure. She's been really easy to communicate with and assured us we would get to meet her backup before the birth if we wanted. Plus the other 4 clients are due closer to the beginning of the month and I'm due the 20th. Not that babies necessarily come as scheduled, but we're not all 5 clustered around the same date.

Anyway, I really like her and think she's a good fit. I can see her being there when my baby is born more than the other ladies I interviewed. I have to talk to dh before we make a final decision, hopefully tonight. I'm so ready to have a decision made.

Thanks for all your input!