Midwife team VS one midwife and assistant(s)

[bjorker]

I'm newly pregnant and gearing up to interview midwives. My first choice based on word-of-mouth is a part of a practice that also does births in their own birthing center, though I would be birthing at home. I contacted their office person to schedule a consultation, and she said that all three midwives at that particular location are a team. I would see either of the 3 midwives throughout my care, and then for the birth I would get whichever midwife was on-call out of the three. In other words, I wouldn't have the one midwife and an assistant, it would be kind of a crapshoot to which one I would see and have at my birth.

For some reason this put me off a bit. Has anyone done something like this? I had something a little more personal in mind, I guess. I'd really like to feel like I had a working relationship with the midwife that was to be in my house for the birth of my child, yk? I have a harder time imagining feeling that way about three people in that amount of time & visits. But then again maybe I'm overthinking things, I don't know. Thoughts?

They do come highly recommended, though I've heard a lot more about one of the three than the others. I'll make mention of this at the consultation but I was wondering what you guys thought.

[nashvillemidwife]

How are the prenatals structured? How well would you get the know the potential attendants?

We have three attendants on our "team" and we rotate call so that there are always 2 on call/1 off. But we do prenatals together so you know us all equally well. We tend to think of it more as "you don't know which one of us won't be at your birth" instead of "you don't know who you're going to get". If you know all the midwives and are comfortable with them all, does it really matter which one is there and which aren't? Isn't it the kind of care you're after, and not a person?

[BrooklynDoula]

With my first baby I had a group of 4 midwives and I loved two of them, likes one, and really did not like one. My friend got the midwife none of us liked and she had some serious problems with how that MW handled her birth. I got my favorite of all of them and was thrilled to have had her, but I did worry for the three weeks from the time my friend gave birth until I did because I did not know who would be with me.

That being the case, the next time around I went with a solo practitioner. I loved getting to know one person and building a relationship that way. She is still a good friend of mine.

I think you have to go with what feels right to you. If you have other options, perhaps you want to at least meet them and see which feels like a better match for your needs.

Congrats and good luck!

[kcparker]

With my DS, I went to a team of hospital-based midwives. I rotated through the three of them for my prenatals, so I felt like I knew all of them and vice versa. I had a favorite, but I felt comfortable and safe with all three of them. They take their time with visits, so you can ask questions and talk with them about your birth preferences, their standards of care, etc. I think the standard # of prenatals (13 where I am) is enough time to get to know all three of them reasonably well.

[threadbey]

My first birth was exactly the situation you describe except with five mws. I really liked two, neutral on two, and one rubbed me the wrong way. But they were all very competent. I ended up with thw one I thought I didn't like, but ever since than, I love her! I was really sad we
moved and she couldn't attend my second.

This time I had one mw and her colleague, so I knew who would be there, barring major problems, and had all my appoinments with her. I liked her, felt she was very competent, and it was a great birth. Yet, I don't feel quite as bonded to her as I do to my first mw. Go figure!

Anyway, I really think both ways are fine. You need your mw to keep you and your baby safe - loving her is an extra, I think

if you still think you need a more personal touch, you could hire a doula that would be entirely your choice. They're nice to have, even with a mw. (I had one the second time, not the first)

[mamamoon89]

I had two midwives practicing together, alternating prenatal appointments, and one came to my birth. I think that usually it would have been who ever was on call would have come, but it ended up that I had more appointments with one (they try to schedule clients so that they each attend about half, but schedules didn't always work out that way) and got to know her better, so they made sure she could attend my birth. This was a really good experience for me, I thought they were both great. If I had had an independently practicing midwife and she hadn't been able to come to my birth for some reason, a stranger could have been my birth attendent!
I can see why you would have concerns about three, that seems like a bigger deal than two. If you really like all of them, then maybe it could work. Ask if you can request a specific person to attend your birth if you end up getting along better with her, and find out how likely it is that she'll be the one there.

[Jane]

It seems like it works out more of the time than you'd think it would. Most women seem to be pretty comfortable with all of the midwives available, in my experience as a temporary third midwife, covering a leave of absence.

I would make sure that you're comfortable with the level of involvement of student midwives/ birth assistants, as that is one more level of flux in the mix. For example, a solo midwife you've come to love isn't the same if she expects the newly rotated-in student midwife to catch your baby.

I tend to suggest that you'll know when you've found the right fit. Usually women feel at home with they have the right team/person.

[russsk]

I saw a group of three midwives, rotating my prenatals so I got to know all of them. I loved two, was unsure of the third. One of my two favorites attended my birth. The third came to see me after the birth, and that late-night visit sold me on her, she was so warm and caring (something I hadn't seen in the office). I did worry in the few weeks leading up to the birth, but I now know it would have been fine no matter which of the three was there.

[xixstar]

I would meet with them and see how I feel about them personally. I know that our local birth center has a similar practice and many moms are happy with their birth's there. I don't think I'd rule them out on that issue, but I too would want to feel like I know them before the birth and there is plenty of time for that.

I use a solo midwife and am happy with that approach but there is still the chance, though very small, that I could end up with her back-up if she was otherwise detained. This would likely be someone that I haven't met before, though if it's a small delay she would probably just send an assistant (guessing here, I haven't really talked to her about it), either of which I would might find a little different, but I'm sure that whoever she chooses to work with would still be a decent choice.

I have a doula for my births and she is the one that I place lots of importance on that personal relationship because she is the one providing physical and emotional support for labor. We just have a mw to make dh happy and she's completely handsoff and invisible, per our request.

[bjorker]

Thanks for all of your responses! That was very helpful.

[DCMama01]

I'm in a similar boat and I'm going to ask for a special with either of the two I love agreeing to attend my birth. Apparently, its common. There's one midwife I have yet to meet, one I dont really feel comfortable with, and another I like but don't love.

[smeep]

My sister birthed at a freestanding birth center that did the same thing - two midwives and you get whoever is on call. They try to schedule the appointments evenly between the two mws but for some reason she just ended up with only two appointments with one, and the rest with the other. Luckily the mw on call was the one she had most appointments with.

I have to say, I'm quite happy that my mw is solo in her practice. I can't imagine getting a luck of the draw. I chose a mw for many reasons, one huge one being that it is personalized care and she knows me personally. Throw on one or two more, and it totally ruins that reason. But that's just me.

Interview other mws and see what you think is best. If you click with the group better than any singles, go with them. If you click with any solo mws better than the group, go with them.

[nashvillemidwife]

I work with a partner. Not only do we provide personalized care and know our clients personally, but they are getting the expertise, training, and skills of two midwives. I can't imagine any of our clients suggesting that they receive anything less than personalized care from our practice.

[EdnaMarie]

I had a team of midwives for my pre-natal care. I didn't have a huge choice because of where I lived at the time, and I expected at that time to have them for the birth.

It was a lot more personal than I expected. However, I did not get to have any of them at the birth, because we moved.

I ended up working with the midwife I'd had last time, with her assistant. That was great, too.

I don't think you're over-thinking it (over-thinking how to bring a child into the world? that takes a lot of work, LOL) but I do think you may be surprised how little you notice the individual personality of the person who's at the birth. The best midwives, in my opinion, are the ones able to kind of keep their personality in and let their reflective, facilitative self out while you birth.

OTOH- I realize that they only will have one person at the birth? I think that's not enough. They need two in case there are any problems, and sometimes, to make sure that they can help you move. One for mama and one for baby post-partum. Knowing what I know now, after two good homebirths that required pitocin after delivery (I bled a lot), I would never work with just one midwife without an assistant.

[bjorker]

Originally Posted by EdnaMarie

OTOH- I realize that they only will have one person at the birth? I think that's not enough. They need two in case there are any problems, and sometimes, to make sure that they can help you move. One for mama and one for baby post-partum. Knowing what I know now, after two good homebirths that required pitocin after delivery (I bled a lot), I would never work with just one midwife without an assistant.

I think they still have an assistant of some sort. I'll make sure of it, but I didn't take that to mean that only one person will show up.

Thanks for your input, ladies.

[jaylily]

I haven't done that but I don't think I would mind it as long as I liked all of the midwives and felt comfortable with them. I had a midwife and her assistant and i was nervous because I didn't know her assistant. However I liked my midwife and trusted her judgement... and it turned out I really really liked having her assistant at the birth even though I had never seen her in my life. Besides, when she came after my midwife called her, I was so close to the end that I was in the stage of labour that I didn't really care who was there anymore.