Seeking a birth professional in Salt Lake City

[magnetic_rose]

I apologize if this is in the wrong forum, but I am looking for names of some good certified nurse midwives in Salt Lake City, Utah.


Just to give you the skinny on me, to maybe give you an idea of who might be appropriate for me. I'm 4 months along (16 weeks), skinny by nature, healthy, over 35, and having my _first pregnancy ever_ , and thus my first child! I'm freaked out, because of course, this was unplanned!! However, I am excited and happy, I just over-think the whole thing waaay too much. I'm an over-educated, intellectual, medically knowledgable (I've worked in OSHA and HIPAA compliance), type-A, Jewish woman. ^_^ I basically just read through my provider directory and found a bunch of CNMs, but I have no idea who they are or whom to choose. (Just to let you know, I have a choice of changing providers until January, so if you told me that your birth professional recommendation(s) was/were through another, I could switch.) I'm an anxious pregnant woman looking for advice!

Thanks again!

[PrincessRuby]

What insurance do you have? do you have hospital restrictions? Have you thought about homebirth as an option? There are some really great Midwives in Utah both in and out of hospital.

[courtenay_e]

I am going to move this to the Utah tribal area, so that you have more women local to you as a pool of resources. Good luck in your hunt!

[RoseRed]

Here is an old thread listing a whole bunch of really amazing infor on home birth midiwves in utah

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=686094

I was with the IMC nurse midwives with my last birth, and while they were great the hospital policy took over and made it a bad experience (they have a 30 minute time limit to push your baby out for example) and so I am going with a home birth this time around.

Heather Johnston is my midwife and I absolutly LOVE her. I could go on for a while as to why I do lol

But I would say maybe see what CNMs your insurance covers and interveiw some of them, maybe interveiw some HB midwives as well. I wouldn't rule them out. Your still really early in pregnancy so you have time to pick someone you love.

[magnetic_rose]

Ok to answer more specifically about what I need and what insurance I have:

Area: I live in the downtown area (9th and 9th). I have an OB-GYN (2 appointments so far) but she's very detached and sterile , so I reaallly want to start over now while I still can.

Dates: I'm due early May, probably the 5th! I want to start meeting with some people soon to start interviewing.

Insurance: I'm recently laid-off, and got lucky enough to be eligible for full pre-natal medical insurance to get me through 'til I get another job, so I'm totally covered through "Healthy U," which is Univ. of Utah. My other choices were Select Access (LDS primarily) and Molina (Intermountain healthcare mostly), and I have 'til January to change that. I can choose from a bunch of hospitals, but I heard the University of Utah was the best, and it's closest to me.

My birthing plan: My plan was to deliver with a CNM in a birthing unit in a hospital, "just in case" intervention is needed, unless someone else has a better idea. Home birth is totally out, because we are going to move apts., and I don't know where, when or what, and that could mean clutter and chaos! However, I want to be clear -- I want to do this naturally, unassisted by white-coated doctors and technology. In other words: I am staying away from some OB GYN who wants to give me a C-section for expediency, just because I'm over 35!

What I want: to find a competent, reliable, genuine, engaged CNM and hopefully a doula too. I'm nervous because a) I'm Jewish in a very Mormon culture , and I am not remotely religious or conservative in that direction and b) I'm not new-agey either . I'm open to alternative medicine/holistic/nutrition and all, but I mostly practical, realistic and down-to earth, and I am hoping to find that in my birthing professionals too.

I hope that helps make sense. Thanks!
Thanks so much!

[magnetic_rose]

Originally Posted by courtenay_e

I am going to move this to the Utah tribal area, so that you have more women local to you as a pool of resources. Good luck in your hunt!

Thanks Courtenay!! I was lost. But now, I'm found!

[Stacymom]

The midwives at the U of U are amazing. I've worked closely with three of them, and was a doula for one of their homebirths! Plus, the U hospital is very baby and mama friendly. Here's their link. The ones I've worked the most with are Jen Martin, Claudia Gerrard, and Celeste Thomas.

Another option is Danielle Demeter. I'm hoping this is a current phone # [phone]. She's amazing. I did a birth as a doula with her and she was great- she's very into helping people get the birth they want, regardless of what the hospitals want. What might be a downside for you is that she's in Park City and from what i understand, is only doing births in the new Park City Hospital. The hospital has only been open a month or so, so I havent heard anything about it yet.

Good luck- let me know if I can help.

[MissyLissa]

I had my last baby with Danielle Demeter and she would be well worth the drive to Park City!! Lucky for me she was still delivering in SLC when I had DD, but that just changed about two months ago. She was great! I had an intervention free birth (she offered to break my water to get things going faster and was fine with me turning that down) with her and she was great for running interference with the hospital and their stupid policies. She let the nurses know before I even checked in that I wouldn't be having an IV and she stood up for me when they were questioning why I wouldn't wear the gown. She also does a lot of the same stuff a doula would do (although I would recommend getting a doula as well just for added support).
If Park City just isn't an option for you, I have two friends who go to Diane Heubusch and they rave about her just as much as I rave about Danielle. She just moved to a practice that delivers at LDS Hospital.

[idler]

I had a very different experience with Danielle Demeter from those related by previous posters. If I had it to do over again, I would deliver at the U. The hospital culture and the attitudes of the nurses had a huge impact on my experience during the birth (ultimately by c-section) and after. The U. is now WHO certified as a Baby Friendly Hospital, so you won't, for example, have to keep telling the nurses from the nursery that no, you don't want them to take your baby there for the night "so you can get some sleep." I spent a lot more time with the hospital nurses than with my CNM, so in retrospect, I think it would have been wiser to have chosen the hospital more carefully.

[mamagranola28]

You might want to talk with Rebecca Williams CNM http://www.greatexpectationsbc.com/ she attended my second birth and I was very pleased with her laid back, yet attentive bed side manner. She is currently attending births at home and at her birthing suites (like a free standing birth center). She was a RN for many years and has experience with newborn recessitation (sp?). She is also not LDS (Mormon) that I know of.

[Ianthe]

I posted on your other thread that I love Rebecca Williams and had an amazing birth with her... however, she doesn't take medicaid (which I had at the time), so I paid out of pocket. She is really great about making payment plans though. She is a very, very, very good midwife. It might be too late, so if you are interested in her, call her now :-)

[lactatinggirl]

I really liked my midwives (BirthCare HealthCare at the U of U), but I only saw them for my prenatal check-ups so I can't tell you how they are with the birth (accidental homebirth). I do suggest you look into delivering at the U though because it's the only Baby Friendly Certified hospital in Utah and we were taken to a different closer hospital and none of the nurses had any idea how to help me with breastfeeding.

[Ianthe]

Originally Posted by lactatinggirl

I really liked my midwives (BirthCare HealthCare at the U of U), but I only saw them for my prenatal check-ups so I can't tell you how they are with the birth (accidental homebirth). I do suggest you look into delivering at the U though because it's the only Baby Friendly Certified hospital in Utah and we were taken to a different closer hospital and none of the nurses had any idea how to help me with breastfeeding.

Very good advice.. if you are going to a hospital, the U is the best place to go. I took my hypnobirthing classes there too!

[moonygoony]

The U midwives mentioned above are great! I've done births with several of them and they have been so respectful, hands off, kind, and knowledgeable.

[Veritaserum]

I think Danielle could be a great fit for you. She's attending births at the new Park City hospital, which sounds really friendly toward moms and babies.

[Ambishop19]

Like others have mentioned, I would recommend Danielle Demeter. The only bad experience I had had nothing to do with her and everything to do with the hospital's lack of support for breastfeeding. Now that she is only delivering up in Park City, your experience could be great all the way around. I'm sorry to hear that someone had a c-section with her. I asked her what her rate was and she said about 5%, and that is a really good rate.

[pagodafish]

I also met with Danielle when I was looking for a Doc/MW after I learned my hb could not happen. I really liked her but could not bring myself to use the hospital where she had prvldgs. I ended up at the U of U hospital and it was a much better experience than I could have imagined- I did not have high expectations though.

I sincerely recommend that you focus on where you are going to give birth first- and then find a good fit for the doc/mw second. I am not saying the birth attendant isn't extremely important!!! Check out the c/s rates, episiotomy rates etc...BUT... your Doc/MW will only be with you for a few short moments and in the end the people that have the most impact on your birth experience are the staff that attend to you during labor and after. The staff at the U was fabulous- the nurses, the lactation specialists, even the billing department was great (I cannot believe I am saying this about a hospital as I am totally pro-homebirth!!!)

Anyway, my point is that maybe you should start with the where? and then move to the who?.....

Good luck to you! Happy Birthing!

[Xavismom]

I just had my first baby with the U of U Midwives, and I'll second all the posts, they are awesome.

Delivered on 11-24, and it could not have gone any better. No one had any problem with my birth plan, everyone was very hands-off like DH and I wanted. No meds, no Iv, no fuss over anything, even afterword when we didnt want to bathe DS, to keep the vernix on him. Hospital staff were super nice, and very supportive about everything, including breastfeeding. Its a big plus that they are a baby-friendly hospital.

The only thing I previously had a complaint about, is that you see ALL of them, and you dont know who you are going to get when you actually deliver. But though the course of my pregnancy, I got to see all of them, and I liked every single one. When I actually went into labor, I had Lisa for the first half, then Melissa. They were both fantasic, and I had absolutely no complaints. If I ever have a second baby, I am going back to them.

[rock_dr]

just another vote to at least talk to rebecca williams. her birth suite rocks. feel free to pm me if you want, I work at the U and we may have quite a bit in common