natural birth-friendly doctor in dayton ohio?

[appleofmyeye]

I just found out I am pregnant with my second child and we recently moved to the Dayton, OH area. Does anyone know of a natural birth-friendly OBGYN in the area? (Preferably east Dayton.) We're thinking about going to the Family Beginnings Birthing Center at the Miami Valley Hospital at this point- any experiences there would be appreciated! Thanks!

[GracesMama]

Dr. Bowen in the West Chester area is really good. Towards the end of my pregnancy, I decided to have a homebirth. He supported me completely and continued to see me as shadow care in case of a transfer from home to the hospital.

[boogiebearlove]

Hi! Welcome to Dayton! There's not a huge group of moms from the area on here. We have been here for 4 years due to the military. This is NOT a natural birth friendly place. Since we have military insurance that doesn't switch over well to off base providers, I chose to home birth my daughter in 2008 and I'll be home birthing again in the next couple of weeks

I am very active in a number of local mom groups and many of us are super into home and natural birth. I would really recommend that you attend a Dar a Luz meeting (there are at least 2 in the area) to get more info on other moms' opinions of local doctors.

I personally have heard stories about Dr Horlacher, Guy and Woods at Family Beginnings, and the 3 midwives. Lisa Mix is apparently terrible. Horlacher and Guy have good and bad sides, and it really depends on what you go in knowing. When a mom goes in saying she wants to try a VBAC or wants a "hands off birth", but doesn't enforce it, she doesn't get it. But when a mom goes in and says she wants these things and really knows what she's talking about and also knows why they're important and how to get them, Horlacher and Guy can be beneficial (I've know Guy to schedule a repeat c-section before 40 weeks for a mom that wanted a VBAC, and a few months later he let a mom have a totally non invasive water birth. It really depended on what the mom went in armed with.). Some people are okay with Horlacher, and I sent a mom to him once and she raved about him. However, when I met him myself as a doula for a mom he was very rude and impatient, telling the mom that after 5 hours she had made no progress and needed a c-section. There was really no reason besides her slightly elevated blood pressure, and he was just awful. But it could have been an off day for him.
I've also got a friend who used Woods, and during his "stretching" while the baby was crowning he completely tore her up (I watched the video and cried). She was going for completely natural, but didn't know what he was doing and he just went ahead and got his hands all in there and literally TORE her with his fingers.

Anyway, if you're hoping for natural in a hospital I would definitely recommend Family Beginnings, just go in educated and don't take crap, and they should accommodate you. There are no other providers in the area I've ever heard of that are remotely natural -minded. And if you decide to look for a home birth midwife, message me and I can give you some names
Best wishes!

PS, if you're interested in meeting up, I go to a LLL group every Tuesday, and we're meeting tomorrow morning at 10 at The Huber Heights Church of God on Brandt Pike.

[appleofmyeye]

Thanks for all the info! I really appreciate it. boogiebearlove, I am going to pm you for more details.

[Blanca78]

I'm in Columbus, not Dayton, so can't help you--but was going to say, you might have more success posting this in the OH/IN/MI forum of the "Finding Your Tribe" area, if you haven't already--good luck!

[wjmama]

Hey boogiebearlove,

I was wondering if you could give me more info as to why Lisa Mix is so bad.  I'm pregnant with #2 and was hoping to have a home-birth but I will be on medicaid insurance which I learned will not pay for a hb and we can't afford to pay for it on our own.  I am a patient of Dr. Wood and I liked him for prenatal care for #1 but he did not deliver my baby so I don't know what he would be like in that setting.  Dr. Guy actually delivered my baby at Family Beginnings and I really liked him and overall had a good birth, although I wasn't crazy about some of the nurses.  I feel like I may be more likely to get the kind of experience I'm looking for out of Dr. Guy but I'm nervous about getting stuck with a midwife that I don't like, especially if one of them is that bad.  I really need to make a decision so any in site you can offer about Lisa Mix, or the other midwives in Dr. Guy's practice, would be great.  Thanks!

[trholm]

wjmama -

We are @ 36 weeks with our 2nd (1st was born in Indiana) and we are using Dr. Guy's practice & Family Beginnings @ MVH. I have NO complaints about any of the midwives at the practice. Only met Dr. Guy once, but liked him. Lisa Mix is no nonsense, knows what she is doing and is in and out quickly (which is awesome when I've got a lot to do before my son gets out of school at 11:30) but will take the time to answer all your questions (she even gave me her cell # and took a lot of time to talk to me when I was trying to make the choice between another OB/GYN & Women's Health Specialists)...Cat is wonderful lady, very kind, very motherly, soft spoken, but can be a bit of  talker & appointments with her often are a little longer & you might wait a bit (no biggie, but sometimes I have other things to do on a tight schedule...I try to get the early AM or right after lunch). Mic (Michelle) is the newest member of the team and she is great too. Bubbly personality and personally, she's my favorite (shh...dont tell the others - hoping this one comes when she is on call) Dr. Crouch has a wonderful bedside manner, very kind & gentle. He is young, but he took great care of a good friend of mine how had a difficult 2nd trimester miscarriage. The office staff is great, nurses are fantastic & on days when dragging my "cant sit still" 4 year old son with me is unavoidable - they always do what they can to help me out. (Dr. Crouch even "walked and talked" with me when my son decided in the middle of my appointment he had to go potty !) Hopefully this helps you a bit and I will try to get back here after this little one makes her arrival to give you an update on our experiences :) 

Good luck ! 

[dragondreaming]

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who's responded.  I wasn't the original poster, but I'm trying to make decisions about giving birth (and I have to cross-reference any recommendations with who will agree to a VBAC), and it's really nice to get as many opinions and reviews as I can.  It may seem like this is an old thread, but I think it's a good resource for someone just coming in and doing research on OBs.

[wjmama]

trholm,

Thanks for replying to my post!  Your post has made me feel even more confident that I made the right decision when I decided to go to Dr. Guy and the midwives!  I had my first appointment yesterday, it was with Mic and I agree she is wonderful!!!  Their office is so convenient too especially with the lab right next door, much better than going to Miami Valley for every appointment, which is what I did when I was pregnant with my son.  And I love that the waiting room is set up for children, since my son freaked out about being in the exam room and my husband had to take him back out there.  I'm sure you are going to love Family Beginnings (I did with my first, they were just very busy that night and my nurse was a little brisk but she was nice and actually super sweet the next day when she helped us to the car), also Mic told me that the rooms are newly renovated with new deeper tubs and new beds so I'm looking forward to that!  Good Luck!  And I hope Mic is on call for you!

[Birthing Bubby]

oh gosh this was a horror story! I am definately in need of a doctor and midwife I can TRUST and I want a natural water birth... I dont want any problems. I watch the videos online and they are so peaceful and that is what I want. I need so much help and I feel so lost trying to figure all this out on my own. I have visited the family beginings but they said if there is any complications then i automatically get kicked out of the unit. I am almost to the point where I want to have the baby at home because then I know I wont have any problems. Sometimes doctors can be very cold and unattached to what the client needs and wants because they get into the routine of what they do. I dont want to have a cs unless it is a life/death situation for me or the baby and that would be the last option. ***I feel so lost***