Hi. I gave birth to my son last October with the midwives at AK Family and Birth. We were at the center because we live in a cabin and the setup's not great. They do a lot of homebirths though...the majority actually. I know they have a portable tub they can set up. The tub at the center really saved my life! He was my first and I couldn't have done it without that tub! Overall my experience was good. I suppose I don't have anything to compare it to though. I would agree that they were fairly hands off although supportive. I feel like a little more guidance might have saved me from tearing at delivery. It being my first I didn't remember things like don't push so hard that you launch the baby out! Haha!
My son had respiratory problems that eventually we had to take him to the hospital for. This of course had nothing to do with my care at the center, but I would add that the first midwife (less experienced) didn't catch his breathing problems. The second one did, however, which is probably why they have more than one in the first place. I've often wondered if laboring in the tub contributed to the infection...which is what they say at the hospital. On the flip side, vaginal exams (which even midwives do) can cause infection. In this respect, they were reluctant to do the few that I had. The hospital would have been checking me every two hours....over a twelve hour labor that's a lot of potential bacteria!
To sum up all this rambling about my labor...my experience was great or at least monumentally better than it would have been in the hospital. Though FMH is on the better side of maternal care (for instance they like to attempt VBAC's according to their L&D nurses) their C-section rate is still 30% like the US average. That's something I certainly don't want to risk! In spite of a few bumps in my labor I will birth with them again in the future. They represent one of the things that I love about Fairbanks...a little healthy criticism of the establishment!
Good luck to you and congratulations!
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