OBGyn Who is open to no intervention birth in North NJ?

[shimmering]

Hi everyone,

I am new to this forum. I am looking for an OBGyn somewhere near morristown area who is open to no intervention technique of birth. I don't want to take any meds or pain killers during my delivery, I want it to be as natural as possible. So I want someone. who is open to this method. Who will not try and talk me into taking IV's and stuff to make it easier. Do you know of any such OBGyns? Please let me know. Thanks.

[howeberry]

I'd suggest looking into a midwife if you're not high-risk. The OB/GYN I started my pregnancy with all but laughed at me when I told him I wanted a completely natural birth. (His reply was, "You wouldn't have dental surgery without meds, would you?"..ugh!) I could name names but it's not relevant.

I also recommend a childbirth class to get you prepared. If you're in the Morristown area, I highly recommend this one - Laura is awesome and even prepares you for a birth experience you don't want.

[2Peaches]

A midwife is the answer!  My top recommendation goes to Marla Scott in Denville, associated with Comprehensive Women's Health Care.  She delivers at Saint Clares and works with two docs who back her up if needed (like an emergency c-section).  The doctors she works with are great and very supportive of her.

I used an ob-gyn for my first birth, and then a midwife for my second.  I cannot tell you the difference it made!  Go with a midwife :)

[brenda-sw]

Avalon midwives in West Caldwell.

good luck,

Brenda

[bonichka]

Dr Winsome Parchment in Maplewood is an absolute MD (Midwife in Disguise).  She is amazing, and was my provider for the VBAC of my 11 lb 15 oz baby girl at 41.4 weeks.  Suffice it to say, i do not believe it would have happened the way it did with ANY other MW or MD.  She is my hero, and I will sing her praises till the end of time.  Happy to share more info if you'd like :)

Good luck in your search.  Good people are out there

Bonnie

[budwana birth]

I had an amazing, undemdcated birth of twins with Dr. Judy Banks out of Florham Park/Morristown.  My twins were mono/di which made them "high risk" and she never batted an eye at my desire for an intervention-free birth.  She was comfortable delivering my 2nd twin breech. Dr. Banks truly trusts the process of birth and supports natural birth.  Moreover, I would say that she believes that "less is more" when it comes to intervention.

I have heard second-hand stories about Dr. Banks sending patients in early labor home or to the mall to walk to avoid hospital intervention.  I have also heard that she will advocate for her patients to get the "best" rooms with birthing tubs and will get down into funky positions to enable the woman to push in whatever position is comfortable for her.

One thing you need to know is that there is often a long wait for your prenatal visits.  It is a well known fact within the office that you'll be hanging out in the waiting room for a while so it is wise to call ahead to see if she's running on time.  On the flip side, if you are ever running late, you will be accomodated, and Dr. Banks takes her time with you during your visit.  I usually spent at least a half hour with her during prenatals- never felt rushed and she took time to answer my (many) questions.  All in all, she felt to me more like a midwife than an OB.

Good Luck!

Carolyn

[shimmering]

Thanks for all your suggestions everyone. It really is helpful to have a great deal of information. My husband is not willing to go with a midwife. But he is all for no medication birth. So I wanted a doctor, who would let me do what I wanted to, may be try all the positions and I am even considering water birth. I have heard that water birth reduces pain greatly. This is my first so I am kinda scared. So I want a supporting doctor. Who is willing to let me go my way at the same time keeping an eye on my situation. 

Bonichka if you could give me more info, that would be great.

Thank you guys. This time I am too chicken to use a midwife. But next time maybe I ll. So I want to have a good natural birth experience.

[AlexisT]

I would definitely talk to your DH. Does he understand that CNMs go to the same universities as OBs, that they work in hospitals, and that they have collaborative relationships with OBs? I've met people who think midwives are just crazy hippie ladies who come to your house. In other countries, midwives and OBs work as a team--midwives handle the normal births, and OBs the complications.

[budwana birth]

Shimmering,

You may already know this, but you can set up an interview with the OBs that you are considering.  Dr. Banks sat down with me and we had a great dialogue about my intentions and her philosophy, her c/s rate, etc.  Any doc who will not set up a consultation is raising a red flag, IMO.

Enjoy the ride!

Carolyn

[bonichka]

I just sent you a PM, shimmering.  but I also want to highly recommend hiring a doula, as well as doing your research on natural birth, common interventions, etc.  I highly recommend The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth, by Henci Goer.

[Angela Nieves]

My husband was the same way, but then he watched   the business of being born, per my request and now he is all for going with a midwife. I am due in Aug. with my second. For my first we did everything the "normal" way......ob appts., induction, epidural, etc. It ended in c section and it was horrible. I was doing all the same things with this pregnancy and then my ob told me that I would have to have another section with this one. She said I had no choice. That did it for me.....of course I had a choice in how I would bring my baby into the world. So I started looking and discovered midwives and natural childbirth. I wish I would have at least interviewed a midwife with my first.

I now go to Avalon. They are right in Morristown and have privelages at morristown memorial. They have 3 rooms with birthing tubs.

The difference between my ob and the care I now recieve at Avalon is not even comparible. There is never a wait and I never feel rushed like at an ob. They spend at least 30 min./ appt. with you discussing everything from diet to stress to relieving back pain and swelling, etc.

You said you were too chicken to go with a midwife and after trying both I am too chicken to ever go with an ob again. No matter what the ob says to you about natural childbirth and being for it, it's a different story once you are in labor at the hospital.

Oh, and by the way, I drive an hour and a half to go to Avalon. At least interview them and see what you and hubby think. I was soooo disappointed with my first birthing experience and I would hate for you to feel the same. It doesn't hurt to explore ALL options. Good luck!

[2Peaches]

Well said, Angela, "too chicken to go with an ob again."  I totally agree!  I wish I had also entertained the possibility of a midwife with my first pregnancy.  My friend was using one and at the time I had the hippy lady image in my mind.  My husband was also skeptical.  We were both sooooo happy this second time around with our midwife. 

[CzubbyMom]

I used Hackettstown Midwives at Hackettstown Hospital.. had my daughter via waterbirth.  They are currently doing home births and births at Morristown Hospital where there would be an OB on staff if you wanted/needed one.  They are WONDERFUL women!  Had all the knowledge of an OB with the special love of a friend.  You can find them at hackettstownmidwives.com :)

[shimmering]

Hi guys,

Thanks so much for all your feedback it really means a lot to me. I have been exploring the avalon website, and a lot of the info sounds very reassuring. And the best thing is that they seem to use the morristown hospital. Also they have doctors in their staff. So I am gonna try and talk my husband into it. I am not sure if I ll succeed, but I am gonna make a good attempt. So wish me luck guys. I hope as hell he agrees with me.

[Yelena22z]

My husband and I were both anti midwives and pro doctor in the beginning of my pregnancy.  But the more I learned the more scared i became of every using a doctor to deliver my baby...and my husband totally agrees.  I suggest you read The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer and get your husband to reach Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care by Jennifer Block.  Also, we took bradley classes with Shannon Mulvey ([e-mail]) and found them to be extremely helpful.

I had the most amazing water birth at Morristown Hospital with Hackettstown Midwives in April 2011.  All three midwives at Hackettstown are absolutely amazing.  They took the time to get to know my husband and I during our visits (an hour long each!!) and knew exactly what we wanted and helped us achieve it.  We were originally thinking about Avalon as they are much closer for us…but came to the conclusion that where there is smoke (as per these posts) there is fire.  Even though Hackettstown was a 50-70 minute drive for us (depending on traffic) we are so grateful we found them and would not go anywhere else. 

On a related note, the hospital experience at Morristown was amazing.  We had a “comprehensive” birth plan, including refusal of all standard procedures for baby, and not a single person questioned our decisions or challenged our plan.  The baby did not leave my side for a second.  My husband lifted her from the water and I held/fed her for 30 minutes before she was dressed.. and we were able to check out of the hospital in less than 24 hours.  Our pediatrician Victoria Schluper has also been great.

I honestly could not have asked for a better experience. 

Edited by Yelena22z - 6/28/11 at 11:14am

[CzubbyMom]

I'm not sure when you are due but I'm trying to get my certification to be a Doula so I'm offering Pro-Bono services from mid-November on.  If you're interested you can email me at liddlelady278 @ yahoo . com (no spaces obviously) :)

[dlm194]

I'm completely pro-midwife. However, I think the most important think is that you are comfortable with your care provider whether she/he is a midwife or doctor.   If you can't get comfortable with the idea of a midwife, there is nothing wrong with looking for a doctor who will support your choices.  They are available depending on where you live and how far you are willing to travel.  All NJ midwives are required to be backed up by a doctor who can restrict her practice in some ways.  It certainly sounds like you are looking for the midwifery model of care.  But if you go into your labor fearing that the midwife isn't equipped to handle an emergency, it's not going to do you much good.  You've gotten some good suggestions for care providers.  Best thing to do is interview them and see who is the best fit for you.  FWIW, I've used midwives for all 3 of my kids but had 2 c-sections.  No midwife is going to compromise your baby or her license if it is not safe for you to birth without intervention.

[shimmering]

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the feedback. I have done some research on both avalon midwives and hackettstown midwives. I am waiting to find out if hackettstown midwives accept my insurance. And have finally been able to convince my husband. Well it wasn't difficult much once I told him that they will be using the morristown memorial hospital and that they have their backup doctors. Now I have seen some reviews which weren't so positive for avalon. So I am looking into hackettstown midwives now. Hopefully should be able to decide soon.

Thanks for all your feedback. I have read a lot about midwives and gathered a lot of information. Which makes me feel a lot confident. And since they use the hospital, it makes my DH confident too. So both our problems have been solved.

[shimmering]

Hey Yelena22z,

Could you tell me how to contact hackettstown midwives. Do you just send a message through their website and wait for them to reply? Also I read somewhere that don't have insurance. How much would they charge? Since you have been to them so recently, this information would be very helpful. Right now I am fluctuating between hackettstown and avalon.

Thanks
 

Originally Posted by Yelena22z 

My husband and I were both anti midwives and pro doctor in the beginning of my pregnancy.  But the more I learned the more scared i became of every using a doctor to deliver my baby...and my husband totally agrees.  I suggest you read The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer and get your husband to reach Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care by Jennifer Block.  Also, we took bradley classes with Shannon Mulvey ([e-mail]) and found them to be extremely helpful.

I had the most amazing water birth at Morristown Hospital with Hackettstown Midwives in April 2011.  All three midwives at Hackettstown are absolutely amazing.  They took the time to get to know my husband and I during our visits (an hour long each!!) and knew exactly what we wanted and helped us achieve it.  We were originally thinking about Avalon as they are much closer for us…but came to the conclusion that where there is smoke (as per these posts) there is fire.  Even though Hackettstown was a 50-70 minute drive for us (depending on traffic) we are so grateful we found them and would not go anywhere else. 

On a related note, the hospital experience at Morristown was amazing.  We had a “comprehensive” birth plan, including refusal of all standard procedures for baby, and not a single person questioned our decisions or challenged our plan.  The baby did not leave my side for a second.  My husband lifted her from the water and I held/fed her for 30 minutes before she was dressed.. and we were able to check out of the hospital in less than 24 hours.  Our pediatrician Victoria Schluper has also been great.

I honestly could not have asked for a better experience. 

[Yelena22z]

Call Hackettstown at [phone].  There is also a lot of helpful info on www.hackettstownmidwives.com.  More specifically look at their statistics on the "About Us" page. 

With regards to insurance....make sure to speak to Hackettstown about it.  They will hopefully be able to alleviate your concerns.

In reference to previous posts, Hackettstown's backup doctor is Dr. Garfinkel.  He gets great reviews on posts and a few of my friends have been happy using him.  He also has a midwive that works in his practice.  Hackettstown was the right choice for us becuase I wanted a water birth and they are the best / most experienced.  Beyond that...all three of the Hackettstown midwives were amazing every step of the way..before, during and after.

 

Edited by Yelena22z - 7/3/11 at 10:07am