Are you using the same provider as last pregnancy? « Back to Group Discussions

[cc_mama]

I was happy with my homebirth midwives even though we had to transfer and would use them/recommend them again. However they are some of the more expensive in town. Wondering if I should switch to another midwife that would be more feasible $ wise. Or maybe negotiate with previoud midwives.  I kinda feel like I'm 'cheating' on them if I switch.

Are you going to switch providers? Why?

[Knitting Mama]

The only way I would would be if some midwife all of a sudden decided to accept diabetic patients. That would be heaven! But otherwise, there's no reason for me to switch away from my OB, she never did anything that I didn't agree with or anything.

[sallyrae17]

I'm in a different state with this pregnancy, so it's not possible for me to see the same provider. I really go back and forth about going to the local birthing center here (as opposed to the hospital), but the doctor I'm going to is the best VBAC doctor in the area. He's really anti-c-section and will let me go as along as I need. I can also have my son stay at the hospital with us when/after I have the baby. The doctor's nurse even said that my dog could visit! :) I know it would be similar with the birthing center and part of me wants to go there for my prenatal stuff, but the hospital is pretty small and I (thankfully) don't feel like a number.

[Knitting Mama]

Sallyrae, that is so awesome, and it just goes to show that an OB and hospital birth does not automatically mean non-crunchy! 

[Shannon79]

Here is hoping I can use my original midwife!!  With my first pregnancy I got cholestasis really bad (like the worst they have ever seen), so I wasn't able to have a birth center birth (DS was induced at 37w1d with a CNM at hospital) so I went back with second pregnancy but she ended up passing away due to severe chromosomal abnormalities at 21 weeks, so here I am with this 3rd pregnancy, and the 50/50 chance of being able to have birth center birth or having an incompetent cervix.  The perinatologist I saw said due to a couple of things (dilating from 4-10 in an hour with DS and some scaring on my cervix and problems opening cervix for d&e from second pregnancy) I may have cervical problems.....so in a few weeks I am (semi reluctantly ;) going to see her to see what she says.  After all the outcome is a healthy baby and mama...right?!?!?

[sallyrae17]

Originally Posted by Cecilia's Mama 

Sallyrae, that is so awesome, and it just goes to show that an OB and hospital birth does not automatically mean non-crunchy! 

It also means that having a male OB isn't bad either! I was really reluctant to see a guy (the whole lack of a vagina thing worried me a bit), but he is awesome! 

[LittleBirdy]

We really considered switching to a hospital based midwifery group, only because insurance will not cover one penny of a home birth and this was a surprise pregnancy. But after a long talk about it, DH and I decided it was worth the $ to go back to our homebirth midwives. Still trying to figure out just exactly how we're going to get that paid for by the time this little one shows up but I'm confident we'll find a way.

[major_mama11]

I've switched from CNM, freestanding birth center care (where I delivered both my kids) to an OB in the hospital. I chose to switch care this spring, due to coming to some scary realizations about how my postpartum hemorrhage was mismanaged and dismissed after my first child. The birth center ended up closing down a month or two after I switched, so I would have had to switch whether I wanted to or not.

The OB that I switched to does all her own call (which is good since, as a postpartum/nursery nurse, I don't much care for 2 of her 3 partners), and is supportive of unmedicated birth/ VBAC etc (although honestly, I might just go for the epidural this time!). I think it will be nice (albeit a little weird) to deliver somewhere where I am familiar with all the staff. Most of the L&D nurses there are excellent, but it's nice to know which ones are excellent and which are just meh, so I can request the good ones!

[Tizzy]

I basically had the same midwife for my first three pregnancies, I still met with the other midwives in the practice so I was familiar with them.

Except most of them have moved away, so I have an entirely new midwife now!

I haven't met her yet, so I have no idea what she's like. Or who my 2nd midwife will be either.

[folkgirl]

I have a male OB I'm sticking with, too. He's phenomenal and I was with him for my first VBAC in '10. There's only one other viable VBAC choice in town, anyway (a midwifery group that was not around for my last pregnancy) and while I'm sure I would have a good experience with them, too, I am satisfied with my last birth and want to stick with what I know. Plus, I am high risk (GD w/insulin) so it's nice to know what to expect in that regard as well.

[Knitting Mama]

I'm an insulin-dependent full-time diabetic, folkgirl. Nice to have someone to commiserate with. 

[SomethingAnonymous]

Heck no. She was awful. I'm using a midwife this time.

[Carolina Kel]

I am seeing the same OB for a couple of reasons...

1) She knows me. After 1-1/2 pregnancies with her (I started in Ft. Bragg with my daughter, then we moved back to Ft. Lewis), she knows my quirks. And she knows I make awesome pralines. 

2) I'm too lazy to break in someone else. After trying to find a good OB in Fayetteville, and the nightmare that entailed, I'll stick to who works.

3) I have issues with my blood pressure and while I can hope to hell for a VBAC, (didn't happen last two times because one was transverse, the other was breech and both times my cervix wasn't close to being dialated), I know that my OB does amazing work with her C's. My scar is not noticeable at all, and both times I healed very quickly. (I know, I know... gotta turn over the crunchy cred because I didn't have my kiddos in a crunchy manner)

The only thing I honestly hope and pray for is that the nurses in women and children are better this time than they were with my daughter. Gods, they were the most intrusive mother hens around... despite how many times I told them this wasn't my first time at the rodeo, they treated me like I didn't know my butt from a hole in the ground and were ridiculously condescending. Sheebus... Let me pump, let me see, snuggle and nurse my kid in the NICU as much as I can, let me sleep, let me eat, and let me visit with my significant other... and coordinate your shiat so I can do all that without being bothered every 20 minutes. LOL ;)

[ilovetchotchkes]

Oh yeah. Mine saved me from an unecessarean. I had a malpositioned baby and would have ended up with a "t" incision but she worked it out. I had interventions BUT they were all requested by me because I was not coping right. 

She also gave me a huge hug at my 1st prenatal visit this time and said "This time will be different, I promise you, we'll have fun and we're gonna do everything we can to get you your natural birth" 
 

I love her. 

[marinak1977]

Same midwife group and same birthcenter this time. If I have to transfer, the midwife will go with me as a doula.

[KristyDi]

I loved all the OBs and the CNM at the practice I had DD with, but they're pretty far away.  This time DH requested that I look closer to home and see if I can find somewhere I fee l comfortable.  He really is not fond of the idea of driving over an hour with me in active labor (I plan to labor at home as long as possible, and last time I went from 3cm to 10 and pushing in under an hour, then only pushed for about 30 min. till DD was born the CNM just barely made it to catch her.  She had to run from where she had just caught another baby.)

Anyway, I asked around with my natural birthing friends and come to find out there's an OB practice with a great reputation for natural birth right in our neighborhood. I haven't had an appt. with them yet, but if all goes well I'll most likely go with them.

[pandd06]

My OB was okay-enough while I was PG with DS, but his post-partum care was totally unacceptable to me. I had a rare extenuating circumstance that required longer-than-normal post-partum care and he did not treat the condition or my overall well-being appropriately. In retrospect, I think there were some red flags while I was PG that pointed to him not being a fit, but my insurance is very restrictive and we were taken in by the financial side of paying $0 OOP for visits or delivery.  This time, we are paying 100% OOP for a CPM birth.

[ithappened]

Im right there with Carolina Kel I considered switching when I found out it was twins but so far no complications so Im sticking with my OB mostly out of laziness and she speaks good English (we're in a non-English speaking country) so i dont want to go into the effort of finding someone else etc

[Soon2BeMom]

I'll probably be switching.  I hated getting shuffled among the 7 different doctors in my group practice last time.  I always felt like they hadn't read my file and weren't up to speed.  They gave me conflicting info so I never knew who to listen to.  I wasn't pleased with the childbirth either - the doctors were never interested in my birth plan and told me to "just bring it with you to the hospital."  Despite insisting on a natural birth and no intervention through my prenatals, I was put on my back when I got to the hospital at 10 cm and wound up with an episiotomy.  I've gone to them for 3 visits this time, and I've already gotten conflicting info between the doctor and the midwife I saw.  Also the U/S tech refused to do a cervical length when I insisted at 8 weeks (because I'd seen a specialist that said that's what I needed), so I had to have another U/S at 12 weeks that was unnecessary.  

Yeah, I want to go elsewhere.  The thing is, they're supposed to be the best practice and best hospital within an hour, specifically if you want to have anything resembling a natural/normal birth.  I can't find any doctors willing to commit to be in the delivery room - everybody is in a group practice now.  The closest birth center is 1 1/2 hr away, not an option for me since my 1st was a really fast delivery.  So my only other option is a CNM home birth midwife, who sounds wonderful and competent, but I'm not 100% sold on a home birth yet.  I've got to do all my reading and homework before I'm able to make an educated decision. 

[LilyTiger]

This my first, but I've already switched providers and I am so so happy I did.  I've already kvetched about this on numerous other threads (sorry, ladies!) but my previous OB was part of a big practice and I felt like I was just being shuttled around between nurses, ultrasound techs, and my OB (who I only saw once).  Two pretty basic concerns were completely shrugged off by my OB and no one ever contacted me about any of my blood work.  My CF test never made it into my chart, so even if it had been positive it's likely no one would have called me.  After a lot of hand-wringing I switched to a family practice doctor who was previously a homebirth midwife and she is just amazing.  I was getting a lot of pushback from friends about my desire to not get the initial saline lock for the IV (I have a very uncomfortable relationship with needles and hospitals, as I'm guessing many do) but when I brought it up with my doc she said, "I've never seen it be a problem.  Just tell the nurses I said it was ok not to get one."  It was that easy.  Also, her C-section rate is 6-7%.  I can't believe how lucky I got.

Sorry for the repetitive gushing about my doctor for all those who have had to hear it all before, but I'm just so freaking happy I found her.  It has completely changed my outlook on the entire birthing process.  For all those who are even moderately unhappy with their doctors, it's worth it to poke around if you can.  I know insurance and geography and other issues can be really restrictive, but it could make all the difference just to see what's out there.  Also, keep your eyes peeled for micro-practices.  My doc owns her own practice so it's just her.  These practices are harder to find but I suspect they may be more likely to have sympathetic practitioners.