WWYD? Leaving midwife b/c of her hospital affiliation?

[TheDivineMrsM]

Help! I'm not sure what to do. 

DD was born via emergency c-section last year. I was under a mw's care. I liked/like her a lot, and her office was easily accessible from my house and my job. So was the hospital where DD was born. 

But. 

Now my husband and  are seriously considering #2, and I'm getting scared. I know I'll give birth with a midwife in a hospital again. Homebirth isn't for me and there are no birthing centers in my area. The hospital my midwife is affiliated with doesn't do many VBACs. (The mw, yes, but not the hospital). My other option is a hospital 45+ minutes from my house with a much higher percentage of VBACs. The closest mw that delivers there has an office 30+ minutes away from home and almost an hour from my job. 

Which would you pick? 

Edited by TheDivineMrsM - 1/9/12 at 6:48am

[Marnica]

Persoanlly  I would go with the more Vbac friendly hospital. Just because your midwife does lots of Vbacs, doesn't mean much IMO if you would be birthing in a hospital with a low Vbac rate that is not Vbac friendly. While yes she will be there, you still need to deal with the nurses and all the hospital policies. If you have all these things stacked against you, despite your midwife, I think it would increase your chances for a result you might not be comfortable with. In order to have the best chance at Vbac, I would think you need to be comfortable in the setting as well. Doesn't sound like a place where you may have to fight for everything you want (or don't) is condusive to that, regardless of how supportive the midwife is. I know distance is inconvenient, but personally I think it's worth it. I wanted to birth at a birth center for my son (didn;t work out that way), but it was an hour away. A pain for sure, but had I actually gotten the birth I envisioned - it would have well been worth the trouble IMO.

[SarahN]

I wanted to VBAC for my second birth, and in order to make that happen I had to go to a midwife over an hour away, with the hospital being the same distance.  While the travel was less than ideal, and certainly inconvenient, I wouldn't change a thing looking back.  I ended up with an amazing VBAC birth, feeling support by both my midwife and the nurse who attended my birth.  I am 32 weeks now with number three and doing the same travel all over again to make sure I am doing all I can to get the result I am hoping for...another amazing vbac experience.  It's a total pain, but nothing beats feeling supported and empowered to achieve the birth you desire.  Good Luck!