Intown Midwifery - Prenatal Visits?

[Genesis28]

I am expecting my first child in May and recently switched from an ob-gyn to Intown Midwifery.  Before switching I attended the monthly meet & greet was very impressed by Anjali & Dr. Bootstaylor and the emphasis on not pushing unnecessary interventions on women.  However, my two appointments at Intown have been with a different midwife.  She is very competent & kind but my actual time with her has only been slightly longer than the time with the ob-gyn and the warm & fuzzy feeling is not there.  However, she is not one of the midwives that attends the birth.  My visits with the ob-gyn had a warmer feeling but she and her practice did not seem supportive of avoiding unnecessary interventions.

I am curious to ask others about their experiences during prenatal visits at Intown?  I am a little anxious about the process and appreciative of all feedback, thank you!

[TalkToMeNow]

Hi! I just had my baby with Intown three months ago. I think I saw Anjli twice at the beginning and then not again until I was eight months or so. I saw Margaret twice. Towards the end, I saw Linda a couple of times. Most of the time, I saw some of the office midwives.  I think she does births now. I'd say my actual time with the midwife was 5-10 min each time. Coming from having a homebirth, Intown felt very office-y. I'm not really complaining; I think that is just the way it has to be since they have so many clients. I'm sure it's much better than a traditional OB office. I don't know as I've never gone that route. Anyway, I think a lot of people are very happy with Intown. I was not unhappy- I'm just neutral! If I had another hospital birth, I'd probably go back there. 

I'm wondering if you could request to see certain midwives? See, I didn't bother as I was pretty 'anything goes' with this pregnancy. If you asked, that might make a difference. 

If you have any other questions or want any more info/ opinion, I can pm you. 

[Genesis28]

Thank you for responding!  Your response makes perfect sense.  I appreciate the details about your appointments with different midwives.  It does have an office-y (love this word) vibe, not in a bad way, just different than what I expected.  It is very nice to hear you previously had a homebirth & you were very pleased with Intown for the birth of your second child.  After thinking about my last appointment, I realized the midwife remembered & addressed a small concern I had from the first appointment, an issue I had forgotten about.  She is kind, honest, and thorough and I feel comfortable asking her questions.

If you could pm me, I would love to hear more about your experience going from a homebirth to a hospital birth.    Thank you!!

[Mama2CB]

I'd rather not go into detail on the thread.  But I haven't heard good things about them.  Well, I'll say that the things I've heard, I personally would not be comfortable with.  Feel free to pm me :)

[ayb922]

Originally Posted by Mama2CB 

I'd rather not go into detail on the thread.  But I haven't heard good things about them.  Well, I'll say that the things I've heard, I personally would not be comfortable with.  Feel free to pm me :)

You are literally the first person I have ever heard say this, on multiple boards, and hundreds of moms. It would be great if you could share what you have heard that is so different than everyone else's experiences.

[Genesis28]

Originally Posted by ayb922 

You are literally the first person I have ever heard say this, on multiple boards, and hundreds of moms. It would be great if you could share what you have heard that is so different than everyone else's experiences.

Thanks for sharing you have only heard positive things.  All of my internet searching has only turned up positive reviews as well. 

[thorn]

I have heard almost entirely good things about births with this practice as well, and they are one of two hospital practices that I would consider the best in atlanta.

As a doula I have seen things at births with Intown that would bother me, but I don't think any provider is perfect, even my own.

[dctexan]

They are office-y. I also don't love everything about them. That being said, this practice is the number way to have a hospital birth with women who will NOT hand you over to a OB for surgery unless you really, really need it. That is my number one concern and that is why I am with this practice. As far as bedside manner and prenatal appointments and such, I really don't expect there to be a big difference. I was with Margaret for my first birth and had all these warm fuzzy expectations. Um, no. This time, heading into the whole thing I was much more realistic.

[ayb922]

Of course it is office-y. It is an office, even if it is midwives. Some of the midwives there do give you the fuzzy bedside manner, some don't. Unless you have a homebirth where you hire one midwife specifically this is a risk you take. I would take that risk to have my baby with a practice like IM where you have the best chance at a natural delivery, and better yet, a waterbirth.

[TalkToMeNow]

Originally Posted by dctexan 

They are office-y. I also don't love everything about them. That being said, this practice is the number way to have a hospital birth with women who will NOT hand you over to a OB for surgery unless you really, really need it. That is my number one concern and that is why I am with this practice. As far as bedside manner and prenatal appointments and such, I really don't expect there to be a big difference. I was with Margaret for my first birth and had all these warm fuzzy expectations. Um, no. This time, heading into the whole thing I was much more realistic.

This is the best comment I've seen. Sums up exactly how I feel. I think coming from a homebirth to Intown, I thought things would be somewhat similar since they are midwives. And when it (understandably!) wasn't, I just changed my expectations and went with it. I quickly realized that homebirth vs. hospital midwives are apples and oranges; they are doing entirely different things. 

Now, I am wondering if the experience will change at all when the birth center opens...

[Genesis28]

Lol, yes my warm & fuzzy expectations have left the building.  I content with avoiding unnecessary c-sections & interventions.  I am also happy that they are doula friendly because the previous ob-gyn did not seem to be pro-doula. 

I'm thinking the experience may change when the birthing center opens.  It would "seem" like a birthing center would lend itself to a less office-y vibe but that is just my opinion.

[faithsstuff]

Does anyone know when the birth center is supposed to open?

[southernfriedkarma]

I think the projected date is March 2013.