mid-Michigan - hb midwives and shadow-care OBs!

[LilyRN]

So... we are ttc #2. Wondering if anybody has any thoughts on a couple different things:

1)  AFAIK, Wendy Pinter and Kate Mazzara are the only homebirth midwives that will travel to our area (Shiawassee county). Any thoughts on one versus the other. I have heard that Kate is a little more "radical" than others in the area, but I don't know what this girl meant by that. Lol

2)  Looking for a homebirth-friendly OB in Flint or Lansing to do shadow care so that we won't be treated as homebirth transfers if we decide to go in at the last minute. DH works at Genesys, so that would be ideal because it would be completely paid for by insurance, but McLaren or maybe even Hurley would be okay too. If we found someone we loved at Sparrow or Ingham, we would probably do the homebirth at DH's parents' house instead, which would be nice too. (The only doc I know for sure won't do shadow care (willingly... and I would prefer not to have to lie) is Dr. Lindemulder at Genesys.)

3)  Any thoughts on Greenhouse Birth Center in Okemos? I've heard mixed reviews, that their transfer rate is really high, and that they've had several deaths.

4)  If we do a planned hospital birth, we are looking at U of M Ann Arbor, St. John Providence (would NOT be the ABC, since I'm a VBAC), or Henry Ford West Bloomfield. Thoughts on these?

[LilyRN]

bump

[Thandiwe]

I love, love, love Kate!  I would highly recommend her!  I have never heard of a homebirth friendly OB in the area, but I may be wrong.  When I lived downstate (we're up in the Sag/BC/Midland area), we just used our family doctor for all tests and he was very HB supportive (his own wife had several homebirths).  He's in Imlay City (Lapeer County) though.

[~Kristina~]

Also love Kate, she was my midwife for two births and I highly recommend her.

[Thparkly]

I have only one child.  I gave birth to my son at Henry Ford WB last year and saw the midwives for the last few months of my pregnancy (moved from out of state).  There were about 3 seperate incidents that happened there with different staff members that were negative.  One of the doctors snapped at me when I was in active labor for asking a question and my husband and doula were both surprised by it.  

I am sure however that you will find the right place for you, even if it is HF, I think you should come prepared.

[Jottum]

I'm not sure if you have already made a decision or not but I wanted to add my 2 cents ;-)

I have first hand experience with Henry Ford West Bloomfield, U of M and Providence in Southfield. Both Wendy & Kate are nice but I do not have firsthand experience with them. I do not know of a home birth friendly OB. However, perhaps your family doctor would be willing to help in the case of a needed transfer?

We birth at home now but if I had to have a hospital birth I would choose Henry Ford West Bloomfield. I had great experiences with them when I needed their help during & after my last pregnancy (even though I birthed at home. they seem pretty home birth friendly!) I'm also a VBAC or i'd go with the ABC.  Avoid the Providence regular L&D! Not only do they give my clients a hard time when they try to keep their placentas but I had a bad experience myself when I stayed in one of their postpartum rooms after I birthed at the ABC. I've heard wonderful things about the U of M midwives. However, my personal experience with the OB's was awful. They didn't honor my wishes during my birth and when they did the unnecessary c-section, they made a mistake during the surgery! They apologized afterwards but the damage had been done. I was told that because they accidentally made 2 uterine incisions instead of 1 that my rupture rate was 10% and I wouldn't be able to birth vaginally again. I've gone on to have 3 successful VBAC's since then but I still advise anyone considering them to look elsewhere. 

Good luck in deciding and congratulations!

[Jackson Doula]

http://redcedarbirth.com/contact/ connie is a homebirth midwife in lansing check her out

[Natalya]

Connie and Kate attended my birth and I LOVE them both.  I don't really know about Kate being "radical" but I guess for me the more radical the better.  Connie just got done with school but is very knowledgable.  We loved having her attend our son's birth.