fourth pregnancy, first with a midwife...

[iheartcloth]

Hi! This is my 4th pregnancy, but this will be my 1st using a midwife. I am from Texas, where if you have medicaid you don't have a choice in where to have your baby. It's the hospital. So, we moved to Georgia to be closer to my in laws and found out we're expecting about a month before we left. I knew I needed proof of pregnancy, so off to Planned Parenthood we go. The very nice lady there asked if I wanted prenantal care, and I said, 'Yes, I'd like to use a midwife, but I don't know how medicaid is in Georgia.' She then told me that there is a birthing center in Savannah and they take medicaid! I called them and am still waiting on a call back to set an appointment. Are there any other lassies out there who are or have been in similar situations? I've had 3 hospital births with 3 epidurals and no complications or interventions, except that I was induced all three times.I'd like to know if there are any books y'all would recommend I read on natural birth and all that jazz, or maybe y'all could just tell me what to expect. I've read several birth stories on here and let me tell you, that's the kind of experience I want. Thanks for taking the time to read my huge book for one question! 

[sageowl]

That's fantastic that you have more of a choice about your birth options in another state. =)

I don't know about the protocols around prenatal care/medicaid (which would be different in my state probably), and I've only ever used a midwife, but from what I hear from other friends, midwives are usually a little more laid back than OBs, and not so pushy with medical interventions/solutions (less likely to induce unless there's a compelling need, more willing to try natural approaches before resorting to medical ones). That may be even more true if you've already had 3 kids, they might be willing to assume that you know what you need/want/don't want out of your prenatal care.

It sounds like you might be leaning towards a more natural birth this time around.  There's a ton of good books out there, so many it's really hard to recommend one--generally, you can just hit the library or a used bookstore, and you should be able to find something good (even though you aren't doing a homebirth, you may want to read one that is geared towards that because they go into more depth with pain relief techniques than pregnancy books geared towards the general population).  The main thing I'd recommend is that whatever you read, make sure that it has a good section of info on techniques for relaxation/coping with pain.  You may want to look into seeing if there's natural childbirth type classes in your area since they teach how to use pain management techniques.  Also, you may be able to find some videos.  (Yoga has some good techniques for relaxation that are beneficial during labor--so you may want to see if you can find any videos that show you how to do them--I found that they helped me a lot).

[bird_verde]

congrats on your pregnancy and it is great that you have more choices in your prenatal care and birth.  I had a hospital birth with a family doctor with #1 and a home birth with a midwife with #2.  I would say that there is a big difference in the two different styles of care. Most prenatal appointments with a midwife are much longer than the quick 10-15 minutes in a doctors office.  Be prepared to talk to your midwife(or midwives) a lot - they want to know everything and support you in a natural and healthy pregnancy. My midwife appointments are an hour (although I am not a big talker - so I usually cut it to 35-45 minutes.)  They may even have some recommended reading list for you on natural birth.  With my second pregnancy, I took the birth center's childbirth education class that the midwife recommended.  Even though I had already been through birth once, I gained a huge amount of knowledge. This class was vastly different from the hospital class with #1.  I recommend taking one if your birth center offers it.

[bird_verde]

*opps -duplicate post*

Edited by bird_verde - 1/12/13 at 6:50am

[iheartcloth]

Thanks ladies! I've been doing a lot of research and we are leaning towards a water birth. By that I mean I've decided. lol

[sageowl]

Haven't done a full-scale water birth (hospital won't do it), but being in the water during most of my labor felt mighty heavenly!