What does your Midwife do at prenatals?

[mainermoma]

So I won't get in to see my midwife until 7wks. This is our first, so of course I have tons of questions and am worried about everything. What does your mw do during prenatals, and is 7 wks too late? Should I see someone else earlier to make sure things are okay?

[boscopup]

Probably depends on what type of midwife you're seeing. Last preg, I saw a CPM, and she doesn't see women until 12 weeks. There's nothing she can do before then really. The only reason some OBs see women earlier than that is to do a dating u/s, unless you have a history of miscarriage and need some more testing earlier on (like measuring hcg and progesterone, etc.).

At my first visit with my midwife, she weighed me, took my bp, measured my heart rate, etc... basically, a very basic physical (it's required by the state). She had me pee in a cup and use a little tester strip thingy to check for sugar or protein in the urine. After all that, she pulled out the doppler and found the heartbeat. We discussed pregnancy and birth stuff, supplements, diet, etc. And that was about it! I never had to undress. The appt was about an hour long - all of that time was spent talking to my midwife. It was great.

After that, my prenatals were pretty similar - pee in a cup, check weight and bp, listen to heartbeat (with a fetoscope once it was able to be used), talk about diet, pregnancy concerns, birth stuff, etc. Again, never undressed. Love it. All of my appts took about an hour, but there was no waiting in a waiting room beforehand, and it was all talking directly to the midwife, not just talking to a nurse.

I'm seeing an OB and my CPM this time around, and the OB does things differently, of course. So I had to undress for an 8 week appt to get the u/s, but that was ok. I didn't have to undress at my 6 week appt. He just had me pee in a cup, got bp and weight, and talked to me about my last pregnancy/birth (PPROM at 29 weeks) and how he does prenatals and what tests are available, etc. I see my CPM in 4 weeks or so.

[mother_sunshine]

I'm new to this too but I can share what my m/w is doing since I just saw her yesterday at almost 6 weeks. I think I saw her really early compared to other mamas but she was very receptive to it. For the first visit she spent an hour and a half talking with me and my family about who she is, what she does, answering our questions, etc. It went by really fast. She gave me a folder full of information to read, and lent me 2 books. She took my blood pressure and heartrate, a 2 day log of what I ate, and other generalities like that. It was too early to palpate my belly but I think she said next time she would. She'll visit once a month until 28 weeks then twice a month. She'll also visit postpartum to make sure bonding is going well and baby is doing fine. She is wonderful, and I'm so excited! It was like night and day meeting with her versus with an OB. HTH.

[meritodd1221]

my first appointment is at almost 9 weeks, I think... This is my third, though, so I know what is going to happen. Basically a mini-physical (pee in a cup, test the urine proteins, weigh me, possible internal/pap smear, breast check, blood pressure...), and then we discuss nutrition and general stuff like that. She'll try to hear the heartbeat, but it'll likely be too early. She'll remind me not to worry about that, though! ha ha Then, I'll have to go to the lab for some routine bloodwork, etc.

I just found out that my favorite midwife from the practice I go to has retired. There are four midwives, and I'll see all of them for my prenatal visits, then whichever is on call when I go into labor will deliver the baby. I know three of them, and will meet the new midwife at my first visit.