What to ask a potential midwife?

[Kritto]

I'm a first-timer, and need to find a midwife in the area. I've gotten a couple of recommendations from friends, but now I'm wondering what to do next. I'm not planning on having a homebirth, but would like it to be as intervention-free as possible. For those who've been through this before, here's my question: what questions do I ask a potential midwife in order to find someone who I can work with or, conversely, who I definitely shouldn't go with?

[mamallama]

There is a great list of questions in The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer.

I can post a few later....

[mamallama]

Henci Goer's general principles of interviewing:

*don't make assumptions about practice style or philosophy based on sex or type of practioner. ie--not all midwives are non-interventive; some ob's strongly support normal birth.

*interview several caregivers

*ask open-ended questions

* follow up on vague answers

*ask yourself, "am I getting facts or feelings?"

*ask yourself "would I feel comfortable asking this person a 'dumb' question?"

specific questions

*What is the liklihood that you will attend my birth?

*Under what circumstances would you transfer my care to an obstetrician?

*What are your dietary recommendations? How much weight should I gain?

*What is your policy on ultrasound? HG says "Be wary of caregivers who routinely do more than one u/s in a normal pregnancy or who promote them as a means of "bonding" with your unborn baby.....A caregiver who treats this technology lightly may have the same attitude toward more invasive and risky procedures."

*Under what circumstances do you recommend inducing labor?

*How do you handle slowly progressing labors?

*What are your policies regarding monitoring hte baby's heart rate in labor, IVs, drinking or eating, breaking the bag of waters, epidurals, episiotomies? How often do you find it necessary to cut an episiotomy?

*What are your reasons to do a cesarean? How often do you find it necessary? How do you try to avoid the need for cesarean birth?

and a few of my own...

*What type of childbirth education do you recommend? (in the town I live in, the hospital sponsored classes teach women how to be compliant patients. They don't even touch on non-interventive birth. I wouldn't hire a caregiver who recommends a hospital class.)

*What do you think about doulas?

[Kritto]

Thanks so much!

[mzfern]

What a great list, mamallama! Thanks