I am only 7 weeks pregnant, but assuming this baby sticks, I'd like to get started choosing a provider soon. I would LOVE to have a midwife. SD currently works very hard to run all midwives out of the state if possible, unless they work under the direction of a physician. That means there are no home births here-unless it's unassisted or totally under the table. I interviewed a Midwife in WY (we're very close to the border) but found her extreme prostelitzing (sp?) to be too obnoxious to take. So that option is out. Still, there are two midwives working through physicians in a town approximately 1 hour away. I could probably find someone among the two that I liked. Here's my quandary:
My first birth was short. It was a whole 5.5 hours from the time my water broke to birth-and contractions didn't even set in for half an hour. Contractions were at 2-3 minutes before we were five miles down the road, and we had a 70 mile drive to get to the hospital. So I transitioned in the car- not pleasant, but I'm willing to do it again if it means I still get a midwife. It took me awhile to get that pushing thing figured out-probably 2.5 hours... DD was somewhat big for my size at 8lbs 10 ozs... for various reasons, we're really hoping and thinking the next child won't be so big... so this should speed labor up as well. Everything I read/hear says that generally subsequent labors tend to go faster. If so, do I dare have a midwife who for all practical purposes is 1.5 hours away? (DH will have a half an hour drive to get to me if it happens during the day.) Am I worrying way too much about this? (HA! watch-I'll have a 28 hour labor this time around!) I know no one can predict the duration of labor and there are plenty of other factors you folks have to just make assumptions about, but give me a best guess estimate.
I'm okay with a homebirth- but NOT so okay with an UNASSISTED birth in a car! I've tried to call and speak with the midwives in question to discuss this, but no one seems to be calling me back. What do you gals think?
My first birth was short. It was a whole 5.5 hours from the time my water broke to birth-and contractions didn't even set in for half an hour. Contractions were at 2-3 minutes before we were five miles down the road, and we had a 70 mile drive to get to the hospital. So I transitioned in the car- not pleasant, but I'm willing to do it again if it means I still get a midwife. It took me awhile to get that pushing thing figured out-probably 2.5 hours... DD was somewhat big for my size at 8lbs 10 ozs... for various reasons, we're really hoping and thinking the next child won't be so big... so this should speed labor up as well. Everything I read/hear says that generally subsequent labors tend to go faster. If so, do I dare have a midwife who for all practical purposes is 1.5 hours away? (DH will have a half an hour drive to get to me if it happens during the day.) Am I worrying way too much about this? (HA! watch-I'll have a 28 hour labor this time around!) I know no one can predict the duration of labor and there are plenty of other factors you folks have to just make assumptions about, but give me a best guess estimate.
I'm okay with a homebirth- but NOT so okay with an UNASSISTED birth in a car! I've tried to call and speak with the midwives in question to discuss this, but no one seems to be calling me back. What do you gals think?
