Hi everyone,
I'm posting again regarding midwives in Portland--I'm not looking for drs anymore after my first prenatal visit with a dr who told me I cold have my baby (#2) "any way I want" but then went on to say she "hated" the Bradley method, would expect me to dilate at 1 cm per hour or would augment with pitocin, and that I "probably would not need" an episiotomy. Not the practitioner for me, and I don't want to try to persuade any dr to my way of thinking--I just want to find someone who knows where I am coming from...

I got so many recommendations before--thanks, everyone!--but not a one worked with my Uniform Medical health insurance, so here I am asking again, really just about midwives now--or maybe a really low-intervention, unconventional dr unlike the one I described above.

We're planning on a hospital birth, mainly because of where we live. I'm 14 weeks tomorrow.

Thanks in advance for any referrals!

Since you don't want a homebirth due to your housing situation, have you considered a birth center? There are some great birth centers in Portland.... I think they would be able to bill your insurance, as well.

Midwives based in the hospital often have their hands tied due to the hospital rules and restrictions, though I know there are mothers here on MDC who've had great hospital births with some of the midwives.

I just feel that the best way to ensure you have a natural birth is to plan an out of hospital birth.

You might try talking to Linda Glenn CNM. She works at OHSU hospital, but also has a homebirth practice (Vivante Midwifery on SE Hawthorne). I talked with her on the phone and found her really delightful, down to earth, and very much in line with my philosophies about birth. Alas, I ended up getting too high risk for her clinic and have to see perinatologists instead, but she seems like a really great woman, and very VERY experienced!

Also, the staff nurse at the OHSU CNM clinic, Renne, is an absolutely fantastic person, she made me feel so comfortable and relaxed at a time when it was very difficult to feel that way.

You could also consider a family practice doc. Often times the CNM's are caught between regulations and find their hands tied in a way that family practice doesn't. The family practice docs at OHSU do a good job of supporting natural childcare and they don't have to feel like other docs are looking over their shoulders critiqueing their every move the way the midwives can sometimes.

You might try talking to Linda Glenn CNM. She works at OHSU hospital, but also has a homebirth practice (Vivante Midwifery on SE Hawthorne). I talked with her on the phone and found her really delightful, down to earth, and very much in line with my philosophies about birth. Alas, I ended up getting too high risk for her clinic and have to see perinatologists instead, but she seems like a really great woman, and very VERY experienced!

Also, the staff nurse at the OHSU CNM clinic, Renne, is an absolutely fantastic person, she made me feel so comfortable and relaxed at a time when it was very difficult to feel that way.

I loved Linda Glenn and Penni Harmon both at OHSU. They made my pregnancy and birth experience wonderful despite being in a hospital and went totally out of the way to care for me. And I agree, Renne is lovely:love