[downwardhusky]

Hello Homebirth Mamas:<br><br>
I'm a first time poster here; first time pregnant & want a home birth.<br>
I'm looking for input regarding seeing both a midwife and "traditional" OB before having a homebirth.<br><br>
Right now I have a traditional OB/GYN who I saw for my 8 week visit, and have a 12 wk visit scheduled. My husband and I will be interviewing midwives this month. Once we find a midwife, we are not sure if we should stop seeing the OB or see both the whole time.<br><br>
And if we do see both, do we mention the homebirth to the OB? I think I will feel deceitful if I don't mention it, but if I do would they try to talk me out of it or threaten to refuse care (although it's illegal to actually refuse care)? We're in California....<br><br>
Of course this is something we'll discuss with the midwife, however I'm curious how others have handled this.<br><br>
Thanks all!

 

[shanniesue2]

I talked about it with my OB at my first visit... and her response was basically if I go with a homebirth, she wouldn't see me anymore. After that appointment, I went ahead and scheduled another appointment because we hadn't interviewed any of the MWs yet. Well the MW we went with has a pretty good relationship with an OB (although legally the OB can't back her up). So I fired my first OB (and that was a pain in the butt--they were real jerks about it). And agreed with the new OB that I would see her for an u/s at 12 weeks and then again at 37 weeks. I also agreed that I would see her for an evaluation if I go past 41 weeks. Other than those visits, I have only done prenatal care with my MW. And will use the OB if we discover that I need to tranfer to a hospital birth for medical reasons. This OB is very homebirth friendly and won't make up medical reasons for me to be in the hospital, so I'm not worried about anything. Although I do feel better about having an OB that has all my medical records just in case something does go wrong.

 

[kdaisy]

I recently had problems with this arrangement and discussed it in this post:<br><br><a href="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=822203" target="_blank">http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=822203</a><br><br>
In my case, if I didn't need the prescriptions, I wouldn't bother with the OB. I may be dropping her after this next appointment, in fact. (My pills will last past the baby's due date now!) <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile"><br><br>
But, if you can find a good, cooperative OB (I know some have.) I guess there wouldn't be a problem.

 

[guestmama9916]

I've opted to not tell my OB of my hb plans. I'm of the mindset that if something goes wrong like with my first (pre-e), I will be using the OB and don't want to be stuck without someone I trust in an emergency situation. I don't feel bad about it because who knows what will happen in the end. He very well may be delivering me afterall. If all goes smoothly with this one, I will be less inclined to use an OB with the next.<br><br>
ETA: I think my peace of mind during pregnancy trumps my doctor's feelings.

 

[smokeylo]

I really, really don't see the point of going through the hassle and stress of OB appts. Your midwife is an expert at assessing risk and will know when to refer you to a hospital for testing/care/whathaveyou. I can't imagine having to deal with the tests/refusals/BS. I haven't been to the OB or hospital since becoming pregnant and feel great about that choice. If I do need to transfer, it's not like I'd get "my" OB anyway, and it would be in circumstances that would toss a lot of my ideal birth stuff out the window anyway. IMO.

 

[nashvillemidwife]

It depends on your midwife's backup arrangements and whether or not you're comfortable with them. Personally, I have an excellent backup OB doctor that is pro-midwife and supportive of home birth and if I needed anything for a client he would help me out.

 

[alegna]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>smokeylo</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/10306412"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">I really, really don't see the point of going through the hassle and stress of OB appts.</div>
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<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/img/vbsmilies/smilies/yeahthat.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="yeah that">:<br><br>
I had a homebirth with my first and never saw an OB. Never missed it.<br><br>
-Angela

 

[zak]

My HBMW has a "backup OB" arrangement. I didn't see him for regular visits. I saw him three times, once each trimester (his preferance so he has a file for you in case of transport). He also provides Rxs if needed and testing if desired.<br><br>
I was glad to have him at 11 weeks because I had an awful bout of pain and needed to be seen (MW requested I go to him). Turned out he couldn't tell me what was wrong, he suspected kidney stones. It was nice to be reassured that my pregnancy wasn't ectopic and that the babe was fine.<br><br>
He's obviously HB friendly, tho. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile">

 

[KBinSATX]

I started out with an OB with my first birth and then switched halfway through to a midwife. I didn't go back to the OB then. Why would you?<br>
They do the same things (urine sample, weight, size, vitals, etc.). It would be like seeing two OBs (unless of course you need special presciptions like previous poster)

 

[JessicaS]

Your ins won't cover prenatal care twice, you can pay for the midwife out of pocket but ins companies won't let you double up on prenatal care if both are doing the tests and such.<br><br>
Ask the midwives about it when you meet with them.

 

[njbeachgirl]

No reason to see an OB. If you need prescriptions or anything many midwives have a backup doc who can do that.<br><br>
I know personally my MWs offer all the tests an OB does through the backup doc (triple screen, amnio, u/s, glucose test etc)--i am personally declining them but i'm sure some people are more comfortable testing for some things.<br><br>
Good luck!

 

[MotheringHeart]

My midwife for #2 kiddo did not have a backup OB. I ended up seeing an OB that I hated and not telling him about my plans to homebirth because he was such a uaviolation. It was AWFUL. If your midwife has a backup, then there is no reason to continue on with another OB. For my last two homebirths, the practice of midwives I was with had backups and I never saw an OB. It was heaven!!!

 

[nashvillemidwife]

You need to talk to your midwife. We can only offer advice based on our own experiences, not everyone has access to the same levels of care.

 

[zoeyzoo]

I didn't see the need to do care with both since MWs are legal and licensed in CA (assuming yours is a LM or CNM) and can order all prenatal tests. They might refer you to someone else for some of the tests (like u/s) or if you become high-risk but they can offer everything. I didn't see the reason to do everything and pay for everything twice. If something develops where you can't HB, you can always transfer care at that point. Usually MWs know which OBs and hospitals in the area are more open to various choices popular among HB clients if you were to transfer.<br><br>
In CA insurance companies have to offer coverage to MWs (but they don't have to be HB MWs). Even if the plan doesn't specifically cover HB, many know how to bill it so that the insurance will pick up at least a portion of it - especially with PPO plans). They won't pay for the prenatal care twice so if you do parallel care you will have to pay for someone's fees out of pocket.