4 Questions to Ask BEFORE Hiring Your Birth Team
If you’re pregnant, it doesn’t take long before the thought occurs that you need to find a care provider to help guide you through this. You may even be one of the lucky ones who have a provider they already have a relationship with. Whether you are starting out from square one, or heading into an appointment with what feels like an old friend; there are questions regarding their philosophy on birth that you should ask them.
And let’s get real here for a second. This person is going to be all up in your business, if you don’t have an instant connection with this person, keep looking. There are a multitude of providers, find one that you’d not only consider taking to coffee, but one who’s perspective on the birth process aligns with yours.
Provider options
When we really dig into birth providers we should probably start by breaking down the options available.
Obstetricians - MD, Surgeon, trained in pregnancy as a condition that needs to be treated. Skilled in specialized health needs, and emergent situations.
Midwives - CNM, Can be a nurse trained in the medical field who continued on to train in specialized midwifery, CNMs typically deliver in hospital settings but can attend birth center or home births.
CPM, LM, direct entry midwives deliver in birth center or home birth settings, trained in pregnancy as a normal function of the human body.
OBs are educated in a completely different approach to birth than Midwives are. The system they work within requires more of them, and thus they have more constraints on their time. This is not to say that midwives aren’t also extremely busy; but your average OB appointment may only last a few minutes, where an appointment with a midwife could easily last 45-60 minutes.
Even if you haven’t settled on where you plan to birth your baby; preparing a list of questions to take to your appointment will help you easily identify who will be the best fit for you and your family.
1. Ask them to explain their viewpoint on birth.
Often it will become clear to you how they approach the entire phase of life. Are they supportive of natural birth, do they prefer induction, or scheduled cesarean? If this doesn’t align with your desires this could easily be red flag number one.
No matter how much you hit it off with a provider, if they have an inherent distrust of the process, and prefer to control it with interventions; and your goal is a more natural approach, don’t think for one second that they will treat you any different. At the end of the day, your labor will be handled the same as their standard of care, regardless of what they tell you in the beginning.
2. Ask them about their intervention rates- induction, cesarean, episiotomy.
This also ties into the first question, but again, if your end goal is not a cesarean and the provider you like has a 40% cesarean rate- your chances of success are cut down the second you walk in the door.
3. What is their call schedule like?
Some independent midwives only take a limited number of clients every month and are at each of their births. Larger practices, birth centers, and many OBs have a rotating call schedule. Why should this matter to you? If your chosen provider is who you have built a relationship with for the past nine months while growing this baby, and you head into your place of delivery only to have a stranger walk in as your provider that evening; how is that going to make you feel? It happens. Many offices have moms rotate through each physician or midwife to see them all before delivery so you have some knowledge of who they are, but you are often not guaranteed a specific person at your birth. So it’s worth asking- “Who will be there when I deliver?”
4. What are their feelings on birth support?
Now, you may choose to hire a doula and maybe even a photographer, and you may not; but this comes down to your provider’s willingness to support you in the decisions for YOUR birth. A good provider knows the limitations on their time and abilities to fully educate and physically support you during your labor and birth. Their support of you educating yourself, supporting yourself, and actively working towards the birth of your dreams, is what matters.
When it all comes down to it, the birth of your baby, THIS baby, is a once in a lifetime event. You want it to go as well as possible, and there are some things you can do to better your chances of it playing out the way you want. It doesn’t matter if your perfect birth is a scheduled cesarean, or a home water birth, educating yourself, and finding a provider that aligns with your goals, and perspective will give you the best opportunity for success.
Happy birthing,