Always Research Your Provider by "Anonymous 1"

This post is a repost of another comment left on a previous post. It was very well said, so it needed to be repeated. Thank you to whomever wrote this. You are completely correct. Its not how friendly or 'nice' someone is. The important thing is: can they handle an emergency if it comes up?

Anonymous said,

It's vital that any childbirth provider is thoroughly researched - whether at home or at the hospital. However, at least with a poor care provider in a hospital, you have other staff to come in and salvage the situation. Certainly you can have bad outcomes in the hospital, and it's vital to know who your care providers are! But when choosing a midwife, you really need to know if she can handle the rare emergency. Otherwise, you would have the baby alone, right? You want someone there with the ability to pay close attention, notice any anomalies and properly act as needed. Outside of what you might already consider when researching a midwife - such as training, experience and licensing - ask for references! And I don't mean just references from those who had an easy, uncomplicated birth. Ask for a reference from a family who had a shoulder dystocia, one who had a postpartum hemorrhage, and also from one who transported to the hospital. How did the midwife handle those situations? Did she remain calm? Did she act efficiently and with skill? Did she solve the situation or adequately get professional assistance and/or transport to the hospital? Also ask when the midwife arrived and how long she was with the laboring mama. Was mom and baby monitored from active labor forward? Unfortunately, licensing does NOT mean everything! That cannot be enough to satisfy you. There are wonderful, experienced and skilled midwives in our area. Paired with a healthy mom, good prenatal care and a hospital within a reasonable distance - the odds are outstanding that one will have a great, healthy birth. In fact, the scientific research supports that.

August 14, 2009 3:41 PM