Should You Work With Both A Doctor And A Midwife?

26 April 2017
 Categories: , Blog


Women dealing with prgnancy often have to face the choice between working with a midwife or working with an OB/GYN doctor. However, in many cases, it's possible to work with both. In fact, some hospitals have both on staff and can assign you one of each. Regardless of whether your local hospitals have both on staff, though, you can still choose to work with both if you think it's necessary. But is it a good idea to have two professionals who might contradict each other? You might find that it actually is.

Extra Support

Your OB/GYN wants you to be confident about the birth process, but he or she may be extremely busy and unable to take the time to talk to you as much as you need. A midwife would be able to give you more attention. You could try to have your pregnancy monitored overall by your OB/GYN while day-to-day concerns are handled by the midwife.

Another reason to work with both is that, during the birth itself, the midwife can stand at your side and talk you through calming exercises to help manage pain, while the doctor deals with the actual birth process. A midwife provides a lot of extra support, so if you don't have anyone else helping you, working with both a doctor and midwife can be very reassuring.

Advocacy for Regular Birth

Not all OB/GYNs demand women undergo C-sections. But if your doctor has started hinting at possibly doing one, a midwife can be a staunch ally in helping you have a vaginal birth if that is safe for you. Even if your doctor is in full agreement that a vaginal birth would be fine, there may be pressure from other quarters of the hospital's medical staff. If you have both a doctor and a midwife protecting you, you won't have to deal with that additional pressure to have a C-section.

Avoiding Unknowns

One more reason to work with both is that, should there be complications, a midwife would refer you to an OB/GYN, and the last thing you need when there's a potential emergency is to have to start looking for a doctor. If you work with both from the start, you'll already know how to work with the particular doctor you've chosen should the midwife say you need a doctor's care during a potentially risky pregnancy.

One of the easiest ways to find a midwife and OB/GYN who will work as a team is to start with a midwife and ask about OB/GYNs that the midwife refers to in cases of complications. discuss working with both to ensure you can get that team in place. To learn more, contact a company like Full Moon Midwifery


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