Midwives - Anyone used one?

My husband and I have just found out we are expecting #2 in April. It's a "Happy Suprise" for us haha. My first birth I had a regular hospital birth with an OBGYN (it went terrible) and then for my second pregnancy (ectopic) I had to have surgery as my tube ruptured.

So this time around I am thinking home birth and a midwife. Or possibly going to the local birthing centre if I can get in. That place has a CRAZY wait list. I want something natural and so far my experiences with hospitals have been the pits. I'm loving the idea of a home birth and a midwife but the prospect is a little daunting. Anyone done it? Is it as scary as it sounds?

I'm also thinking of hiring a post partum doula. Has anyone ever had one? Is it worth the money spent? Midwifes are covered by health care here in Alberta but Doulas are not and they can be rather pricey.

My daughter had a midwife and it was a wonderful experience. She didn't have to have any pain meds or anything and recovered quickly. I was blessed to have a non-interventionist family doctor for my babies, so I also had wonderful experiences. No drugs or anything, and could have gone horsebackriding an hour after my second and third babies. I did take a bit longer to bounce back after my first.

one of my daycare moms just had her second baby by midwife. She says it is an amazing experience with more personalized care.

I used a midwife for both my kids even though we delivered in the hospital. I loved, loved, LOVED LOVED LOVED... hehehe... I just want to say I loved it! They were fantastic. I would highly recommend midwives any day! :)

My sister used a midwife when having her first (and only) child here in BC. She loved it too! But just like parents looking for a good care provider, I'd really check her out and get references :)

I had an ob for half my pregnancy and once I finally made it off the huge waiting list I had a midwife for the second half of my pregnancy. There was no comparison between the two methods lof care I experienced. The midwife was so much more personable, attentive and available compared to the ob (who was also very nice, just so busy I felt like just a number). Midwife care is much more patient driven, lots of time is spent going over all aspects of labour, birth, interventions etc. and the focus is on the womans choices and preferences. In my experience my midwife was also much more knowledgable on alternative pain management methods (ie no epidural) than my ob was.

I delivered my daughter with two midwives present at a hospital, (I just couldn't do the home birth thing) but only spent a total of 4 hours in the hospital! I labored mostly at home and left the hospital with the midwives 1.5 hours after delivery. After care from the midwives was the best thing ever because they came to my house for the checkups, I loved that!

In all I would highly recommend the midwife experience. I also think a home birth would be amazing, (I just couldn't stomach the "what if's". I hope the wait list for midwife care in Edmonton is quicker than it is here in Ottawa.

Congrats on the pregnancy and send some baby vibes my way, I am in the midsts of clomid trials to hopefully Conceive my second soon!

I haven't used a midwife or doula myself (I ended up with an emerg c-section), but I know tons of friends who have used a midwife and loved it. They all recommend using a midwife. I know 4 or 5 women who have had home births as well and they all went smoothly. I think if you have had complications with previous births, it may be something to discuss with your doctor/midwife to see if it's a wise decision or not.

Oh, and congratulations!

oh and by the way, my warmest congratulations to you :)

Thanks for the congrats everyone. We are still a little shell shocked but happy!

I'm hoping to be able to do a midwife but the wait list is quite long here in Edmonton. I've called every office and am being put on every waitlist. Hopefully one will have an opening. I would love to do a reference check or compare midwives and see which I had a better connection with but it's really just not possible here. If you get accepted you jump on it or you are screwed. With over 1 mil people in the city and surrounding and just 7 midwife practices picky is not an option.

Back up plan is OB with a wonderful Doula.

Luckily even with past complications I am still eligible for home birth. Once this pregnancy is found to be non ectopic any risk is over and I go back to being low risk. There were complications with my sons birth but they were directly related to epidural and my ob at the time said I was still considered healthy and low risk. Thank God! :)

All vibes your way Yarn Lover! Hope you get to post some good news soon.

No Advice - just Congrtulations!!!! Wishing you a happy & healthy pregnancy!

Same here best of luck and lotsa love eh?

Congratulations, Tor! What amazing and exciting news!

I LOVED my mw. I have had 4 pregnancies, and used a midwife for my last two. They were brilliant. I felt so much more at ease talking to them about my (in this society) unconventional ideas about birth and pregnancy, and I wasn't shy to talk to them about anything, including sex. I had a second trimester loss before the birth of my healthy son, and the midwife sat and cried with me, offered me spiritual support...so much more than an OB would. Actually, my post partum followup from my lost baby was with an OB, and he was callous and uncaring and treated me like I was an idiot.

Do it! I wasn't "allowed" to have a home birth. My DH was unreasonably scared and refused to have any part of it. I am so excited and envious of you. Do it!!!

Congrats!!!
If you can get one, do it!!!

I had midwives for both of my children (2.5yrs and 2.5mths) as well as both were home (water) births. it was amazing. My mother in law acted as my doula for both and after seeing my first she wishes she had chosen midwives for all 6 of her kids.

The care during and after is so much better then with (most) obs.