Choosing a midwife April 30, 2008

When a woman calls me who is expecting a baby or planning a pregnancy, I often ask her why she is interested in hiring a midwife. I’m so curious about what brings women to make this choice, so contrary to mainstream conditioning about fear around birth and the necessity of technological and medical assistance to birth. Many women tell me that they want a natural birth or a minimum of interventions in their birthing process. Sometimes I hear that a woman wants the support of a midwife (from mid-wife or with-woman). Other women want to avoid hospitals and the attendance of a male physician at the birth. There are numerous reasons why women choose midwives, but these are common themes for mothers who are having their first baby or their first out-of-hospital birth.

Although all of these reasons are valid, I often feel motivated to share more with the woman about the midwifery model of care-holistic, intimate, woman-centered, etc. It takes a while for this concept to sink in-that birth has been co-opted by the medical field-and that another completely different paradigm exists. It is so exciting to me that I want all women to understand that hiring a midwife is a lot more that a natural birth experience. It is an opportunity to grow into motherhood in a completely supportive environment-every step of the way-from conception through breastfeeding and beyond. Not that there isn’t a place for obstetrics-there clearly is a need for this specialty. But women deserve the right to know about their choices.

As long as they are having a healthy pregnancy, women can choose to have a midwife care for them during pregnancy, birth and the postpartum/newborn period. It is cheaper, more natural, more woman-centered, more empowering, and more supportive than they can find in the medical world. I hope more women have the opportunity to learn about their choice to choose a midwife!