In most soon-to-be parents’ minds, the question is Obstetrician OR Midwife? Here at Overlake OB/GYN, we look at it as Obstetrician AND Midwife. These two professions are not at odds, quite the opposite in fact. Midwives and OBs are dedicated to the health and well-being of their patient mothers and the beautiful babies we get to assist in entering the world.
Reap the Benefits of Working With an OB-GYN and Midwife For a Successful Pregnancy
When you opt to take advantage of both a Midwife and an OB-GYN you are benefiting from the best of both worlds. Here’s how:
Superior prenatal care. Your prenatal care skyrockets when you have an OB and a midwife on your side. Your OB will be there to provide regular updates, answer questions and oversee any required or elective genetic testing or ultrasounds you need. In the meantime, your midwife will be there to provide additional support. Not only will she back up and support your OB’s services, there is a good chance your midwife will be on call 24/7 throughout your pregnancy so you always have an experienced and educated pregnancy and baby expert available when you need her.
Enjoy a more successful labor outcome. Your labor and delivery is just that – YOUR labor and delivery (and your baby’s, of course). Unless there is a true, bona fide, high-risk medical emergency in the works, how you go about the sacred business of giving birth should be largely your call. Studies have shown that midwife attended births utilize fewer interventions and result in higher numbers of natural births with equal or reduced negative outcomes for mothers and babies.
Why is this? There are several theories about why this is the case. The most common sense answers, we think, are that your midwife is with you throughout your entire pregnancy and birth in a more focused way than your OB. Your OB has many more patients to attend to. During your labor, your OB will do her best to provide all the attention she can but other births, a medical emergency in another patient, two or more babies arriving at the same time, etc., may call her away from your bedside. This can be stressful for a mother.
Also, the bond you form with a midwife, who takes fewer clients and will be with you through the duration of the birth, is priceless. It will make you feel more consistently comfortable and relaxed (or, as much as you can be while in labor) and she will be there to provide support, ideas, massage, position changes and other helpful labor techniques that your OB simply can’t provide you with due to her patient load.
Enjoy greater breastfeeding success. Breastfeeding is, unarguably, the best and healthiest food source for your newborn and infant. While most hospitals provide lactation consultants, the quality of their attention and services varies from location to location. Your midwife, however, is your built-in lactation consultant. After you and immediate family members, nobody cares more that your baby is able to be breastfed than your midwife. She will be there to help you get the hang of it, assist with any potential complications and provide relief if and when things aren’t going as smoothly as you planned. If you are committed to breastfeeding and have never done it before, clinical studies of thousands of women have shown a midwife can be your greatest breastfeeding ally.
Are you interested in choosing an Obstetrics team that supports the presence of your midwife or doula? Schedule a consultation with Overlake OB/GYN.