If your pregnancy begins low-risk and stays that way, you may prefer a high touch, low-tech birth with a midwife. If you are in good health, had no complications with previous births, and the medical system in your community is set up for midwife-attended births, then this alternative may be a consideration. When interviewing a midwife, ask the following questions:
- Where did you receive your education in midwifery? Are you also a nurse?
- Are you certified and by whom? Are you licensed?
- How long have you practiced? How many births have you attended?
- May I have the names of several mothers as references?
- Who is your backup doctor? May I meet this person ahead of time?
- What percentage of time is this doctor called in to assist?
- How long will it take the doctor to get to me in case of emergency?
- Who covers if you are on vacation or with another mother?
- Do you carry a pager?
- At what point during labor do I call you?
- What arrangements do you have to transport a home birthing mother or baby to the hospital if necessary?
- Are you certified in newborn resuscitation?
- Are you experienced at manually turning a baby who is presenting in a posterior position?
- What are you fees? Is the doctor's fee included in the fee I pay you?
- Do you offer postpartum care?
HOW TO FIND A MIDWIFE
American College of Home Obstetrics
P.O. Box 508
Oak Park, IL 60303(708) 388-1461
Association for Childbirth at Home International
P.O. Box 430
Glendale, CA 91209(213) 667-0839
California Association of Midwives (CAM)
P.O. Box 417854
Sacramento, CA 95814
(800) 829-5791
(Request their publication Midwife Means "With Woman," An informative 56-page booklet about choosing and using a midwife.)
American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM)
1522 K Street NW, Suite 1120
Washington, D.C. 20005
(202) 347-5445
Informed Home birth and Parenting
P.O. Box 3675
Ann Arbor, MI 48106
(313) 662-6857
MANA (Midwives' Alliance of North America)
600 Fifth Street
Monett, MO 65708
