Getting a midwife is like applying for a job!!

[herewego3]

I had a midwife for my first 2 children and now 8 years later there is a shortage of midwives in Manitoba so you have to do an intake and apply for a midwife! Then you have to wait 3-4 weeks in hopes that one of them will accept you as a patient. I am terribly scared of having to go the "medical" route this time around. Over 50% of people that apply are getting turned away. We have a brand new birthing centre and it has only had about 140 births in over a year of being open! Crossing my fingers we get in!!

 

[BunnyN]

I hope you get your MW. I would like a home birth but finding a MW is a challenge where I live.

 

[sunnylove]

Yeah, here in my state you cannot Google a midwife. You basically have to find one through word-of-mouth. Thankfully I know women in the area who've had homebirths but I've only been able to find one so far and she has yet to get back to me. :\

 

[Sam Pearson]

For me it was the opposite. I hired an IM for my first homebirth and I interviewed a lot of different ones before finding and hiring the right one for me and she turned out to be practically my neighbour which was handy.

 

[BunnyN]

For me it was the opposite. I hired an IM for my first homebirth and I interviewed a lot of different ones before finding and hiring the right one for me and she turned out to be practically my neighbour which was handy.

You are making me jealous, lol.

 

[Sam Pearson]

You are making me jealous, lol.

We have to pay for them though. It's a completely private arrangement and nothing to do with a hospital or Ob. Not cheap but how do you put a cost on your ideal birth choice?

 

[BunnyN]

Yeh, we only have the choice of paying too, but still having trouble finding a MW at all! If we cant find a MW we are going to be paying a private hospital anyway so it doesn't make much difference.

 

[JessicaR]

Hey, I am moving to Montreal in April 2013, I am 17 weeks pregnant with my 2nd child, and i really want to have a midwife for this one Do you know how i can register and what steps i need to take? I know nothing about applying for a mid-wife! Please help!

 

[Sam Pearson]

Yeh, we only have the choice of paying too, but still having trouble finding a MW at all! If we cant find a MW we are going to be paying a private hospital anyway so it doesn't make much difference.

Is that due to a lack of midwives? Or is it they are very picky about who they will attend? There had definitely been a shift in Oz now that many IMs are unregistered and uninsured. Many have stopped practicing altogether or have resorted to working in the hospital system. I do know two young women just out of school who tell me there is a lot of competition to get directly into midwifery - again I"m not sure if it's due to lack of student places or that it's so tough to pass the application but both tried and failed and they have gone the nurse-midwife route. It's good to hear young people interested in this as a career.

 

[LockandKey]

there are NO midwives in my area, I have to travel about an hour one way to get to my midwife appointments and the birthing center. But it's totally worth it I love my midwife, and all the ladies there are so wonderful, and the birthing center is amazing!

 

[herewego3]

I'm not sure about how the process works in Montreal. I came from a small town where you just called the midwife and if she wasn't overbooked for the month you were due, you were accepted. Given, of course, you had no complications. In manitoba, having a midwife is paid for by the province, same as your prenatal doctor is. Here in Winnipeg, you call the general intake line and they basically do a telephone interview, if they are happy with the answers you provide, you then do an "intake" which is your application. Your name goes into an online database that all the midwives see and hopefully one of them likes your application!

**UPDATE**
I received a phone call yesterday from a midwife who has accepted me! We have our first visit March 22 which seems like forever! I'll be almost 11 weeks by then.

 

[BunnyN]

So glad you have a MW! Don't worry about not seeing her until 11 weeks, I'm 34 weeks and haven't found one yet, though I'm hoping we have made progress. I have been going to a doc for regular appointments but there is really not a lot they can do early on anyway.

 

[BunnyN]

Yeh, looks like we found a MW! From the short phone conversation she seems perfect, I like her approach and she has lots of experience in home birth, meeting her tomorrow. She wants to have a quick go over my health history etc so hoping she wont object to anything but it's looking good. I'm almost 33 weeks eek, so it's about time we found a MW, was beginning to think we wouldn't be able to.

 

[HonBug]

I'm not sure about how the process works in Montreal. I came from a small town where you just called the midwife and if she wasn't overbooked for the month you were due, you were accepted. Given, of course, you had no complications. In manitoba, having a midwife is paid for by the province, same as your prenatal doctor is. Here in Winnipeg, you call the general intake line and they basically do a telephone interview, if they are happy with the answers you provide, you then do an "intake" which is your application. Your name goes into an online database that all the midwives see and hopefully one of them likes your application!

**UPDATE**
I received a phone call yesterday from a midwife who has accepted me! We have our first visit March 22 which seems like forever! I'll be almost 11 weeks by then.

You are so lucky you found a midwife! Could you please tell me how long after you called the intake line did you get an acceptance call? I called 2 weeks ago, as soon as I got a positive test. I haven't heard anything and am starting to get really worried I won't get a midwife! I really want to do a home birth and don't know what I will do without one . How far along we're you when you got accepted?

 

[herewego3]

I'm not sure about how the process works in Montreal. I came from a small town where you just called the midwife and if she wasn't overbooked for the month you were due, you were accepted. Given, of course, you had no complications. In manitoba, having a midwife is paid for by the province, same as your prenatal doctor is. Here in Winnipeg, you call the general intake line and they basically do a telephone interview, if they are happy with the answers you provide, you then do an "intake" which is your application. Your name goes into an online database that all the midwives see and hopefully one of them likes your application!

**UPDATE**
I received a phone call yesterday from a midwife who has accepted me! We have our first visit March 22 which seems like forever! I'll be almost 11 weeks by then.

You are so lucky you found a midwife! Could you please tell me how long after you called the intake line did you get an acceptance call? I called 2 weeks ago, as soon as I got a positive test. I haven't heard anything and am starting to get really worried I won't get a midwife! I really want to do a home birth and don't know what I will do without one . How far along we're you when you got accepted?

Right now they are saying 3-4 weeks. Are you here in Winnipeg? If so, call the intake line back and they will gladly check on the status of your application.