Congrats on your appointment.
Question about midwives: If you have a midwive does it mean you are only able to choose natural at home births? I have a regular doctor. Explain to me what a midwife is exactly because I've only known them for at home births, I might be wrong. haha. thanks in advance.
this is what i got from a website.
Midwives teach, educate and empower women to take control of their own health
care. In most communities, they provide prenatal care, or supervision of the
pregnancy, and then assist the mother to give birth. They manage the
birth, and guard the woman and her newborn in the postpartum period.
Most midwives encourage and monitor women throughout their labor with
techniques to improve the labor and birth. Reassurance, positive imaging
and suggestions to change positions and walk helps labors progress.
Many midwives provide family planning services and routine women's
health examinations such as pap smears and physical examinations. They
teach women about sexually transmitted infections, and focus on
prevention of the spread of infections. What specifically midwives do
will depend upon: her training, her licensure, and what is allowed in
the state, province, or country in which she practices. Certified Nurse
Midwives (CNMs) in most states within the USA can prescribe most
medications, and in some areas also provide women's health care
throughout the menopause years. CNMs can attend birth in the hospital,
birthing center, or home.
All midwives specialize in understanding normal aspects of the childbearing
cycle. They are trained to recognize deviations from the normal, recommend
holistic means for bringing the situation back into the realm of normal,
or refer to another practitioner when necessary. Midwives believe it is
important is to provide time for questions, teaching, and time to listen
to the concerns and needs of the women they care for.
good luck! do you know what she's doing at the first appt?
