13 Questions to Ask Your Midwife
Written by a Midwife
Having a baby is a huge life transition; it’s important to feel supported and educated to make informed choices for yourself and your growing baby. Finding a primary care provider for regular healthcare on your journey to parenthood can be stressful with the long wait lists and fewer providers practicing these days. Act fast – as soon as you confirm your pregnancy test, start looking. A great option is a midwife. Midwifery care offers a different approach to primary care than the standard medical model. Midwives offer longer visits, informed choice, support during active labour and delivery, and home visits after baby is born. I recommend booking interviews with a couple of local midwifery offices in your area. As a midwife I have complied 13 questions I feel are important to ask a potential primary care provider even if they aren’t a midwife.
As a Midwife,
I have complied 13 questions I feel are important to ask a potential primary care provider even if they aren’t a midwife.
What is Your Training?
Midwives will have to follow the standards and practice of their local governing bodies but for the most part the model of care focuses on healthy, low risk pregnancy, birth and postpartum. Depending on the country, state, or province, midwives around the world have different training designations. Some midwives can hold hospital privileges in their community, while others can only practice midwifery in private homes and birth centers. Having an understanding of how this works is important when choosing your midwife and place of birth. Ask your potential midwife if they hold hospital privileges in case for some reason you need to transfer into hospital. If they do not hold admitting privileges, ask if they will accompany you to the hospital in a supportive role for the remainder of your birth.
Registered Midwife (RM): Practitioners registered with their governing bodies and – in Canada – care for clients in both hospital and out of hospital settings. They hold hospital admitting privileges so you can choose a home or hospital birth, and be transferred into hospital with continuity of care provider. Personally, I am a non-practising RM.
Certified Nurse Midwives (CNM): Nurses with a specialty and hold a minimum credential of a Master’s Degree. I was a student in the US working with CNM and we would often transfer clients to CNM who help with admitting privileges and remain in a supportive role. CNM work with clients in hospitals, homes, and birth centres.
Certified Professional Midwives (CPM): Practitioners who only work in out-of-hospital settings, private homes, and birth centres. They do not hold hospital admitting privileges.
Although midwives generally follow similar pregnancy care practices, labour practices may differ. As mentioned earlier, midwives hold different titles and follow different practices in labour.
Do You Attend Home and Hospital Deliveries?
This can look different all over the world so it’s important to discuss. If they are primarily a home birth midwife it’s also important to know if they will follow with you into hospital if a transfer is needed.
Do You Practice Solo or With a Team?
Fewer and fewer midwives are practicing solo. Midwifery is a demanding career with births around the clock, regular office hours, and community visits. This has caused many midwives to choose practicing in a group setting to allow for a better work-life balance. A con to this balance is your “primary” midwife may not be the midwife you end up with on the day you go into labour. The pro to this balance is that the midwife you end up with will be fresh and rested while you birth your baby.
What if My Birth Lasts Longer Than My Midwife’s Shift?
or is there any length of labor where my Midwife will leave my labor or be replaced?To avoid any confusion or disappointment and to have a clear understanding of how your midwife works, this is an important conversation to have with them.
What Does Your Care Schedule Look Like?
Having an understanding of what midwifery care looks like can allow for a smoother transition into discussion topics, tests, and procedures arising in pregnancy. We have a whole class on this very topic in our series!
Do You Plan to Take Holidays Around My Due Date?
This is an important question to avoid any anxiety or stress later in pregnancy if your primary midwife announces she is going on holiday around your due date.
What Happens if My Pregnancy or Birth Becomes Complex or High Risk?
Midwives, regardless of their title, mainly work with low risk health people. It is unlikely but if complications do arise and a transfer of care is necessary, where do you go? If the issue is resolved, does your midwife take you back into care after the transfer out? For peace of mind this is good to know.
What is Your Philosophy on Birth, Birth Plans, and Doula Support?
Midwives, like all of us, have opinions and these opinions can trickle into our birth experiences. Does your midwife have particular doulas or support people she works with or does she recommend you choose someone? Is she truly open to your experience being yours or does she have personal biases? Do you know anyone she has worked with?
Do You Offer Suggestions For or Provide Complementary Therapy?
Many midwives have multidisciplinary consultants they refer to on a regular basis to facilitate alternative and complementary services. Is this important to you and your family? Some examples include: nutritionists, chiropractors, naturopathic doctors, acupuncturists, massage therapy, etc.
Do You Do Regular Internal Exams in Late Pregnancy and Labour?
Some care providers do routine internal exams. Is this of concern or important to you? Are you wanting to avoid any unnecessary internal exams? If so, this little question could have a big impact on your care.
How Do You Feel About Clients Declining Certain Pregnancy, Postpartum and Newborn Tests and Procedures?
Most midwives work with informed choice so making a “safe” choice to decline or postpone treatments, exams, tests, and procedures is something they will be happy to discuss and often facilitate. This is another question that could make or break your choice of care provider.
Do You Have a Background in Working with People Like Me?
Has the midwife had complementary training or hands on experience in trauma informed care, cultural competencies, religious beliefs, unique family structures, sexuality and orientation, mental health disorders, or any other unique qualities you may hold? Having a midwife on your side is an important part of your personal choices and care path.
Do You Provide or Recommend Childbirth Education?
YES! To be absolutely honest, when I was a practicing midwife, I did not have time to do a full childbirth preparation class with my clients, so I sent them to local classes in my community. This is one of the main reasons I created Birthing Freedom, to create the best childbirth preparation series out there. Only the best is what I imagined for my clients! I add everything I wish I was able to refer to my clients to, plus more!
Your pregnancy and birth are your personal intimate story and powerful journey. Be bold, ask questions, and create the best team for you and your baby! Good luck, you’ve got this!
With Love,
Angela
Welcome back! Our vision is to provide an informative and holistic change in the way birth is experienced by families around the world. We aim to prepare families in body, mind, and spirit for a healthy pregnancy and empowered birth experience.
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Meet the Author
Angela Rennie, RM, RYT, Spiritual Mentor, Holistic Nutritionist
Angela is the founder of Birthing Freedom, a holistic birth education curriculum and course that encompasses the whole person: body, mind, and spirit. Follow us on Instagram
