Midwife VS OBGYN - 1 of 3

So you’re going to be a dad and your wife comes to you and says "What do you think about using a midwife to deliver our baby?".

A midwife?  Weren’t those what they used in Bible times?  I thought the only people who still used midwives were hippies and the Amish.  Why would you want to use a midwife when you have access to a doctor? 

These were the questions that were going through my head.  Honestly the most important thing is make sure that my wife is comfortable and at ease with her care provider. So I had no problem going to an informational visit with a midwife.  It couldn’t hurt anything.

Now I’m not going to sway you to go with a midwife versus a doctor.  I’m not even going to tell what route my wife and I chose to pursue.  As always, my goal is to pass along tips and information that hopefully you’ll find useful.  

This will be a collaboration of what we learned from the three midwifes we interviewed, as well as the experiences of several other couples who have kids in the past 12 months and used a variety of OBGYNs and midwives.   So this will be more than just my view.  But overall I noticed 3 main differences between traditional OBGYNs and midwives.  I remind you that these are just generalities, they are not true for every doctor or midwife out there.  Nor are these the only differences, so it’s important that you really get to know the care provider before you choose them, so you know you have the best care provider for you and your wife.  

First, I wanted to clear up what a midwife is.  When someone one talks about a midwife, I think many of us picture this old grandmother-figure who lives in a cabin on the mountain and has been around, delivering babies since before modern medicine was available.  This is not the case.  Midwives take classes, receive training, intern under other midwives and receive certification.  They perform the same examinations; can read the same tests results and can give the same advice as an OBGYN.  Now Midwives do have their limits, and just like with a doctor, when they come to a situation that is out of their expertise, they refer you on to a specialist.

One point of note.  Whenever choosing a medical professional, doctor, midwife, dentist, etc, take a little time and do some checking on them.  Make sure their license is current in your state; confirm that they’re certified with who they say they are. 

There are so many news stories of doctors practicing without licenses.  It is so easy now for anyone to claim to be a professional and print something off their computer to prove it. 

With the internet it doesn’t take long to follow up and confirm what someone claims.      

Difference 1 – Cost

An average hospital birth can range anywhere from $30,000 to $50,000.  One person showed me their invoice from the hospital for their daughter’s delivery and the total at the bottom for just the hospital was over $100,000 and that didn’t include the bill for the doctor’s services for nine months.  Now all these totals are before insurance payments and discounts, but depending on your deductible and insurance plan, you will be responsible for whatever the insurance company doesn’t pay.

Now, you can’t put a price on your child’s life.  I would pay anything and work for the rest of my life for the well being of my baby.  But if there are two equally good doctors or hospitals and one charges twice as much as the other, I will probably go with the one that going to charge me less.

Midwives charge substantially less than a traditional OBGYN and may still be covered under your insurance plan.  

Why such a price difference?  Well most midwifes don’t have to carry malpractice insurance, make payments on school loans for eight-plus years of education, or have as much overhead as far as offices space, nursing staff, etc.

One couple I visited with received a very alarming notice from their insurance company regarding their recent doctor visit.  They had just discovered that they were pregnant when it turned out the husband’s employer had been making a big mistake.  Although they had been deducting the insurance payments from his check, those payments were not being made to the insurance company, so his insurance policy had been canceled.  So, one of the greatest joys in life was overshadowed with the fear of how they were going to find someone who would agree to deliver their baby without insurance.  In their situation they used a midwife out of necessity, but it turned out to a wonderful experience. 

Well, this post looks like it going to be a longer one, so before I am accused of breaking rule number two, I will let you go.  Until next time.