The Difference Between a Midwife And OBGYN Birthing Experience

 

When I was pregnant with Blake, we used a midwife instead of an OBGYN, and here’s the difference between a midwife and obgyn and my experience.

The Difference Between a Midwife And OBGYN Birthing Experience

I shared during the very beginning of my pregnancy how I was using a midwife this time around, and it has definitely been one amazing experience, and completely opposite of the OBGYN experience that I had while delivering Branden. As soon as I shared that I had made this decision and why I made this decision (full details here), I was instantly flooded with inbox messages of readers asking me to sort of compare the two and share the differences, so I wanted to make sure to give that feedback to you all.

Using a Midwife Vs. OBGYN

My journey of wanting to work with a midwife definitely started after watching The Business of Being Born years ago, and became sort of an obsession of mine as I set our to have a different birthing experience when I knew we were trying to get pregnant. It was the main thing that I wanted to do different during my second pregnancy.

While everyone’s experience is different, for me, these are my standout points of the difference between a midwife and OBGYN:

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More support from a midwife.

I clicked with my midwife from my very first appointment and was so happy to have been assigned to her when I made my first prenatal appointment. (If I didn’t have that experience then I would have totally requested a different one because that connection is SO important.) And from that moment on, I had her full support with everything during my pregnancy from her texting me back at random times because I had an important question to simply going above and beyond to make sure that all my crazy questions were answered. She was there for 100% and accessible whenever I needed her. With an OBGYN, I would never have been given their cell phone number and had to call the office with questions and wait for a return call. This was probably the most standout difference between a midwife and OBGYN for me overall.

More backup of your birth plan with a midwife.

OBGYN’s are definitely skilled whenever it comes to emergency situations, but not super privy to a natural (no interventions, no pain management) situation. A midwife will do everything in their power to see your birth plan through, while my OBGYN the first time around implemented interventions (pitocin) as soon as I got to the delivery room.

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More availability with an OBGYN.

What I mean by this is that there will always be an OBGYN available at the hospital, on call, to deliver your baby – whether it is your personal OBGYN or just the on call doctor. This was the one thing that I didn’t like about the midwife experience because if I didn’t go into labor on the day that my midwife was on call, there was still only a slim chance that I would have the on call midwife delivering my baby. Our hospital was small and they only had 1 midwife on call Monday-Friday during daylight hours, and 1 random day a week there was one available overnight. If I didn’t go into labor during those times (which I didn’t), then I was basically shit outa luck.

More of a holistic approach with a midwife.

I’m pretty open about the fact that I wanted a more holistic approach this time around because I seriously feel like I had ALL the interventions and pain management during Branden’s birth and I wanted a different experience. But beyond just the birth, I was able to have a more holistic experience with every single aspect of the pregnancy instead of with an OBGYN when suggestions for any ailment were more drug/medical based cures.

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More connectivity with a midwife.

And I must circle back again to just how connected I was with my midwife. We still text to this day and I will have my postpartum appointment with her at the end of this month. She also built a special connection with my husband and son during all of our prenatal visits and I can’t thank her enough for all of that. She checks up on me, asks for pictures of Blake and overall still has a presence in my life. With Branden’s birth experience, I never even heard from my OBGYN after the fact.

Looking for more new mom articles? I’ve got lots:

• How to Prevent Stretch Marks During Pregnancy
• Must-Have Products For After Giving Birth
• How to Make Peace With Your Post-Pregnancy Body
• Why I’m Working With a Midwife This Time Around
• Dear Hospital, I’m Nervous About Your Sleep Procedures
• The Best Organic Crib Mattress
• The Breastfeeding Solution For New Moms
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You can read more about my dramatic birth experience here and how I actually ended up riding to the hospital in an ambulance (for real!) and having an OBGYN deliver our little lady here. But overall, you can tell that I favored the midwife experience more and really cherished that experience. If you have the opportunity, I couldn’t recommend working with a midwife anymore.

What was your birthing experience like? Did you realize the difference between a midwife and OBGYN?

Fashionably Yours,

Allison