What do midwives do and why would a pregnant woman chose this birthing experience verses the hospital?  First off, the quality and level of both prenatal and postnatal care are unsurpassed.  Doctors and their staff do not have the time to devote to each patient.  Not to mention the wait times.  I remember several obstetric appointments lasting less than 3 minutes which I waited for for well over an hour.  That never happened with the midwives.  Ever.  I never felt like I was an inconvenience or yet another person to be dealt with.  Midwives give that personal touch backed up by a wealth of information that helps to keep this most remarkable experience very personal and special.

They gave me tips to help me to prepare my body for the actual stretching of the skin (with evening primose oil on the labial skin), stretches to prepare my body for the positions that would best work for labour, teas to help with pregnancy symptoms (and later lactation and even helping to stop lactation once weaning was done) and all of this was done in an 'office' that was more like a living room and a 'exam room' that was more like a bedroom.  This helped keep me calm about the whole, rather scary experience.

As for the delivery process, the midwives I worked with were in a team.  There were always 2 people to help me and they had some amazing supportive care. I chose to birth at home with my family present for support.  This made things far more relaxed and helped me to feel comfortable regardless of the positions I was taking or what I was wearing. For me personally, labour did not progress well and I did have a surgical procedure to bring my little one to light.  Nevertheless, I remain confident that their attentive, knowledgeable care enabled me to have a remarkable experience that I will never forget.  Not the horror stories that most people love to share.  Birth is special and despite the intensity of the experience, in the whole of your life this is but a moment.  A profoundly important moment that brings you (as it did for me) new joy and wonder to your life.

If this seems like something that might work for your personal situation, check out the various resources local to you.  There are fabulous books on the topic and one of my favorites was by Ina May Gaskin.  Please note that there may be a considerable wait time and perhaps an associated fee for these services.  So be proactive about your pregnancy and birthing experience as quickly into the pregnancy as possible so that your options are all open and available to you when you need them.